Kamancha (Azerbaijani Spike Fiddle)
The kamancha is the bowed spike fiddle of Azerbaijan, built with a spherical or bowl-shaped wooden body covered with fish- or lambskin, a long neck that pierces the body, and four steel strings, played upright with the bow resting on the knee. Its bright, precise tone carries well indoors, which is why the kamancha sits beside the tar in the mugham trio and in the ensembles of Azerbaijani folk music, doubling and answering the melodic line. The instrument has a long history across the Caucasus, Persia and Central Asia under the name kamancheh, and Azerbaijani craftsmen and players developed th