TURKISH MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
Turkish musical folk instruments can be classified as follows:
1- String Instruments
a) Played with a plectrum
b) Played with fingers
Saz, Baglama, Tar
2- Bow Instruments
Kabak Kemane, Karadeniz Kemençesi
3- Wind Instruments
Zurna, Kaval, Çigirtma,
Mey, Tulum, Sipsi,
Çifte
4- Percussion
Davul, Nagara, Tef,
Kasik
Description:
Saz (Turkish Long Neck Lute)
The Saz is the grandfather of the Greek Bouzouki. It's originated in Central Asia
where Turks lived before their westward migration. Like the guitar in Spain and
the bouzouki in Greece, the Saz is the most popular stringed instrument in
Turkey.
Although similar in shape to the Greek Bouzouki, the construction, size and
sound of the Saz is different. You need a baglama saz to be able to play the
microtones (Perde) of Arabic music.
These instruments have traditional tied frets that are movable, and 3 courses of
strings.
Baglama
Baglama is the most commonly used string folk instrument in
Turkey. It takes
different names according to the regions and according to its size such as Baglama, Divan Sazi, Bozuk, Çögür, Kopuz Irizva, Cura, Tambura, etc.
Cura is the smallest member of the baglama family with the highest pitched
sound. The member one size bigger than cura which gives a sound that is one
octave lower than cura is the tambura. And the one with the deepest sound is the
Divan sazi whose sound is one octave lower compared to tambura.
Baglama has three main parts called Tekne, Gögüs and Sap. Tekne part is
generally made from mulberry trees as well as from woods of juniper, beech,
spruce or walnut. The gögüs part is made from spruce and the sap section from
homespun or juniper.
There are pieces called burgu (screw) at the end of the sap which is opposite to
tekne part to which the strings are tied. These screws are used for tuning.
There are pitches on the sap tied with fish line. Baglama is played with a
Mizrap or Tezene made from cherry wood bark or plastic and fingers are used in
some regions. The later technique is called Selpe.
There are three string groups on Baglama in groups of two or three. These string
groups can be tuned in a variety of ways. For example in the tuning style called
baglama Düzeni, the strings in the lower group give 'la', middle group strings
and upper group strings give 'mi' notes. Besides this type of tuning there are
Kara Düzen, Misket Düzeni Müstezat, Abdal Düzeni, Rast Düzeni etc. styles.
Tar
Tar is a Turkish folk instrument played with a plectrum (tezene). It is widely
used in the Kars region. It is also a commonly used instrument in
Azerbaijan,
Iran, Uzbekistan and Georgia.
Its body is composed of two bowls of different size and is generally made from
mulberry trees. The gögüs section is covered with a membrane taken from the
heart of water buffaloes or cattle. Sap section is from hard wood and fish line
pitches are tied onto it.
There are two main groups of strings on tar. Those in the first group are used
in playing the tune and consists of three groups of two strings. The other group
of strings are called Kök and Zengi and are tuned according to the mode to be
used and enhance the tone.
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Kabak Kemane
Kabak Kemane is a bowed Turkish folk instrument. Shows variation according to
regions and its form. It is known that instruments known as Kabak, Kemane, Iklig,
Rabab, Hegit at Hatay province, Rubaba in
Southeastern Turkey, Kemança in
Azerbaijan and Gicak, Giccek or Gijek among the central Asian
Turks all come
from the same origin.
Its body or the tekne part is generally made from vegetable marrow but wooden
ones are also common. The sap is from hard woods. There is a thin wooden or
metal rod underneath the body which is placed on the knee and enables the
instrument to move to the left and right. The bow is made by tying horse hair on
two ends of a stick. Previously strings made from gut called Kiris were used
which were replaced by metal ones at the present.
Kabak kemane is an instrument without pitches and produces all types of
chromatic sounds easily. Its sound is suitable for long plays and can be used
for legato, Staccato and Pizzicato paces.
Karadeniz Kemençesi
Karadeniz Kemençesi is a bowed Turkish folk instrument. As can be surmised from
its name it is an instrument widely used in the Black Sea Region. Its body is
made from mulberry, plum and juniper woods. The wooden part of the bow generally
rose wood or box wood. Horse hair is tied to the ends of the bow.
Kemençe is a three-string instrument. While kiris strings from gut used be put on
kemençes, these days mostly metal strings are used.
Kemençe is an instrument without pitches and and it is possible to get from it
all types of chromatic sounds easily. It is generally played by pressing two
strings at the same time and getting parallel quarter notes. It is furthermore
played with a special technique which is achieved with wrist movements.
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Zurna
Zurna is a Turkish folk instrument of the wind type. Because of its strong sound
it is generally played in the open air, on occasions such as village
weddings,
sending off the boys to military service, sport encounters,
folk dances and
similar ceremonial events. It was the first melody instrument of the Mehter
teams (Janissaries Band) in the Ottoman period. It was also used in some traditional theater (orta oyunu)
performances. It is generally accompanied with a drum. Because of the difficulty
of its intonation and its high sound level, it is not used in musical groups.
However, in the recent years it started to be used by some folk music groups.
Zurna has a sound range of nearly two octaves and has eight melody keys with
seven of them on the front and one on the back. The key at the back is so
located as to come between the first two notes towards the reed section at the
front. The keys are generally round with 6-8mm diameters. The length of the
instrument changes between 30 - 60 cm and widens out like a funnel starting from
the part the melody holes end. This section is called the kalak. At the blowing
end there is a thin pipe like rod over which the reed goes. This rod is called
Metem. A separate circular piece with a hole in the middle is put over the Metem
to help the breathing technique. This piece is called Avurtluk. The most common
zurna playing technique is the continuous playing technique where while the air
collected in the cave of the mouth is blown out from the reed, inhaling through
nostrils occurs simultaneously.
There are seven holes besides the melody keys on the kalak section which are
smaller in diameter. They are called seytan deligi (devil's hole) or cin deligi
(genie's hole). They can be closed with wax or a similar material according to
the sound hunting of the player.
The instrument which changes between 60 and 30 cm. in length as we have already
mentioned is divided into three types according to its sound : Kaba Zurna, Orta
Kaba Zurna and Cura Zurna (Zil Zurna). They are generally made from wood of
trees such as plums, apricots, walnut, saber etc.
Kaval
Kaval is a Turkish folk instrument of the wind type. It is known as the
instrument of the shepherds. It is also called Guval and Kuval in different
regions. The belief that the shepherd leads his sheep flock with his kaval is a
wide spread belief among the people. The word kaval is probably a derivative
from the word "kav" which means hollow on the inside.
Its sound range is about 2.5-3 octaves. It is widely used instrument in the folk
music groups of today and can be used as a solo instrument within an ensemble.
Kaval preserves its sound characteristics when played together with other
instruments.
As kavals are not produced to any defined standards what can be said about its
dimensions has to be very general. Its length may vary between 30 cm and 80 cm
and its diameter is approximately 1.5 cm. It has 7 melody keys on the front and
one underneath. Besides these, there are also 4 other keys at the lower section
of the instrument called Seytan Deliği and Hazreti Ali.
Kavals are divided into two main types as Dilli Kaval and Dilsiz Kaval and are
generally made from the wood of the plum tree.
Çigirtma
Çigirtma is a Turkish folk instrument of the wind type. Çigirtma is made from
the wing bone of the eagle. It is known to be used mostly by the shepherds and
is an almost forgotten instrument today. It has a total of seven melody keys with
six on the top and one underneath It is about 15-30 cm long.
Mey
Mey is a Turkish folk instrument of the wind type. It consists of three parts .
Ana Gövde (main part), Kamis (reed) and Kiskaç (clip). The clips mounted to the
end of the reed and can be pushed up and down on the reed and thus enabling
tuning by providing one note variation in the sound.
Mey which is made of wood from plum walnut, beech etc. has sound distance of
about one octave. It has a total of eight melody keys with seven on top and one
underneath. There are three types of Mey: Cura Mey, Orta Mey and Ana Mey. Mey is
called Balaban in Azerbaijan.
Tulum
Tulum (bagpipe) is a Turkish folk instrument of the wind type. It consists of
three parts with Deri Kismi (leather section), Nav and Agizlik (mouth piece).
The air is stored in the leather section and is let into the nav section by
pressing the bag under the arm. Nav is the part where the melody is played. It
also has two parts called Analik and Dillik. Agizlik is the section which sends
the air to the leather bag of the pipe.
Tulum is used in Turkey at Trabzon,
Rize, Erzurum,
Kars, Northern and
Eastern
Anatolian regions and in Thrace. Tulum, which is generally made from lamb or kid
skin, is called Gayda in Thrace.
Sipsi
Sipsi which is a Turkish folk instrument of the wind type is made from bone,
wood or reed. The reed ones are more common. It has a second smaller part at the
end which is made of reed that produces the sound. This part is completely taken
into the mouth and the air is blown.
It is most widely used in the Aegean Region the instrument has a total of six
melody keys with five on the top and one underneath.
Çifte
Çifte is a Turkish folk instrument of the wind type. It is made by tying two
reed pipes side by side. Two small reed pieces which produce the sound are added
to the ends of both reeds. These two small reeds are taken into the mouth cavity
and it is played by blowing the air at the same time.
There are two Çifte types known as Demli Çifte and Demsiz Çifte. In demli çifte
one of the reeds does not have any pitch keys and it just produces a background
sound. There are melody keys on the other red and the main melody is played
through them.
Çifte is also known as Argun, Argul, Kargin or Zambir at different
regions.
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Davul
Davul (drum) is the oldest known percussion instrument. It can be in different
sizes and is generally used in open spaces on occasions such as
weddings, folk
dances or different ceremonies. It consists of a circular wooden frame and a
hoop made from two skins and covered with skin which is put on the frame with
the help of strong strings or leather ribbons.
It is played while hung on the shoulder with knitted or leather strap. The skin
on one side of the drum is thick while on the other is thinner. The thin one is
made from goat, the thick one from sheep skin. The thick skin side is hit with a
tokmak and the thin skinned one with a light wooden stick. It is possible to
scan or treble with the thin stick. The drum can either be played hung to the
shoulder or holding it under the arm and using hands.
Davul is especially used during
Ramadan to wake people up before beginning the fast.
Nagara
Nagara (Koltuk Davulu) is a Turkish folk drum or percussion instrument. It is
placed under the arm and beaten with hands. It is longer compared to the regular
drums and its diameter is smaller.
Tef
Tef (tambourine) is a Turkish percussion instrument. It consists of a metal or
wooden hoop over which a skin is stretched. There are two types of tambourines,
with or without the cymbals.
Kasik
Kasik (spoon) is a Turkish percussion instrument. The ones made from boxwood are
particularly favored. The handles are taken between the fingers and the oval
parts are held towards the inside of the hand in a back to back position. There
are also different holding styles.
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