Published:
November 25, 2014
The Yaybahar is a new acoustic instrument designed by Istanbul-based musician Görkem Şen that emits music right out of a retro sci-fi movie, a remarkable feat considering there isn’t a bit of electricity involved.
The Yaybahar can be played in a variety of different ways using mallets or with a bow, relying on a combination of two drum-like membranes, long springs, and a tall fretted neck to create music. Like any instrument, it’s capable of producing sounds that run the gamut from “beautiful music” to “noise.”
Görkem Şen, the instrument's creator, plays the instrument by hitting and stroking the horizontal cords with a mallet, plucking and strumming the vertical strings, and drumming on the feet. "Natural source coded materials which are membrane, coiled spring and string working together.