Qanun (instrument)
The kanun (Arabic قانون, DMG Qanun, plural qawānīn ) is a zither, which is native to the Orient. The name of the " oriental zither " is derived from the Greek χανόυν.
The Kanun has been known since the 10th century. First images of a Kanun found in Hassan Bar Bahluls († 963 ), known lexicon. In the 13th century it was said to be the main instrument of the Moors in Andalusia, who brought the instrument as a forerunner of the European zither to Europe. A larger rectangular zither with strings 108, which was introduced in the 13th century, was Nuzha.
The trapezoidal instrument is covered in wood and with 63-84 strings. In contrast to Alpine zither this instrument with gut or nylon strings, and recently also of fluorocarbon, covered, which may vary by geographic region. The web is not on a wooden ceiling, but on parchment (as eardrum ), similar to the banjo. This produces a characteristic sound. The instrument is played lying with the long side against the body; earlier sitting on the floor and held his knees. Today, the musician is sitting on a chair, and the Kanun is on his lap or in front of him on the table. The Kanun is plucked with picks, which are inserted as thimbles on the index finger.
Among the leading players Kanun Turkey include Ruhi Ayangil (* 1953), Tahir Aydoğdu (* 1959) and Göksel Baktagir (* 1966).
Until the invention of the mandal in the early 20th century, the instrument was not suitable to modulate. With these small, laterally attached to the strings trains the Intontation levers can be adjusted during the match of the desired fine tuning. The modern Arabic Qanun usually has 24 -, the Turkish kanun over a 72 -tone mood within the seven strings per octave trains. Some Arab models have an additional lever for a point higher pitched second of maqams Hijaz. The equal temperament, to which all these models relate, however, has little in common with the theoretical tradition of the Middle East and their corresponding interval stock often only hinted. The use of the temperature in Turkey and the Arab world is most likely due to Europeanizing tendencies. Therefore, it seems conceivable that the mood of the kanun will continue to evolve. The internationally renowned virtuoso Julien Jalâl Ed- Dine Weiss ( born 1953 in Paris), a prominent critic of the temperature kanuns has designed since the 1990s, nine prototypes according to its own mood system in which for the first time all intervals Pythagorean on pure and harmonic division ratios are based. Your strings are tuned trains for an exact Pythagorean - heptatonic scale, which differ in their scale degrees from Pythagorean Limmas ( 256/243 ) and pure whole tones ( 9/8 ) is derived and nowhere the abstract tempered semitone ( 100 cents ) includes. On each train fifteen different mandal positions (0-14 ) by twice the Pythagorean apotome 2187/2048 ( 113.69 cents ) will be included. The two most recent prototypes also extend the range to include an additional octave down, a total of 33 trains strings or four octaves and a fifth. By combining theoretical and acoustic motives with his practical experience was made possible by White to play together with musicians in different local traditions.
A refundable developed by the kanun zither with half the number of strings is played in Iran and northwest India and the santur Surmandal, a Borduninstrument used in North India only to sing along.