Kamancheh — Lutherie Encyclopedia

KamanchehType: instrumentA Persian spiked bowed fiddle with a small round body, one of the oldest bowed instruments in the world and central to Iranian classical music.## History The kamancheh (also spelled kamanche, kemanche, or kemençe) is one of the most ancient bowed string instruments, with roots in the Persian musical tradition dating back over a thousand years. The instrument is considered a predecessor to the European rebec and, by extension, an ancestor of the violin. The kamancheh has been continuously played in Persian classical music (radif) and is also found in the musical traditions of Azerbaijan, Turkey, Armenia, and other nations across the Middle East, Caucasus, and Central Asia. In 2017, UNESCO inscribed the art of crafting and playing the kamancheh on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, jointly presented by Iran and Azerbaijan. The instrument remains central to the Persian classical music tradition and is experiencing renewed international interest. ## Construction The kamancheh has a small, round or hemispherical body (approximately 5 to 6 inches in diameter) traditionally made from a gourd, wood, or coconut shell, covered with a thin animal skin (fish skin, lamb skin, or goat skin) membrane. Modern instruments are also made with wooden soundboards. The long neck (spike) passes through the body and extends below as an endpin, which rests on the player's knee—hence the classification as a "spiked fiddle." The instrument traditionally had three silk strings, but the modern kamancheh has four metal strings tuned in fourths or fifths. The player rotates the instrument against the bow rat…