Kemenche
Kemenche or kemençe is a name used for various types of stringed bowed musical instruments having their origin in the Eastern Mediterranean, particularly in Armenia, Greece, Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and regions adjacent to the Black Sea. These instruments are folk instruments, generally having three strings and played held upright with their tail on the knee of the musician. The name Kemençe derives from the Persian Kamancheh, and means merely "small bow".Variations
The Kemençe of the Black Sea is a box-shaped lute , while the classical kemençe is a bowl-shaped lute .
Other bowed instruments have names sharing the same Persian etymology include the kamancheh, a spike lute , and the Cappadocian kemane, an instrument closely related to the kemenche of the Black Sea with added sympathetic strings.
