Çifteli
The çifteli (çiftelia, qifteli, Albanian: "doubled" or "double stringed") is a plucked string instrument, with only two strings, played mainly by the Gheg people of northern and central Albania and Kosovo.[1]
The çifteli is frequently used by Albanians in weddings, at concerts, and by many musicians such as Nikollë Nikprelaj. It is also used to accompany Albanian epics and ballads.[2]
Construction
Çifteli vary in size, but are most often tuned to B3 and E3 (the same as the top two strings of a guitar). Usually the lower string is played as a drone, with the melody played on the higher string.[3] The çifteli is a fretted instrument, but unlike most it is not fretted in a chromatic scale (one fret per semitone), but in the diatonic scale with seven notes to the octave.[citation needed]
Etymology
The term çifteli comes from the Albanian language: çift ("double") and tel ("string").[1][4]
History
[5] [6] The instrument in its modern form is no longer played in Central Asia or Anatolia, but historically Turkic peoples played an instrument known as the ıklığ,[7] also meaning "two string" (iki meaning "two" and lik "-ness").
See also
- Dutar, a Central Asian instrument, whose name means "two strings" in Persian
- Baglama
- Šargija, a baglama-like Balkan instrument
- Saz (musical instrument)
- Tanbur
References
- ^ a b Koço, Eno (2004). Albanian Urban Lyric Song in the 1930s. Europea: Ethnomusicologies and Modernities. Vol. 2. Scarecrow Press. p. 265. ISBN 9780810848900.
- ^ Sherer, Stan; Senechal, Marjorie (1997). Long Life to Your Children!: A Portrait of High Albania. University of Massachusetts Press. p. 19.
- ^ Broughton, Simon; Ellingham, Mark; Trillo, Richard (1999). World Music: Africa, Europe and the Middle East. Rough Guides. p. 2. ISBN 9781858286358.
- ^ Elsie, Robert (2010). Historical Dictionary of Albania (2nd ed.). Scarecrow Press. p. 83. ISBN 9780810873803.
- ^ Dunford, Martin; Holland, Jack (1990). The Real guide: Yugoslavia. Prentice Hall. p. 421. ISBN 9780137838387.
- ^ Gall, Timothy L. (2009). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life: Europe. Gale. p. 268. ISBN 9781414464305.
- ^ Gazimihal, Mahmut R. (1975). Ülkelerde kopuz ve tezeneli sazlarımız. Millı̂ Folklor Araştırma Dairesi yayınları. Vol. 15. Ankara Üniversitesi Basımevi. p. 66.
 | This article relating to string instruments is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |