ቁሳቁስ ክራር
አማርኛ

Ethiopian instruments

ክራርKrar

How is a krar made? From the bowl to the tuning.

A step-by-step look at how the six-stringed krar is made by hand from wood, hide and string, and how it is tuned to its modes.

See the stepsWhat is a krar?

What is a krar?ክራር ምንድን ነው?

The krar is a traditional Ethiopian lyre with five or six strings.

The krar is a shallow wooden bowl with hide stretched over its face. Two arms rise from the bowl to hold a crossbar, the yoke, and the strings run from the skin, over a bridge, up to the yoke. The player plucks the strings with the fingers or strums them with a plectrum.

It is the best-known folk instrument in Ethiopia, played at home, at weddings and on stage. It is tuned to the four main modes of Ethiopian music, and today it is also heard in modern music as the electric krar.

The parts of a krar

ክፍሎች

The bowl gives the sound; the arms and the yoke hold the strings tight.

A krar standing on the rim of its bowl on a round woven mat. The bowl is turned from wood, 26 cm across, and covered with hide sewn round its edge, with a small arc of sound holes near the top. Two arms rise from its shoulder, leaning outward, to a crossbar, the yoke. Six strings run from a tail bar on the skin, over a bridge, and fan out to six cloth wraps on the yoke. The strings, the bridge, the skin and the arms with the yoke come away. Point at the figure, or at a part in the list, to see that part. The arrow keys step through the parts, Space takes it apart or puts it together, and Escape puts it back.

  1. The sound box, carved from one piece of wood.

  2. Hide stretched over the bowl. It turns the strings' vibration into sound.

  3. The two arms hold up the yoke, where each string is tuned on its wrap.

  4. Holds the strings off the skin and passes their vibration into it.

  5. Six strings, once made of gut, today usually nylon.

How a krar is made, step by step

አሠራር

From a wooden bowl to six tuned strings, every step is done by hand.

  1. ፩Step 1

    Carve the bowl

    ገበቴውን መፈልፈል

    The bowl is carved out of a single block of wood into a shallow round dish, and smoothed inside.

  2. ፪Step 2

    Dry the wood

    ማድረቅ

    The wood dries slowly in the shade so it will not split.

  3. ፫Step 3

    Stretch the hide

    ቆዳውን መወጠር

    Soaked hide is stretched over the face of the bowl and sewn round its rim, and sound holes are cut in it.

  4. ፬Step 4

    Arms and yoke

    ክንዶችና መስቀለኛ

    Two arms and a crossbar are carved and set into the shoulder of the bowl.

  5. ፭Step 5

    Bridge and tail bar

    ድልድይና ማሰሪያ

    A small bridge stands in the middle of the skin, and a tail bar below it holds the ends of the strings.

  6. ፮Step 6

    String it

    ክሮቹን ማሰር

    Six strings are tied to the tail bar, run over the bridge and wound onto cloth or leather wraps on the yoke.

  7. ፯Step 7

    Tune it

    መቃኘት

    The wraps are turned on the yoke to tune the strings to one of the modes.

The krar and its modes

ክራርና ቅኝት

  • The four modes

    አራቱ ቅኝቶች

    Tizita, bati, ambassel and anchihoye. The krar is retuned to one of them for each song.

  • Plucked and strummed

    መቆንጠጥና መምታት

    The strings are plucked or strummed with a plectrum, while the other hand mutes the ones not wanted.

  • The electric krar

    ኤሌክትሪክ ክራር

    Fitted with a pickup, the krar is heard all through modern Ethiopian music.

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