Plucking and Bowing: Developing Two Instrument Types in Central Asia

This presentation will examine the origins of two types of instruments, the long-necked plucked lute and the long-necked two-stringed "fiddle" in Central Asia and Siberia, and their possible common ancestor. The session also looks at the various uses of these instruments in the hands of performers such as bards and healers, explore modern iterations of these instruments among various Central Eurasian peoples, and discuss the influences these instrument types may have had on other related instruments elsewhere in the world.