534c6: Bow

Musical bows are the simplest of the chordophones. A string is stretched between the two ends of a curved branch or stick. It is played by plucking, tapping or stroking with a stick, bowing with a smaller bow, or blowing.

Several bows may be grouped together to make a compound musical bow. They may be played in a great variety of positions (sitting, standing, lying down). Resonators may be added.

Bows are commonly found in Africa, America, and Asia.

• Ocm module: Bow
• In ocm module: Chordophones
• In ocm module: Musical instruments
• In modular book: Expanded ethnomusicology categories for the Outline of Cultural Materials, by Kenneth R. Hollingsworth
• In bookshelf: Anthropology

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 3.5, published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 1999. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 21 March 1999

© 1999 SIL International