Related

PitchTimbreYangqin (hammered dulcimer)DutarTanbur

The plucked section's last instrument happens to hold a mirror up to the struck one — because their shapes are nearly identical.

The kalong's box: "a hollow flat trapezoid, curved on the left, straight on the right, like half a yangqin." And the Qing statutes describe it: "the karnai, eighteen steel strings, shaped like a common yangqin."

⭐⭐ Rule ㊿: the same trapezoid, two answers — one retunes, the other rebuilds. The kalong and the yangqin are both trapezoid, many-stringed — but:

• the kalong is plucked by finger or plectrum (with a metal slider for ornament in the left hand);
• the yangqin is struck with bamboo hammers.

⭐ And they solve the problem of key differently: the yangqin rebuilds the instrument (half-tone devices, the 401 and 501 models); the kalong retunes the strings, piece by piece.

The one with the most strings

⭐ Three points:

1. It has the most strings. "The most stringed of the old Uyghur plucked instruments" — sixteen to eighteen courses, two strings each (other accounts give 17–22 pairs, or 30 / 23 / 34 strings; listed side by side). 2. The left hand is this page's hero. "The left hand holds a metal slider and presses or shifts it, producing ornaments" — the right hand speaks; the left hand supplies the tone of voice. 3. Its shape entered someone else's definition. The Qing statutes call it "shaped like a common yangqin" — ⚠️ and the truer relation is: alike, but not the same (see the figure below).

The slider in the left hand: a bird's call

⭐ The loveliest detail here is the name of that little tool:

"The slider is called koxitap in Uyghur, meaning 'birdsong'; it is said to have been created by folk players inspired by birds, first made of sheep's leg bone, later of metal."

• Its name describes not a shape but a sound ("birdsong");
• Its origin is an invention made by *listening*: the bird was heard first, the tool made second;
• Its material travelled too: bone → metal.

⭐ Compare the zhamunie's "opinion-style name" (㊾): one puts the verdict on the instrument, the other on a small tool in the hand.

It retunes itself, every time

⭐ The yangqin chose to rebuild the instrument for free modulation. The kalong's answer is entirely different:

"The kalong is often tuned to the modal scale of the piece being played: for a piece with one flat, b is tuned to ♭b; for a piece with one sharp, f is tuned to ♯f."

It does not change the instrument; it changes what the strings are tuned to that day. — the cheapest possible solution to the hardest problem: if hands can retune, leave the structure alone.

"The soul of Dolan muqam"

Its post is written in the names of the southernmost counties — Mekit, Bachu, Awat:

• "indispensable to the meshrep performance of the *Twelve Muqam*, and the chief accompanying instrument for Dolan and Hami muqam — especially in the free-rhythm (sanban) sections, where its flavour shows most";
• hence "the soul of Dolan muqam";
• its partners are the satar, bibi, one-string, Dolan erhu and Dolan rawap — a whole Dolan band;
• and it is not only local: "the kalong is a world instrument, used in Turkey, the Arab countries, Uzbekistan and elsewhere."

⭐ Two old names worth recording:

⚠️ And one origin account: "the kalong was created by the famous Uyghur scholar and musician al-Farabi (c. 870–905)… in his *Book of Music* it is called 'mizaf,' and then it had forty-five strings" — a record that does not match today's sixteen to eighteen courses: another instrument whose documents and body disagree (compare the dutar and tanbur; names-history item ㉒).

Range

卡龙属弹拨弦鸣乐器。最低音定弦为 G 或 c，按七声音阶排列，音域 G—a²（约两个八度余）；1970 年代改革型（张二十二对弦 · 加大音箱 · 最低音 d）音域 d—d³，约三个八度；另有记改革的 22 组弦卡龙音域为 c—e³。⚠️ 卡龙常按所奏乐曲的调式音阶定弦，实际音域随定弦而变。本图按通行形制取 G3–A5 示意。记谱即实音。

Common misconceptions

• "The kalong is just a yangqin." ⚠️ Same shape (trapezoid, many strings), but the kalong is plucked (plectrum plus slider) and the yangqin is struck (bamboo hammers). Even their key solutions differ: retune versus rebuild.
• "Most strings means thickest sound." ⚠️ Its tone is "clear, bright, chiming," and it "suits slower pieces" — here many strings buy ornament and a complete scale, not weight.
• "It only accompanies." ⚠️ It solos, ensembles and accompanies — sometimes the player sings along.
• "It has died out." ⚠️ It still lives in the Dolan muqam country; "Uyghur kalong making technique" entered the first regional intangible-heritage list in 2007, with a named bearer teaching it.
• "The name is Chinese." ⚠️ Both "kalong" and the older "karnai" are transliterations; the sources even say "the name originally came from Greek," travelling east through the Arab world.

Timbre, and how to hear it

Three cues:

1. Hear the "chime." The sources' words: "clear, bright, chiming" — and "close to the guzheng, but brighter." 2. Hear the slider. Press and shift, and ornament appears — the melody comes from the right hand, the flavour from the left. 3. Hear the slowness. "Suits slower pieces" — the instrument with the most strings is the one that excels at slow.

The family

Next

The plucked section's main entries end here (15 instruments). What follows are two feature pages — not new instruments, but one specialised thing about instruments we have already met.

The first returns to the guqin: how many characters are hidden inside one score?

Guqin scores and the jianzipu. :::

Sources

• ⭐⭐ 与扬琴的关系（同一形状 · 两种发声）：「共鸣箱呈中空的扁梯形，左曲右直，状似左半张扬琴」；清《钦定大清会典图》：「喀尔奈，钢丝弦十八，状如世俗洋琴。刳木中虚，左直右曲，前广后削……以手冒拨指或以木拨弹之」依百科与古籍资料
• ⭐⭐ 弦与形制：「张十六或十八组钢丝弦，每组两弦同音」；「前边长 42 · 后边长 72 · 宽 50 · 厚 13 厘米」；「琴框桑木 · 核桃木制，面板 · 底板松木制。面板中间开一圆形音孔并嵌花朵状音窗，右侧设山口。琴左侧板置拴弦钉，右侧板置调弦钮。面板左 · 右两侧分别置条码 · 活动码」；「现代卡龙张钢丝弦 17 至 22 对」；「主要有四种形制：三十弦卡龙 · 二十三弦卡龙 · 三十四弦卡龙以及现代改良卡龙」；「本世纪七十年代改革制成的卡龙，外形不变，加大音箱以增强音量，张二十二对弦，最低音 d，按七声音阶排列，音域 d—d³，扩展为三个八度」依百科资料
• ⭐⭐ 演奏与那只"鸟"：「演奏时，琴置于木架或桌上，前边略高，近奏者的后边略低，琴面微向演奏者倾斜。右手拇指和食指执木制或竹制拨片或食指戴指套拨弹琴弦发音 · 演奏旋律，左手拇指 · 食指和中指持握铁制揉弦器（又称『推抹』）上下按抑或左右移动，产生各种装饰音」；「演奏使用的揉弦器，维吾尔语称『阔西塔甫』（意为『鸟儿鸣叫』），相传由民间艺人受到鸟鸣启发而创造，最初用羊腿骨制作，后改为金属」；「右手技巧有弹 · 拨 · 扫 · 划 · 双弹 · 多弹和快弹等，左手技巧有实音 · 滑音 · 颤音和压弦颤音等」依百科资料
• ⭐⭐ 按曲调定弦（它的"转调"办法）：「卡龙还常以所奏乐曲的调式音阶定弦，如一个降号的乐曲，就把 b 定为 ♭b，一个升号的乐曲，则把 f 定为 ♯f」；「最低音定弦为 G 或 c，按七声音阶排列，音域 G—a²」；「改革的 22 组弦卡龙的音域为 c—e³，达三个多八度」依百科资料
• ⭐⭐ 历史与来源：「卡龙，维吾尔族弹弦乐器。曾称七十二弦琵琶 · 喀尔奈」；「卡龙的名称最早源于希腊」；「据和田人毛拉 · 艾斯木吐拉穆吉孜所著《乐师史》（成书于 1854 年）以及《拜凯史》《突厥—鞑靼史》等史籍记载，卡龙是著名的回鹘学者和音乐家艾甫纳斯尔 · 法拉比（约 870—905）创制的……在他所著的《音乐全书》中称卡尤（卡龙）为『米兹阿夫』，当时有四十五条弦」；「公元 1258 年蒙古的旭烈兀西征，占领巴格达……曾带回七十二弦琵琶」（《元史 · 郭宝玉传》· 刘郁《西使记》均记载）；「这种七十二弦琵琶可能就是卡龙传入中国后的名称」；「清代列入宫廷回部乐」依古籍与百科资料
• ⭐⭐ 用途与地位：「是『麦西热甫』活动中演奏古典音乐《十二木卡姆》离不开的乐器，也是演唱『刀郎木卡姆』和『哈密木卡姆』的主要伴奏乐器，特别是演奏『刀郎木卡姆』的散板部分，最能发挥其风格浓郁的特色」；「被誉为『刀郎木卡姆的灵魂』」；「是维吾尔乐器里弦最多的古老弹弦乐器」；「卡龙是一件世界性的乐器，在土耳其 · 阿拉伯诸国 · 乌兹别克斯坦等许多国家和地区的民族音乐中也被使用」；「目前卡龙仅在喀什地区的麦盖提县 · 巴楚县以及阿克苏地区的阿瓦提县的维吾尔刀郎音乐中流传」依百科与央视资料
• ⭐ 合奏与曲目：「卡龙已用于维吾尔民族乐队，它常和萨它尔 · 毕毕 · 一弦（主奏弦）· 多朗艾捷克和多朗热瓦普等乐器一起合奏，偶尔也单独演奏，有时演奏者还自弹自唱」；著名曲目有《多朗舞曲》《滑音》《欢乐曲》《恰尔尕木卡姆间奏曲》《木夏乌热克木卡姆间奏曲》等依百科资料
• ⭐ 音色与非遗：「卡龙的音色清脆明亮 · 铮铮悦耳，适宜演奏速度较慢的乐曲」；「发出的声音清脆悦耳，近似古筝，但比古筝的音色更明亮，音色轻细悠扬，委婉动听」；「2007 年（2 月），维吾尔卡龙琴制作技艺经自治区人民政府批准列入第一批自治区级非物质文化遗产名录」（代表性传承人阿布迪喀迪尔 · 木沙）；「2006 年 9 月 25 日，第六届国际木卡姆研讨会在乌鲁木齐举办，会议论文探讨了卡龙琴的历史演变」依百科与央视资料
• 「卡龙属于八音中的丝」依通行资料

Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.