.png)
.png)
Rebab (Arabic:ربابة,rabāba, variously spelledrebap,rubob,rebeb,rababa,rabeba,robab,rubab,rebob, etc) is the name of several relatedstring instruments that independently spread via Islamictrading routes over much ofNorth Africa,Middle East,Central Asia,Southeast Asia, and parts ofEurope.[1] The instrument is typicallybowed, but is sometimesplucked. It is one of the earliest known bowed instruments, named no later than the 8th century, and is the parent of many bowed and stringed instruments.
There are chiefly three main types:
A long-necked bowed variety that often has a spike at the bottom to rest on the ground (see first image to the right); thus this is called aspike fiddle in certain areas. Some of the instruments developing from this variant have vestigial spikes.
A short-necked double-chested or "boat-shaped" variant; plucked versions like theMaghreb rebab and thekabuli rebab (sometimes referred to as therobab orrubab) also exist.
Besides the spike fiddle variant, a variant with a pear-shaped body, quite similar to theByzantine lyra and theCretan lyra, also exists. This latter variant travelled to western Europe in the 11th century,[2] and became therebec. This rabāb is the ancestor of many European bowed instruments, including the rebec and thelyra,[3] though not of bowed instruments in the lyre family such as thecrwth,jouhikko,talharpa andgue.
This article will only concentrate on the spike-fiddle Rebab, which usually consists of a small, usually rounded body, the front of which is covered in a membrane such asparchment orsheepskin and has a long neck attached. It has a long thinneck with apegbox at the end, and has one, two or threestrings. It also lacks afingerboard. The instrument is held upright, either resting on the lap or on the floor. Thebow is usually more curved than that of theviolin.
The Rebab, though valued for its voice-like tone, has a very limited range (a little over anoctave), and was gradually replaced throughout much of the Arab world by the violin andkemenche. TheIraqi version of the instrument (jawza orjoza) has four strings.
The Rebab is used in a wide variety ofmusical ensembles andgenres, corresponding with its wide distribution, and is built and played somewhat differently in different areas. Following the principle of construction inIran,Ahvaz, the rebab is a large instrument with a range similar to theviola da gamba, whereas versions of the instrument further west tend to be smaller and higher-pitched. The body varies from being ornately carved, as in Java, to simpler models such as the 2-string Egyptian "fiddle of the Nile." They may have a body made of half acoconut shell, while the more sophisticated versions have a metal soundbox, and the front may be half-covered with beatencopper, and half with cowskin. an endpin is similar to the cello.
According to Richard Wallaschek, bowed rebab was developed under Muslim culture.[4] The Rebab was heavily used, and continues to be used, in ArabicBedouin music and is mentioned byJohann Ludwig Burckhardt in histravelogTravels in Arabia:[5]
"Of instruments they possess only therababa, (a kind of guitar,) theney, (a species of clarinet,) and thetambour, ortambourine."
It is called "joza" in Iraq, named after the sound box material made of a coconut shell. There is also a bowed instrument in Persian music namedKamanche which has similar shape and structure. It spread to different regions including South East Asia through Islamic trading routes.[6]
In theIndonesiangamelan the rebab is an essentialelaborating instrument, ornamenting thebasic melody. A two-string bowed lute consisting of a wooden body, traditionally though now rarely a single coconut shell, covered with very fine stretched skin.[7] Two brass strings are tuned a fifth apart and the horse hair bow is tied loosely (unlike modern Western stringed instruments) with the proper tension controlled by the players bow hand, contributing to the difficult technique.[7] There are typically two per ensemble, one forpelog and one forslendro, never played together.[7]
The rebab does not have to conform exactly to the scale of the other gamelan instruments and can be played in relatively free time, finishing its phrases after the beat of thegong ageng (the big gong that "rules" the ensemble, see:colotomy). The rebab also frequently plays thebuka when it is part of the ensemble.[8]
InMalaysia, especially the eastern Malaysian states ofKelantan and northernTerengganu (Besut), Rebab is one of important traditional music instruments. Its appearance is significantly different from rebabs from other regions. It has 3 strings, 3 tuning pegs (telinga), a decorative, detachable headstock (kepala), a skin made of cow's stomach and a small, nipple-like mute mechanism (puting). The Rebab is used in themakyong ensemble, tarik selampit and also in a healing ritual called "Main Peteri".
| Theory |   | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genres & ensembles |
| ||||||||||
| Musicians | |||||||||||
| Instruments |
| ||||||||||
