Masenqo

Single-stringed bowed lute commonly found in the musical traditions of Ethiopia and Eritrea

Mesenqo

A traditional Ethiopian masinko or chira-wata

String instrument
Classification|  chordophone
Hornbostel–Sachs classification| 321.311
(spike bowed lute)
Related instruments

* gusle (Balkans)
* igil (Tuvan)
* krar (Horn of Africa)

The masenqo (Amharic: ማሲንቆ; Tigrinya: ጭራ-ዋጣ (ዋጣ), also known as masinko, is a single-stringed bowed lute commonly found in the musical traditions of Ethiopia.[1] As with the krar, this instrument is used by Ethiopian minstrels called azmaris ("singer" in Amharic) .[2] Although it functions in a purely accompaniment capacity in songs, the masenqo requires considerable virtuosity,[1] as azmaris accompany themselves while singing.

## Construction and design[edit]

The square or diamond-shaped resonator is made of four small wooden boards glued together, then covered with a stretched parchment or rawhide. The single string is typically made of horse hair, and passes over a bridge. The instrument is tuned by means of a large tuning peg to fit the range of the singer's voice.[3] It may be bowed by either the right or left hand, and the non-bow hand sits lightly on top of the upper part of the string.

## See also[edit]

* Music of Ethiopia
* Music of Eritrea
* Rebab

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b Shelemay, Kay Kaufman (2001). "Ethiopia". In Sadie, Stanley; Tyrrell, John (eds.). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Vol. viii (2nd ed.). London: Macmillan. pp. 355–356.
2. ^ Kebede, Ashenafi (January 1975). "The "Azmari", Poet-Musician of Ethiopia". The Musical Quarterly. 61 (1): 47–57. doi:10.1093/mq/lxi.1.47.
3. ^ Teferra, Timkehet (2009). "The One-Stringed Fiddle Masinqo: Its Function and Role in Contemporary Ethiopian Music and its Future". Horizon Ethiopia. Retrieved 12 Sep 2011.

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Musical strings, wires, and instruments

List ( Hornbostel–Sachs numbers)

* Bow
* Bridge
* Third bridge
* Chordophone
* Course
* Drone
* Enharmonic
* Fingerboard
* Fret
* Fundamental/Harmonics/Overtones/String harmonic
* Longitudinal wave
* Long-string instrument
* Melde's experiment
* Mersenne's laws
* Monochord
* Music On A Long Thin Wire
* Node
* Nut
* Re-entry
* Scale length
* Soundboard
* Standing wave
* String vibration
* Transverse wave
* Tuning peg

Monochords and
musical bows|

* Ahardin
* Berimbau
* Bladder fiddle
* Boom-ba
* Đàn bầu
* Diddley bow
* Duxianqin
* Ektara
* Ground bow
* Ichigenkin
* Japanese fiddle
* Jaw harp
* Genggong
* Gogona
* Khomuz
* Kubing
* Morsing
* Mukkuri
* Langeleik
* Lesiba
* Masenqo
* Onavillu
* Psalmodicon
* Tromba marina
* Tumbi
* Umuduri
* Unitar
* Washtub bass

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