Kyrgyz Instruments
Kevin McGladdery
Choor
The choor is a vertical, end-blown flute. It is made of wood or reed, and can have three to five finger holes. The instrument can vary in size, possibly depending on available materials or personal preference. The choor is traditionally associated with shepherds, as is the smaller wind instrument, the chopo choor.
Choor
The choor is a vertical, end-blown flute. It is made of wood or reed, and can have three to five finger holes. The instrument can vary in size, possibly depending on available materials or personal preference. The choor is traditionally associated with shepherds, as is the smaller wind instrument, the chopo choor.
Chopo Choor
The chopo choor is a small clay ocarina with three to six holes, and is known as a children’s instrument. Like the larger choor, the chopo choor has traditional connections to shepherds, and may have been used as a nighttime signaling device by horse herders.
Sybyzgy
The sybyzgy is a flute made out of apricot wood or the wood of mountain bushes. Like the other wind instruments, the sybyzgy is traditionally connected to shepherds.
Jygach ooz komuz and temir komuz
The jygach ooz komuz and the temir komuz are variations of the same instrument, known in English as the Jew’s harp. They are popular instruments for Kyrgyz children to play. Temir komuz literally means “iron instrument,” and is always made of iron. The jygach ooz komuz is different from the temir komuz in that it is usually made out of wood. The jygach ooz komuz is thought to be amongst the oldest Kyrgyz instruments. Both of these instruments have a mystical or a spiritual connection, as they tend to do in many different cultures.
Kyl Kiyak
The kyl kiyak is a bowed string instrument. It is made out of one piece of wood, usually apricot. The lower portion of the hollowed out bowl is covered in either cow or camel hide. The strings are horsehair, as is the bow. There are two common tunings, producing a difference of either a fifth or a fourth between the two strings. The instrument’s repertory is very programmatic, and the instrument itself has connections to shamanism, oral poetry, and horses.
Komuz
The komuz is a long necked lute, related to the Kazakh dombra and the Persian dutar. It is fretless, in contrast to the fretted dombra, and has three gut strings in contrast to the two strings of the dutar. The dimensions of the instrument seem to be slightly more standardized than some other Kyrgyz instruments, with an overall length of roughly 86 centimeters and a width of 15 centimeters are the largest point.
The komuz has a colorful origin story. According to komuz player and maker Nurak Abdrakhmanov,
The komuz is a long necked lute, related to the Kazakh dombra and the Persian dutar. It is fretless, in contrast to the fretted dombra, and has three gut strings in contrast to the two strings of the dutar. The dimensions of the instrument seem to be slightly more standardized than some other Kyrgyz instruments, with an overall length of roughly 86 centimeters and a width of 15 centimeters are the largest point.
The komuz has a colorful origin story. According to komuz player and maker Nurak Abdrakhmanov,
A person named Kambarkan created the komuz. He was a hunter. Once when he went to the forest, a monkey fell from the top of a tree. The monkey’s belly burst open, and his intestine got stretched out between a high tree branch and the ground. Kambarkan realized that the sound was coming from the monkey’s intestine. And he got the idea of using that intestine to make an instrument. He took a piece of wood, curved it, and fixed the intestine tightly over it. That’s how he invented the komuz. 1
Stylized hand and arm gestures are commonly used by komuz players to both demonstrate complete mastery of the instrument, as well as adding an additional narrative component to the music itself.
[i] Music of Central Asia Vol. 1: Tengir – Too: Mountain Music from Kyrgyzstan. Directed by Saodat Ismailova & Carlos Casas. Kyrgyzstan: Smithsonian Folkways, 2006. DVD