Description:
Kamenche
(in Turkish), Ç'ilili, (in Laz), Lira in Greek. The kamenche is a three
stringed fretless bowed chordophone. The name kamenche is Persian and
it comes from two words “Keman” meaning “long bow” and the word “che”
meaning “small”. A loose translation would be “small instrument played
with bow”. In Turkey the kamenche is found in the Black Sea and is also
played by the Pontic Greek communities. It is also played by the Laz
people in both Georgia and Turkey. The kamenche accompanied by a large
double-headed drum called a “davul”. The kamenche is a member of a
family of vertically bowed musical instruments that include the Cretan
Lira, the Sicilian Lira that is played in Sicily in Southern Italy, the
Bulgarian Galdulka, the Russian Gudok and the French poshette (pocket
fiddle). During performance two of the strings are often bowed
simultaneously. The third string is bowed as a drone. The fingers come
into contact with the fingerboard while the strings underneath are
played. The kamenche is played vertically by resting the instrument on
the knee. It is held by the left hand, and the left hand also
manipulates the fingering. The right hand facilitates the bow.| Kamenche | D-G-D |
| Pontic Lyra | A-D-G |
| Pontic Lyra | B-E-A |
| Pontic Lyra | C-F-A# |
| Pontic Lyra | C#-F#-B |
Anatomy of the Kamenche: The main components of the kamenche include a body, with a convex soundboard, neck, fingerboard and wooden friction tuning pegs. The approximate length of the black sea Kamenche is 58cm. A slot is carved into the neck which the fingerboard is glued into. The length of the Turkish Kamenche is from head stock to bottom. Two sound holes are created by first drilling two holes and then they are carved as thin slots. The bridge of the Turkish Kamenche is moveable. The wood of the Kamenche maybe mulberry and two slits serve as the sound holes. The body of the kamenche is hand carved from a single piece of wood from the bottom to the top of the neck. The top of the body which completes the sound chamber is a separate piece of wood.