The Kemenche, also called kemençe in Turkish, κεμεντζές in Greek, kamancha in Persian, and Քամանչա in Armenian, is a name for several types of stringed bowed musical instruments. These instruments come from the Eastern Mediterranean region, including Greece, Armenia, Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and nearby areas around the Black Sea. They are traditional folk instruments, usually with three strings. Musicians play them by holding them upright, resting the instrument's tail on their knee. The name Kemenche comes from the Persian word Kamancheh, which means "small bow."

Variations

The Kemençe of the Black Sea (Turkish: Karadeniz kemençesi), also called the Pontic kemenche or Pontic lyra (Greek: Ποντιακή λύρα), is a box-shaped lute (classified as 321.322 in the Hornbostel-Sachs system). The classical kemençe (Turkish: Klasik kemençe or Armudî kemençe, Greek: Πολίτικη Λύρα) is a bowl-shaped lute (classified as 321.321).

Other bowed instruments with names from the same Persian origin include the kamancheh (or Kabak kemane in Turkish), a spike lute (classified as 321.31), and the Cappadocian kemane, an instrument closely related to the Black Sea kemençe but with additional sympathetic strings. Circassians have a similar instrument named the Shikepshine, which means "horse tail violin."