The music of Central Asia is as vast and unique as the many cultures and peoples who inhabit the region. Principal instrument types are two- or three-stringed lutes, the necks either fretted or fretless; fiddles made of horsehair; flutes, mostly open at both ends and either end-blown or side-blown; and Jews' harps, either metal or, often in Siberia, wooden. Percussion instruments include frame drums, tambourines, and kettledrums. Instrumental polyphony is achieved primarily by lutes and fiddles. On the other hand, vocal polyphony is achieved in different ways: Bashkirs hum a basic pitch while playing solo flute.
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Musical instruments common in Central Asia
- Choor
A type of end-blown flute of varying lengths, with 4-5 holes made with reed or wood. Common among Inner Asian pastoralists, this instrument is also known as tsuur (Mongolian), chuur (Tuvan), sybyzghy (Kazakh) and kurai (Bashkir).
- Chopo Choor
An ocarina made of clay with 3-6 holes, popular with children in Kyrgyzstan.
A small frame drum used as an accompaniment to popular and classical music in Azerbaijan.
A frame drum with jingles played by men and women among sedentary populations in Central Asia.
A class of two-stringed, long-necked lutes, the best known of which is a fretted lute that is considered Kazakhstan's national instrument. It is mostly used to play solo instrumental pieces known as kui. The dombra also provides accompaniment to Kazakh jyrau (bards) and singers of bel canto (lyrical song).
Refers to a variety of two-stringed long-necked fretted lutes among Uzbeks, Uyghurs, Tajiks, Turkmens, Karakalpaks, and other groups.
A small accordion used in the Caucasus and among khalfa (female wedding entertainers) in the Khorezm region of northwestern Uzbekistan.
A round-bodied spike fiddle with 3 or 4 metal strings and a short fretless neck used by Uyghurs, Uzbeks, Tajiks, Turkmens and Karakalpaks. Also known as a Kemanche - an important instrument in Iranian and Azeri classical music and popular music in Iran.
Called by a variety of names, Jew's harps are traditionally used by pastoralists throughout Inner Asia. They are typically made out of wood or metal.
A three-stringed, fretless long-neck lute typically made from apricot wood, nut wood or juniper. It is the principal folk instrument of the Kyrgyz. Playing techniques include plucking, strumming, and striking the strings with the fingernails, together with the use of stylised hand and arm gestures to add narrative to the performance.
- Qyl-Qiyak
The Kyrgyz name for an upright bowed fiddle with two horse hair strings. In Kazakhstan it is known as qylqobyz. The deck is usually made from camel or cow hide, and the body is carved from a single piece of wood, typically apricot. The instrument had a strong connection to both shamanism and the recitation of oral poetry.
A fretless lute with sympathetic strings played in southern Tajikistan and Afghanistan.
- Rawap
An Uyghur long-necked lute similar to the rubab, but without sympathetic strings.
A bowed tanbur, or long-necked lute, now rare, played by performers of Tajik-Uzbek classical music.
- Sybyzgy
A Kyrgyz sideblown flute traditionally played by shepherds and horse herders, made from apricot wood or the wood of mountain bushes. The sybyzgy has its own repertory of solo pieces, known as kuu, which are distinguished by their lyrical content.
A long-necked plucked lute with raised frets used in Uzbek, Tajik and Uyghur classical music traditions. An Afghani variant has sympathetic strings.
A double-chested, skin-topped, plucked lute with multiple sympathetic strings used in urban music from the Caucasus and Iran (the Iranian version does not have sympathetic strings). The tar is also popular in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Preservation of Central Asian musical heritage
In 2000 the Aga Khan Trust for Culture established a music initiative with the goal of assisting to preserve Central Asia's musical heritage. Known as the Aga Khan Music Initiative in Central Asia (AKMICA), the programme works with tradition-bearers throughout Central Asia to ensure that their traditions are passed down to a new generation of artists and audiences, inside and outside the region. AKMICA has also produced and sponsored music tours and festivals, is engaged in documentation and dissemination, and collaborates with the Silk Road Project.[1]
References
- ^ Aga Khan Music Initiative in Central Asia on the AKDN website. Retrieved on 2006-12-08.
Sources
- Almaty or Bust! Central Asian Music and Culture.
- Glossary of Instruments - AKMICA. Retrieved on 2006-12-08.
See also
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| Afghanistan | Badakhshan | Buryatia | Gansu | Inner Mongolia | Kazakhstan | Khakassia | Kyrgyzstan | Mongolia | Qinghai | Tajikistan | Tibet | Turkmenistan | Tuva | Uzbekistan | Xinjiang |
