Kemane (

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may specifically refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North M ...

: ќемане, ; sr, ћемане) is a

bowed string instrument Bowed string instruments are a subcategory of string instruments that are played by a bow rubbing the strings. The bow rubbing the string causes vibration which the instrument emits as sound. Despite the numerous specialist studies devoted to t ...

traditionally used in the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

and

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The r ...

. It is the Macedonian and southern Serbian version of the kemenche, it is very similar to the

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

viola ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

and related to the Bulgarian gadulka. The kemane also resembles the Greek instrument

lyre The lyre () is a stringed musical instrument that is classified by Hornbostel–Sachs as a member of the lute-family of instruments. In organology, a lyre is considered a yoke lute, since it is a lute in which the strings are attached to a ...

. The instrument is usually used to accompany folk music and singing, particularly

epic poetry An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...

, and is rarely used as a

solo instrument In music, a solo (from the Spanish and Italian based-word: ''Solo'', meaning ''alone'' or ''by yourself'') is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung featuring a single performer, who may be performing completely alone or supported by ...

. The kemane can be made in various forms. The length varies between , their shape can be either straight or bent in a curved shape. Older kemane's were made by hacking holes in the instrument in which were inserted horse tail hairs, however the modern kemane's strings are attached to a wooden

headstock A headstock or peghead is part of a guitar or similar stringed instruments such as a lute, mandolin, banjo, ukulele and others of the lute lineage. The main function of a headstock is to house the pegs or mechanism that holds the strings at the ...

, similar to that of a violin. It is prepared out of one piece of wood (

walnut A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a tru ...

maple ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since ht ...

, or other) with three structural parts: the body (''krtuna''), neck (''shija''), and the headstock (''glava''). The strings are set at different heights, so that it can be played on two strings simultaneously. The sound is produced by the movement of the bow from the one to the other blade, which grinding produces a sound of undetermined height. Although it is considered one of the oldest string instruments in the region of Macedonia, the kemane appeared in Macedonian music in the late 19th and early 20th century when it entered the Macedonian čalgija compositions. The name of the kemane probably comes from ''kemençe'', the Turkish word for fiddle. The kemane has three strings, although there are some made with four which are very rare. It is mostly spread in Eastern Macedonia and the region of

Osogovo Osogovo ( Bulgarian/Macedonian: ), or Osogovska Planina or Osogovski Planini (Осоговска Планина or Осоговски Планини), is a mountain range and ski resort between the south-western part of Bulgaria ( Kyustendil Prov ...

where in some parts the instrument is referred to as ''kjemene'', and in the northern parts of Macedonian it is called '' gusla'', it is also played in south eastern

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hung ...

where it is called ћемане or гусла interchangeably by locals.

References

{{Macedonian musical instruments, state=collapsed Bowed instruments Macedonian musical instruments Necked bowl lutes