A distinctive sounding four-stringed vertical spike fiddle used in the traditional music of Tuva, similar to the Chinese sihu, but with a wooden soundbox, sometimes cylindrical or cubical, often with a with a carved head. Its strings are boxed in pairs, and are a fifth in tone apart. In this demonstration by Aldar Tamdyn, he shows how the bow is angled for each pair of strings, but also, unusually, he changes the tone of the strings by fingering underneath, not above them:
And for a range of traditional playing and songs, some of which, including the second on this playlist performed by Choduraa Tumat, include a little element of Tuvan throat-singing technique, such as the second number, Chashpy Khem:
And finally, another example of the instrument combined with throat singing.
The instrument is also related to the Tuvan two-stringed igil, with more of that here.
So then, any more songs and instruments featuring the byzaanchy and its culture? Feel free to suggest examples from any genre, or even in film, art, or other contexts in comments below.
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