The kamancheh is a bowed string instrument from Iran that is used in the music of Persia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kurdistan, Georgia, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. There are small differences in the instrument's design in each of these regions.

The kamancheh is connected to the rebab, which is an older version of the kamancheh and also related to the bowed Byzantine lyra. The instrument is played using a bow that can change tension.

In 2017, the tradition of making and playing the kamancheh was added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists of Iran and Azerbaijan.

Name and etymology

The word "kamancheh" means "little bow" in Persian. In Persian, "kæman" means "bow," and "-cheh" means "small" or "little." The Turkish word "kemençe" comes from the Persian word "kamancheh." However, the pronunciation of "kemençe" has been changed to fit Turkish speaking patterns.

The word "kamancheh" also refers to a bowed string instrument. The Turkish version, called "kemençe," is very different in how it is built and sounds compared to the Persian "kamancheh."

There is another instrument in Turkish music called "kabak kemane," which means "pumpkin-shaped bow instrument." This instrument is only slightly different from the Iranian "kamancheh."

Structure

The kamancheh has a long neck with a fingerboard. The maker shapes the neck like a cone that is cut off at the top to allow the bow to move easily downward. The neck has a pegbox on both sides, where four pegs are placed, and a small decorative piece at the end called a finial.

Traditionally, kamanchehs had three silk strings, but modern versions have four metal strings. Some kamanchehs have intricate inlays and carefully carved ivory tuning pegs.

The body has a long upper neck and a lower bowl-shaped part that makes sound. This part is made from a gourd or wood and covered with a membrane made from lamb, goat, or sometimes fish skin. The bridge is placed on this membrane.

A spike sticks out from the bottom of the instrument to support it while being played. Because of this spike, the instrument is sometimes called a spiked fiddle.

The kamancheh is played while sitting, held like a cello, even though it is about the same length as a viola. The end-pin can rest on the player’s knee or thigh when they are seated in a chair.

The kamancheh is usually tuned like an ordinary violin (G, D, A, E).

• A Kamancha in an Armenian miniature from the 16th or 17th century.
• A Qajar Iran miniature showing a woman playing the kamancheh.
• A detail from a wall painting of a woman playing the kamancheh. The painting shows Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar surrounded by musicians and dancers. It was created by Abuʾl-Qasim in 1816.
• A woman playing the kamancheh, around 1820.
• The Armenian ashugh Sayat-Nova playing a kamancheh, around 1964.
• An Azerbaijani kamancheh player named Malik Mansurov.
• A performance by Kayhan Kalhor in Vahdat Hall, Tehran, in 2016.
• A kamancheh player in Kermanshah, Iran, in 2008.
• A kamancha player in Yerevan.

Notable kamancheh players

• Habil Aliyev
• Mehdi Bagheri
• Ali-Asghar Bahari
• Mark Eliyahu
• Kayhan Kalhor
• Ardeshir Kamkar
• Kourosh Babaei
• Sayat-Nova
• Mostafa Taleb
• Yaara Beeri
• Mehrnam Rastegari