# Kobyz > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Kobyz > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Kobyz.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobyz > Source revision: 1339295219 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Turkic bowed string instrument}} {{For-multi|the music streaming service|Qobuz}} {{more citations needed|date=August 2017}} {{Infobox instrument |name=Kobyz |names= |image=Musical instruments on display at the MIM (14351816715).jpg |classification= *[Bowed string instrument](/source/Bowed_string_instrument) |range= |related= * [Byzantine lira](/source/Byzantine_lira) * [Byzaanchy](/source/Byzaanchy) * [Calabrian Lira](/source/Calabrian_Lira) * [Cretan lira](/source/Cretan_lira) * [Gadulka](/source/Gadulka) * [Gusle](/source/Gusle) * [Gudok](/source/Gudok) * [Igil](/source/Igil) * [Morin Khuur](/source/Morin_Khuur) * [Kamancheh](/source/Kamancheh) * [Kemenche](/source/Kemenche) * [Rebec](/source/Rebec) * [Rebab](/source/Rebab) }} {{Infobox intangible heritage | ICH = Art of crafting and playing Kobyz | Country = Uzbekistan | ID = 02329 | Region = APA | Year = 2025 | Session = 20th | List = Need of Urgent Safeguarding}} The '''kobyz''' or '''qobyz''',{{efn|{{langx|kk|қобыз|qobyz}}; {{langx|ba|ҡумыҙ|qumıź}}; {{langx|tt|кубыз|qubız}}}} also known as the '''kylkobyz''',{{efn|{{langx|kk|қылқобыз|qylqobyz}}; {{langx|ba|ҡыл ҡумыҙ|qıl qumıź}}; {{langx|tt|кылкубыз|qılqubız}}}} is an ancient [Turkic](/source/Turkic_peoples) [bowed string instrument](/source/bowed_string_instrument), spread among [Kazakhs](/source/Kazakh_music), [Karakalpaks](/source/Karakalpaks),{{cite book |last1=Levin |first1=Theodore |title=The Music of Central Asia |date=2016 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=9780253017642}}{{rp|114}} [Bashkirs](/source/Bashkir_music), and [Tatars](/source/Tatar_music). The [Kyrgyz](/source/Music_of_Kyrgyzstan) variant is called the {{ill|kyl-kyiak|ky|кыл-кыяк}}).{{r|"Levin2016"|p=63}} The kobyz has two strings made of [horsehair](/source/horsehair). The resonating cavity is usually covered with goat [leather](/source/leather). Traditionally kobyzes were sacred instruments, owned by [shaman](/source/shaman)s and [baksı](/source/Bakshy)s (traditional spiritual medics). According to legends, the kobyz and its music could banish evil spirits, sickness and death. == In Kazakh music == In the 1930s, when the first [folk instrument](/source/folk_instrument) orchestras were established in the [Soviet](/source/Soviet_Union) republic of [Kazakhstan](/source/Kazakhstan), a new kind of kobyz came into existence. It now had four metallic strings and thus became closer to a [violin](/source/violin). Such a modernized kobyz can be used to play both Kazakh music and the most complicated works of violin literature. One of the few western musicians to use the kobyz is [Trefor Goronwy](/source/Trefor_Goronwy). While many Kazakh ''kobyz'' players and scholars theorize that bards accompanied themselves on the ''kobyz'' during recitation of [epics](/source/epic_poetry),{{r|Levin2016|p=357}} today a mainstay of the Kazakh ''kobyz'' repertoire is [küi](/source/Kui_(instrumental_musical_composition)), which are short [programmatic](/source/program_music) pieces composed as [instrumental](/source/instrumental) narration or expression of emotion, often employing the purposeful imitation of sounds such as bird calls or horse hooves.{{r|Levin2016|p=362}} == In Karakalpak music == The ''kobyz'' is still played today by ''jyrau'' (one of the two types of [Karakalpak](/source/Karakalpak_people) bard), as accompaniment during recitation of [epics](/source/epic_poetry) and [dastan](/source/dastan).{{r|Levin2016|p=114}} The ''kobyz'' punctuates spoken narrative, plays the [melodic line](/source/Melody) in unison with the voice during the sung parts, supports sustained notes in the voice by repeatedly bowing the same [note](/source/Musical_note), and plays the melody when the ''jyrau'' is not singing.{{r|Levin2016|p=114–115}} The ''jyrau'' sings with a guttural, raspy timbre, in a style common to many nomadic groups of [Central Asia](/source/Central_Asia), [Mongolia](/source/Mongolia), and Southern [Siberia](/source/Siberia). Although this timbre was in the past associated with shamanic practice, living memory of this has died out, and modern ''jyrau'' instead interpret the timbre as a vocal imitation of the ''kobyz'' itself.{{r|Levin2016|p=114}} == In Tatar music == thumb|Tatar qylqubız The art of kobyz flourished before the fall of the [Kazan khanate](/source/Khanate_of_Kazan) in [1552](/source/1552) among [Tatars](/source/Tatars) and some other ethnic groups of [Volga region](/source/Volga_region). However, this art was preserved until the end of the 18th century among the Tatar [dervishes](/source/Dervish).{{Cite book|last=Макаров|first=Геннадий|url=https://tatkniga.ru/reader/default.php?baseurl=/reader/DataProvider/AjaxExample/3429/ru/|title=Дәрвишләр сөхбәтендә|publisher=Татарстан китап нәшрияты|year=2011|isbn=978-5-298-02168-5|location=Kazan|pages=159|archive-date=2020-07-06|access-date=2020-07-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200706145900/https://tatkniga.ru/reader/default.php?baseurl=/reader/DataProvider/AjaxExample/3429/ru/|url-status=dead}} Today the instrument is used in various Tatar ethnic ensembles like Bermenchek etc. and it is studied in depth by a candidate of art history at the [Kazan Conservatory](/source/Kazan_Conservatory) {{Not translated|Gennady Makarov (1952)|lt=Gennady Makarov|tt|Геннадий Макаров (1952)|WD=}}.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2016-04-27|title=Воскресная школа ждет наших детей|url=http://tuganaylar.ru/news/etnografichsekaya-mozaika/voskresnaya-shkola-zhdet-nashih-detey|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=Туганайлар (journal)}} == In Kyrgyz music == [[Image:One Kyrgyz Som-(detail).jpg|thumb|left|200px|One [Kyrgyz som](/source/Kyrgyzstani_som) note (reverse side) depicting a ''kyl kyyak'' (right)]] The '''kyl kyyak''' ([Kyrgyz](/source/Kyrgyz_language): кыл кыяк {{IPA|ky|qɯl qɯˈjɑq|}}) (sometimes spelt kyl kiak and sometimes without the 'kyl') is a stringed musical instrument used in [Kyrgyz](/source/Kyrgyz_people) music. The instrument is carved from a single piece of wood (typically [apricot](/source/apricot)) and typically measures 60–70 cm. It has 2 strings, one to provide melody and the other resonance. The kyl kyyak is played vertically with a [bow](/source/bow_(music)) and can be played on [horse](/source/horse)back. The strings and bow are normally made from horse hair and many instruments feature a carved horse's head. This all reflects the importance of the horse in Kyrgyz [rural](/source/rural) culture. {{clear}} ==See also== [[File:Pastimes of Central Asians. A Musician Playing a Kauz, a Small Two-Stringed Instrument with a Bow WDL10823.png|thumb|Kobyz player, [Turkestan](/source/Turkestan), circa 1865-1872.]] *[Music of Central Asia](/source/Music_of_Central_Asia) *[Bağlama](/source/Ba%C4%9Flama) *[Banhu](/source/Banhu) *[Byzantine Lyra](/source/Byzantine_Lyra), the bowed lyre of the [Byzantine Empire](/source/Byzantine_Empire) *[Chuurqin](/source/Chuurqin) *[Cobza](/source/Cobza) *[Dutar](/source/Dutar) *[Dombra](/source/Dombra) *[Erhu](/source/Erhu) *[Gadulka](/source/Gadulka) *[Gudok](/source/Gudok) *[Gusle](/source/Gusle) *[Kamancheh](/source/Kamancheh) *[Kemenche](/source/Kemenche) *[Komuz](/source/Komuz) *[Lute](/source/Lute) *[Rebab](/source/Rebab) *[Tovshuur](/source/Tovshuur) *[The lyra of Crete](/source/Cretan_lyra) ==Notes== {{notelist}} ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070929150401/http://www.orchestra.kz/index.php?eng=eng Kurmangazy Academic orchestra of national instruments] *[http://www.myspace.com/treforgoronwy Trefor Goronwy] {{Authority control}} Category:Necked bowl lutes Category:Drumhead lutes Category:Bowed instruments Category:Kazakhstani musical instruments Category:Culture of Kazakhstan Category:Continuous pitch instruments Category:Sacred musical instruments Category:Kazakhstani folk music instruments --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Kobyz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobyz) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobyz?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.