... Continued from pt. 1

The Zhuihu, also known as the Zhuiqin is an instrument that is descended from a Chinese lute known as the Sanxian, and the strings of this instrument are stopped by pressing them down on a flat fingerboard on its neck. The Kokyu is a four stringed version from Japan that is a bowed version of the lute from that country, which is known as the shamisen and is a rounded rectangular sound box featured lute with a long neck, a fretless finger board and an unusually long bow for playing it.

Variations by Region

There are other countries in Southeast and East Asia as well as Indonesia that have spike fiddles which are related closely to the Huqin family. Korea, for example, has an instrument known as the haegum. Japan has an instrument that is known as the kokin. Tibet has an instrument that is known as the piwang. Tuva has an instrument that is known as the Byzaanchy. Vietnam has several instruments that are similar in nature including the dan nhi, the dan co and the dan gao or the dan ho. Cambodia has an instrument that is known as the tro sau or tro u. Thailand has an instrument that is known as the saw duang, which is quite similar in nature to the erhu. Indonedia also has spike fiddles, which include the Rabab and the gesso gesso, one of which is chunky and possesses two strings and the other of which is a more elegant, long spiked spike-fiddle.

Rabab

The rabab or Rababah is a single string instrument that has a rectangular type of sound box that is covered in skin and often has wooden side pieces that create something of an H shape, and the sound box serves as a crossbar. The square sound box in the manseqo of Ethiopia is set diamond-wise, but most other similar fiddles make use instead of gourd sound boxes. In other countries, such as Tunisia and Morocco for example, the rabab name signifies a completely different type of fiddle that does not have an evident spike, but instead it has a combination sound board and neck that is wedge shaped and has skin stretched over the lower half with is wider, and then has a metal or wood covering that usually possesses decoration that covers the neck part as well as the back-angled part of the peg box.

The construction and the name both have obvious connections in relation to the Rubab from Afghanistan, which is a lute that is plucked rather than being bowed. Here, the rapid decay of the notes is converted into a long ring as a result of the addiction of a number of sympathetic strings which are made of a thin steel material.

Photo Credits: Navroop Sehmi Photography

Originally posted 2009-08-21 03:52:02. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Categories:

Acoustic Musical Instruments, Fiddle, Instrument History, Rabab

Tags:

chinese lute, crossbar, fiddles, finger board, fingerboard, gesso, haegum, kokin, kokyu, long bow, nhi, Rabab, rectangular type, sanxian, shamisen, side pieces, sound boxes, spike fiddle, string instrument, tuva