Ghaychak: kyrgyzstan musical instrument
https://worldhitz4u.blogspot.com/2014/10/ghaychak-kyrgyzstan-musical-instrument.html
Ghaychak is the name of most bowed musical instruments in Asia. It is an
instrument with round body and has three to four metal strings and a short
fretless neck. Ghaychak is well known all through the Central Asia. It is also
well known and used by the Iranians, Afghans, Uzbeks, Tajiks, Turkmens and
Qaraqalpaks.
Ghaychak has been the only bowed musical instruments that are found in
Pamir. It is carved from the wood of an apricot tree. Leather is stretched inside the drum to serve
as a sound table; it also has thin wood that covers the bowl. The bowl has so
many holes that make the sound more deep and rich. The instrument is
embellished with gracious ornaments. The sound box could be a metal or of a
wood and has three or four metal strings and a neck that is produced from a
willow, apricot and mulberry wood. This instrument which is tuned at intervals
of fourths has a sound box that is carved out of a single piece of wood. The upper orifice is partly covered in the middle by the
handle while the lower one is covered by a skin membrane. The bow which is tied
to a curved stickmade is of horsehair.
Ghaychak is made to be played upright rather than in a
horizontal way and that is why it is a spiked fiddle. It can be played by
placing the head on your leg, the neck on your left hand and hold the bow with
your right hand. This musical instrument can produce a sweet sound and its
sound is of a great decoration.
In the early Uyghur Oral histories, Ghaychak appeared in a
bow and arrow shape. Its first public appearance was during the Song Dynasty
(960-1279CE) in china. There, it was described as having horsetail strings. The
musical instrument seemed to be developed with the well-known Persian Ghijek
but yet was more unique. Over the time the Ghaychak is standardized on the short
neck form with typically 2bowed strings and 10 sympathetic strings as noted by
the Qing Dynasty scholars. (1644-1911CE). It was later standardized to 4
strings and its tone aligned with the western scale by the Uyghur masters.
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