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Thekobyz orqobyz,[a] also known as thekylkobyz,[b] is an ancientTurkicbowed string instrument, spread amongKazakhs,Karakalpaks,[1]: 114 Bashkirs, andTatars. TheKyrgyz variant is called thekyl-kyiak [ky]).[1]: 63
The kobyz has two strings made of horsehair. The resonating cavity is usually covered with goatleather.
Traditionally kobyzes were sacred instruments, owned byshamans andbaksıs (traditional spiritual medics). According to legends, the kobyz and its music could banish evil spirits, sickness and death.
In the 1930s, when the first folk instrument orchestras were established in the Soviet republic of Kazakhstan, a new kind of kobyz came into existence. It now had four metallic strings and thus became closer to aviolin. 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 isTrefor Goronwy.
While many Kazakhkobyz players and scholars theorize that bards accompanied themselves on thekobyz during recitation ofepics,[1]: 357 today a mainstay of the Kazakhkobyz repertoire isküi, which are shortprogrammatic pieces composed as instrumental narration or expression of emotion, often employing the purposeful imitation of sounds such as bird calls or horse hooves.[1]: 362
Thekobyz is still played today byjyrau (one of the two types ofKarakalpak bard), as accompaniment during recitation ofepics anddastan.[1]: 114 Thekobyz punctuates spoken narrative, plays the melodic line in unison with the voice during the sung parts, supports sustained notes in the voice by repeatedly bowing the same note, and plays the melody when thejyrau is not singing.[1]: 114–115
Thejyrau sings with a guttural, raspy timbre, in a style common to many nomadic groups ofCentral Asia,Mongolia, and SouthernSiberia. Although this timbre was in the past associated with shamanic practice, living memory of this has died out, and modernjyrau instead interpret the timbre as a vocal imitation of thekobyz itself.[1]: 114
The art of kobyz flourished before the fall of theKazan khanate in1552 amongTatars and some other ethnic groups ofVolga region. However, this art was preserved until the end of the 18th century among the Tatar dervishes.[2] 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 theKazan ConservatoryGennady Makarov [tt].[3]
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Thekyl kyyak (Kyrgyz: кыл кыяк[qɯlqɯˈjɑq]) (sometimes spelt kyl kiak and sometimes without the 'kyl') is a stringed musical instrument used inKyrgyz music. The instrument is carved from a single piece of wood (typicallyapricot) 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 abow and can be played onhorseback. 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 Kyrgyzrural culture.
