The kanun is a musical instrument mainly associated with Greeks of Asia Minor and Thrace; however, it is also widely used among Arabs, Turks, and in countries with an Islamic cultural tradition.
The name kanon in Ancient Greece is connected with the monochord instrument of the Samian mathematician and philosopher Pythagoras. The monochord was an experimental single-string instrument with a movable bridge, on which Pythagoras first determined the numerical ratios that define the musical intervals of the octave. As early as around 300 BC, there exists a treatise by the mathematician Euclid entitled Division of the Canon (Katatomē Kanonos), in which Euclid carried out various measurements of musical intervals based on the monochord canon.
However, among pre-Christian and post-Christian Greek music-theoretical writers, the term kanon was used with a threefold meaning: as a musical instrument, as a tool for calculating the ratios of musical intervals, and as the name of the entire numerical system of musical intervals.
In the ancient Greek world, an entire family of polystring instruments was also known under other names and variations (such as trigonon or epigoneion), which contributed decisively to the development of musical theory and virtuosity.
The instrument passed into Byzantium under the name psaltery, where in miniatures and wall paintings of churches it is always depicted as being played by King David.
In medieval Western Europe it spread under related names (psaltery, canon, etc.), while in the Arab countries of North Africa, the Middle East, and in Turkey it became known as qanun. It also spread through Spain as far as South America under the name salterio.
Nevertheless, the modern name of the instrument, kanoni or kanunaki, presents certain historical gaps, since—at least so far—there is no evidence in the Greek world proving the continuous historical use of this instrument under the same name. The only known reference dates back to the early 19th century and is found in The Great Theoretical Treatise on Music by Chrysanthos, in Chapter 4, “On Musical Instruments,” where he mentions the kanonion, without, however, providing further information about it.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INSTRUMENT
In the field of Musicology, according to the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, musical instruments are divided into four major categories based on the way sound is produced. The kanun belongs to the category of chordophones, and more specifically to plucked instruments, since sound is produced by plucking the strings.
More specifically, the kanun consists of a wooden soundbox in the shape of a rectangular trapezoid, over which its strings are stretched along the two parallel sides. The woods commonly used for the construction of the soundbox are durable types, such as plane tree or rosewood. On the soundboard, that is, the wooden surface beneath the strings, there are usually three large sound holes and three smaller ones, elaborately decorated. The strings used today are made of synthetic material; in the past they were made of gut. Their number varies depending on the size of the instrument, ranging from 72 to 77 strings, which are grouped in sets of three sounding in unison. In this way, the instrument covers a range of 24 to 26 notes. More simply, the melodic range of the instrument is approximately three and a half octaves, from low A to high E.
On the right side of the instrument is the wooden bridge that supports all the strings, resting on a leather membrane. The leather used is mainly calfskin or goatskin. On the left side are, first, the wooden tuning pegs, by means of which the musician tunes the instrument using a metal tuning key. These pegs are made of plane tree or ebony. To the right of the pegs are the mandals (levers), small metal plates— a kind of movable bridge arranged in a row— which, when raised or lowered, respectively raise or lower the pitch of the notes. The pitch alteration corresponding to each mandal amounts to approximately one to three commas or microtones. Each note may have approximately four to twelve mandals.
The use of mandals constitutes a very important aspect of the instrument, as it enables the musician to form any scale of Western music, any mode of Byzantine music, and any maqam of Eastern music. Depending on the melody, the musician can use the mandals to alter the pitch of the notes during the performance, a feature that also demonstrates the performer’s virtuosity. Therefore, the kanun is capable of producing all intervals and subdivisions of the tone, which is why it is considered one of the most important and significant musical instruments and proves extremely useful for the study of Byzantine music.
PLAYING TECHNIQUE
The kanun is played while resting on the musician’s legs as they sit. It may also be played when placed on a special stand, with the performer either standing or seated. In earlier times, the instrument was played using the fingers alone, which directly plucked the strings and produced a softer sound. Later, and up to the present day, it is played using two plectra, which are attached with metal finger rings to the index fingers of both hands. In this way, the musician plucks the strings with greater ease and stability, resulting in a sharper and louder sound. The plectra are made of wood or plastic, although the highest-quality ones are made of tortoiseshell. The plectra are theoretically considered extensions of the natural fingernails. The musician therefore plucks the strings, usually the lower-pitched ones with the left hand and the higher-pitched ones with the right hand.
As mentioned above, the kanun is one of the most important and significant musical instruments and proves extremely useful for the study of Byzantine music, as it can be defined as a visual teaching instrument. In order for a musical instrument to be considered a visual teaching aid for students, it must meet certain constructional, technical, and functional characteristics, while at the same time maintaining its functional autonomy. These characteristics facilitate the visualization of melodic intervals and systems (such as the tetrachord, wheel, octachord, etc.), as well as the ability to render pitches in motion.
Equally important are its ease of tuning, practical size, portability, economic accessibility, durability over time, and its responsiveness to local traditions and to the demands of so-called learned Eastern music. Finally, all these factors must always be combined with pedagogical and didactic considerations, more specifically with issues of learnability and the attractiveness of both the instrument and its repertoire to the learner—especially at the early stages of instruction, whether within formal education or across different age groups of students.
Generally, chordophones are considered the most suitable visual teaching instruments, since they allow direct visual supervision of the string. More specifically, the kanun meets many of the above requirements and can therefore be regarded as a visual teaching instrument. It possesses an exceptional timbre, a wide range, great precision, and clear visualization of micro-intervals due to the mandals, offering complete flexibility in modulations and transpositions. It can easily execute glissandi, trills, and musical analyses of qualitative pitch elements, as the musician has an enhanced sense of contact with the string and thus greater possibilities for shaping the sound. Finally, it offers the possibility of both solo performance and accompaniment.
In general, the kanun is a beautiful, very ancient, and symbolic musical instrument. Its distinctive timbre and inexhaustible expressive possibilities have contributed to its wide dissemination, and today it accompanies and enriches the music of cultures all over the world.
Text by Professor–Musicologist Styliani Papanikolaou
Words from tradition
