Cobza

Koboz is a plucked string instrument from the family of short-necked lute that is played in Hungary. Form and name related lute instruments in Romania hot Cobza, in Ukraine and in Russia Kobsa. However, the latter differs from the koboz in the position of vortex board.

Characteristics of koboz are the pear-shaped sound box with four or more strings, a short neck, connected to the bent peg box. Therefore, they may be referred to as a lute. The koboz is played with a plectrum. Occasionally Russian domras Anglophone usage are misnamed koboz.

The name comes from the Central Asian lute kopuz derived therefrom are also Koby and the Yemeni Qanbus. The wooden strips glued together around bulbous form first appeared in the 8th century to early in the Arabic lute Barbat. In Hungary, the word " koboz " is attested since 1237, but you do not know exactly how the instrument has appeared at that time. In the 17th century it was widely used in Hungary. In the 19th and 20th centuries it was also in Transylvania, in the area around Brasov, and played the Hungarian enclaves of the Moldova region. Today there are only a few koboz musicians.

It's hard to play on the koboz a melody, so it's mainly an instrument for monitoring vocals. In an ensemble is usually doing a flute or violin. The music was played at dance events, festivals and weddings.