The ahenk is a fretless stringed
instrument from
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
, invented by Süleyman Suat Sezgin in 1929.
[habermonitor.com, CULTURE&ART ''Turkish music 'ahenk'i waiting for the sound'']
/ref> It was designed to be played like the oud
The oud ( ; , ) is a Middle Eastern short-neck lute-type, pear-shaped, fretless stringed instrument (a chordophone in the Hornbostel–Sachs classification of instruments), usually with 11 strings grouped in six courses, but some models have ...
. The instrument is similar to a banjo
The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin.
...
; like the banjo it uses has a reflector bowl as a resonator. On the ahenk, the bowl is made of wood. The front resembles a banjo, with a bridge between the strings and a skin head, similar to that used on a kanun.[Atlas of Musical Instruments, Middle East, ''cümbüs''.]
/ref> The skin head does not cover the whole front of the instrument, instead the instrument has a wooden front with a hole for the skin, and two or more sound holes.[Veysel Musical House Musical Instruments Manufacturer, ''Hand made instruments, Ahenk'']
It is similar to the Cumbus by having an adjustable neck, adjusted by turning a wing-nut.[
Unlike the Cumbus, another Turkish ]banjo
The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin.
...
invented in the early 20th century, the instrument has nearly disappeared. There is a renewed interest in the instrument, which is being built in Istanbul
Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
and in Eskişehir
Eskişehir ( , ; from 'old' and 'city') is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of the Eskişehir Province. The urban population of the city is 821 315 (Odunpazari + Tebebasi), with a metropolitan population of 921 630.
The city is l ...
(where it was invented).[
]
References
External links
Photo of an ahenk
Pictures of the Ahenk
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20140725014612/http://www.turkgundem.com/haber/cumhuriyetin-tescilli-ilk-enstrumani-unutulmaya-yuz-tuttu/ Site in Turkish about the creation of the instrumentbr>Website about the Ahenk with pictures.
{{Turkish musical instruments
String instruments
Turkish musical instruments
Turkish inventions
Turkish words and phrases