How the kozobas makes its sound
In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the kozobas belongs to the lutes: strings run parallel to a soundboard and along a neck – the family of the guitar, violin, sitar and oud.
More broadly it is one of the chordophones (string instruments), where sound comes from vibrating strings, amplified by a resonating body.
Press play above and watch the spectrum: the evenly spaced peaks are harmonics, and their relative strength is what gives the instrument its character.
From Wikipedia
The kozobas (Ukrainian: Козобас) is a bowed and percussive instrument that is popular in folk ensembles in Western Ukraine. It is a recently developed instrument and is basically a wooden pole joined to a drum at one end with a cymbal hanging from the other end. The drum membrane acts as the soundboard for one or two strings strung from the end of the pole to the end of the drum. The strings are played with a bow that occasionally hits the cymbal hanging from the other end of the pole. Recent developments include instruments with four strings tuned like those of a double bass.
The instrument's Hornbostel-Sachs classification number is 321.322-71+111.2.
Other lutes
Frequently asked questions
What does a kozobas sound like?
As one of the lutes, its sound comes from the way strings run parallel to a soundboard and along a neck.
What type of instrument is the kozobas?
It is classified as lutes (Hornbostel–Sachs 321.322-71+111.2).
Sources & credits
- Wikidata Q6435369 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Kozobas – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Image by Аимаина хикари – CC0 1.0