5 Famous Instruments In Middle East
Music is an indispensable part of the universe and humanity. Music energizes and nourishes the soul. We can spend pleasant moments with music or relax our souls. In ancient times, people used music to have pleasant moments or to relax their souls. In ancient times, music and instruments were not very developed, but they were present in every aspect of life. Mankind had begun to produce sounds by utilizing the possibilities of time and using materials. For example, they produced a different musical instrument by percussion and another musical instrument by blowing.
Middle Eastern instruments have a very rich musical instrument heritage. There are very quiet Middle Eastern instruments, especially since the Middle Eastern instruments have a very long history and also contain many cultures.
Each region has its instrument. It is quite possible to see a musical instrument in other cultures. When world music is mentioned, the Middle East comes to mind first recently. The Middle East continues to attract more and more people's attention with its ethnic music and instruments. Musical instruments in the Middle East are candidates for being an indispensable taste for those who are bored with popular music or who seek different tastes. There are musical instruments that are widely used in the Middle East and today. These instruments always remain popular. When Middle East instruments are mentioned, the following come to mind first:
Oud
Oud consists of 5 double and a single string. Nylon and steel wires are used together. It has 11 augers. 11 augers are positioned at an angle of 45 degrees to the oud handle. The oud cage is in the shape of a half crescent. The front cover is in the form of 1 mm. It is played with an instrument that was made from an eagle's perch in the past, but today it is made of plastic material. There are holes on the front that we call one large and two small cages. These holes are the sound cage. We hear the sounds through these holes.
In order to be successful in sound, the table, the chest part, must be made of high quality and very dry spruce wood. However, the plate should not be thick to get a nice and soft sound. Because the sound waves reflect on the oud boat, reflecting on the table and providing vibration. The soundboard has a seventy-five percent importance in an oud musical instrument, if it is followed, it will be possible to get a good sound.
Qanun
Qanun is in the group of plectrum instruments. It consists of 25 frets in total. Each fret has three strings. The qanun has 24 and 27 frets. The lattice system was invented thanks to the Turks. Qanun is one of the instruments of Turkish Music instruments. It has a rich sound. The qanun is played with plectrums worn on the index fingers. Materials such as ivory, bone, and horn are used in making plectrums. The Qanun has a section covered with leather. The strings are stretched and connected to the pegs on the curved edge, and these pegs are common in stringed instruments. The tuning process is also done from these regions. In Qanun, the length of the strings is shaped as short and long. In this way, differences occur in the timbre of the voice.
The qanun is a stringed instrument mostly used in Middle Eastern countries and Turkey. Among the instruments of the ancient Egyptians and Sumerians, there were string instruments that can be considered the ancestors of the qanun. It is said that the famous scholar Farabi developed the qanun based on these instruments.
Ney
Ney is a wind instrument. There are holes on the back and front surfaces of the body. The hole on the back surface can be opened slightly to the left or right from the middle area, depending on the user's grip. There are usually six holes on the front surface. You can get different sounds with ney.
There are 12 varieties. The ney, which has a very effective sound, is made from a kind of yellow knotted reed. Holes are drilled with a hot iron. As the neys get smaller, their sound gets thinner. It requires strong breathing to play the bold vowels. Those who play the ney are called neyzen.
Dayereh
Dayereh (Dayareh) is a drum that has an extraordinary place in Iranian traditional/classical Persian and Azeri music. Dayereh is used for entertainment purposes. Dayereh is known as a tambourine in the Middle East, and there are name variations by region. Dayereh has thin metal plates or jingles called rings. It is circular, and rings are inserted into the inner or four rectangular holes in the frame of the circle. Goatskin is used for wrapping the drum. Also, Azeri dayereh's voice is deeper. It is also possible to create a rhythm by playing it randomly.
Bouzouki
The bouzouki is the long-necked plucked lute from Greece. Resembling a mandolin, the bouzouki consists of a round wooden body with metal strings arranged in three or four double rows on a burnished fingerboard. While the musician presses the strings on the keyboard with the fingers of his left hand, he breaks the strings over the soundhole with a plectrum he holds in his right hand, thus creating a melody. It does not have a very balanced sound as it is a mixture of guitar and baglama. Visuals are significant in bouzouki, and the wood is decorated with different patterns.
Rebetika is an active musical instrument of musical culture. The bouzouki are also found in Irish folklore. The bouzouki, whose front part is usually decorated with mother-of-pearl inlays, is played with a plectrum or pick.
We can divide bouzouki into three types: Trichordo has three pairs of strings. Tetrachordo has four pairs of strings. Irish Bouzouki have four pairs of strings and a straight back
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Hello Judi,
It sounds like the instrument you saw is a Hurdy-Gurdy, a unique and rare instrument that is often associated with European music but can also be found in Middle Eastern music. The Hurdy-Gurdy is played using a series of buttons and a rotating wheel that produces sound by rubbing against the strings, much like how you described.
Here are some key features of the Hurdy-Gurdy:
A body similar to an Oud
A short neck
Strings played by turning a wheel
Buttons that control the tones and notes
The sound of the Hurdy-Gurdy is indeed beautiful and haunting, making it a fascinating instrument to learn and play. If you are interested in purchasing and learning this instrument, we can provide you with high-quality Hurdy-Gurdies and educational materials on how to play it. At Sala Muzik, we pride ourselves on offering the best traditional musical instruments.
Please let us know if you would like more information or if you are interested in making a purchase.
Thank you,
The Sala Muzik Team
I recently saw a young man playing middle eastern instrument on something I’d never seen before and would Like to know if you could help. The body looked a bit like an Oud with a very short neck. It sat on the lap and a series of oblong buttons that Controlled the tones / notes when pressed. I could not see
Close enough to count the strings but appeared double stringed like a mandola. The oddest feature was a wheel on its side, attached to the end of the belly of the instrument and instead of picking or strumming the strings they twirled the wheel and it produced the sound but, like peddles on a piano you could soften or
sustain the sound with the manipulation of the turning wheel. Do you know what this is called? I would like to get and
Learn this one. Beautiful and haunting.
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