The Kanun

The kanun has one of the widest ranges of any stringed instrument in Turkish music. It is built from a trapezoidal wooden body, a soundboard stretched over it, a bridge that rests on fish skin or parchment, and 72 to 79 strings, usually grouped in threes so that each pitch is carried by three strings — giving a span of roughly three and a half octaves. It is played with plectra fitted to the index finger of each hand. Along the left side of the body, beneath each string group, sit rows of metal levers (mandal) that change the pitch instantly while playing; it is this lever system that lets the kanun sound the microtonal intervals that Turkish makam music requires.

The word 'kanun', from an Arabic and Greek root, means rule or measure. The instrument can be traced to the Middle Ages, at least to the tenth century, and is mentioned in the writings of al-Farabi. It reached Europe through Andalusia, forming the eastern branch of the psaltery family. It became widespread in Ottoman court and fasıl music during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and took its present form at the end of the nineteenth century with the addition of the lever system. Today it is played in Turkey, Egypt, Syria, Azerbaijan, Greece and the Balkans, each with its own tuning and lever arrangements.

A kanun is the product of months of work. First, close-grained, well-dried timber is chosen for the body and rested for a long period — usually linden, walnut, mahogany or maple. The frame is bent into its trapezoidal shape and the internal braces are set. Sycamore or spruce is worked down thinly for the soundboard, and skin is stretched where the bridge will sit. The lever rows are then fitted and adjusted one by one, the pegs are set and the strings are drawn. In the final stage the instrument is played in over several days until its tuning and tone settle; the finish is applied by hand, coat by coat.

In our workshop every kanun is built entirely by hand. The wood is selected piece by piece, sorted by age, then carefully dried and rested; nothing is rushed to a production-line pace. The soundboard, the bridge and the lever rows are balanced by a performer's ear, through repeated playing tests. The highest-quality materials are used for the finish and for every fitting — levers, pegs, strings and skin. Dr. Ender Özdemir's more than forty years as a performer are the measure of every instrument built here: the aim is a kanun that gives the player the sound they are after from the very first note, and lasts a lifetime.