Bowed instruments
Rebab
Rebab: An ancient bowed instrument made by stretching skin over a coconut-shell or wooden body. One of the oldest bowed instruments of the Islamic world; in the Ottoman period it was used especially in Mevlevi music. It is regarded as the ancestor of the European rebec and medieval bowed instruments.
In brief
- Family: Bowed string instrument; upright spike fiddles
- Origin: One of the oldest bowed instruments of the Islamic world; considered related to the Central Asian ıklığ
- Earliest evidence: 10th-century Arabic music sources (al-Farabi)
- Body and materials: Coconut shell or carved wood; opening covered with thin skin, iron spike below
- Strings: 2 or 3; formerly horsehair or silk, today also metal
- Music: In the Ottoman tradition especially Mevlevi ayins and taksims
- Related instruments: Kemençe, the European rebec, Egyptian, Maghrebi and Indonesian rebabs
- 16th–17th centuries: In the Seyahatname, Evliya Çelebi describes the rebab as a very old instrument with three silk strings; it was often confused with the ıklığ and the kemençe[1, 2, 3]
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History
One of the oldest bowed instruments of the Islamic world; in the Ottoman period it was used especially in Mevlevi music. It is regarded as the ancestor of the European rebec and medieval bowed instruments.
Construction
The opening of a round body made from a coconut shell or carved wood is covered with skin; it has a long neck and an iron spike at the bottom. Two or three strings are fitted.
How it is played
It is held upright, its spike resting on the knee or the floor, and played with a bow.
Its place in makam music
It is fretless; in Mevlevi âyins it plays makam melodies and taksims together with the ney.
Getting started: types, sizes, tuning
Start with this instrument
Masters on recordings
Performers who play this instrument on recordings of works in the score archive (MusicBrainz).
Frequently asked questions about the Rebab
What is the rebab, and how does it differ from the kemane?
The rebab is an old instrument whose body is made from a coconut shell or carved wood and covered with skin; it has a long neck and a spike, is held upright and played with a bow. In construction it is very similar to the kabak kemane; the main difference lies in where it was used: the kabak kemane in folk music, the rebab in the Ottoman world especially in Mevlevi âyins and tekke music.
Why is the rebab important in Mevlevi music?
In the Mevlevi tradition, the ney, rebab, kudüm and halile are considered the basic instruments of âyin music. The rebab's soft timbre, close to the human voice, carries the melody together with the ney, while the kudüm and halile keep the usul. Mevlânâ's poems also often refer to the rebab, which shows the instrument's place in Mevlevi culture.
Is the rebab still played today?
Its use declined sharply in Turkey in the 20th century. In recent years, ensembles reviving Mevlevi âyins and early Ottoman music have had the instrument rebuilt according to old sources and started playing it again. In the Arab world and Central Asia, different forms of the rebab family live on in folk music.
Is there a link between the rebab and the bowed instruments of Europe?
The rebab, which passed from the Islamic world to Europe via Andalusia and Sicily in the Middle Ages, contributed to the birth of the European bowed instrument called the “rebec”. For this reason the rebab is considered one of the distant ancestors of European bowed instruments. Over time the shape of the body and neck changed in Europe, and bowed instruments took on new forms held on the shoulder or the knee.