The kabak kemane is a bowed instrument which was performed in local repertory in the mountain villages of Western Anatolia mostly by the Yörüks until 1950s before being performed at TRT. After taking place in Yurttan Sesler Ensemble at TRT, it started to be performed in folk songs of different regions, too.
Today, kabak kemane is an instrument which is mostly performed in the first position. Although the range of the instrument can reach at least two and a half octaves, it is seen that the highest pitch is used up to the octave La (A) especially in the performance of folk music instances.
Musical instruments are formed based on geographical, social and economic situations of the society, so they reflect cultural characteristics of the society in which they are performed. Kabak kemane is one of the bowed musical instruments representing Turkish culture as well.
Kabak kemane is one of the bowed string instruments performed in traditional Turkish folk music. By the time 1950’s, it had been mostly played by nomadic villagers living in mountain villages located in western Anatolia.
In this paper, it is aimed to introduce and discuss a master of Kabak Kemane and his artistry, who updated the tradition, made the instrument, which is one of the main elements of Turkish folk music with his creativity, and more specifically, the kabak kemane, according to the requirements of his time, and demonstrated our strength and power to keep the tradition alive with the kabak kemane he made.
He was born in 1979 in Uşak. He started music from the age of six by learning to play the bağlama from his father and brothers. While he could play the bağlama well during his high school education, the kabak kemane that his father made caught his attention and he decided to continue his musical life with kabak kemane. He won the Ege University State Turkish Music Conservatory in 1997 and thus the professional period of his music life began.
Since 1998, he started to work as a kabak kemane player at TRT İzmir Radio. Continuing his music life with 'Mecaz' since 2001, Özgür Çelik has worked on three albums with the same group, namely 'Yalelli', 'Derun' and 'Heybe'. In 2007, he was awarded the 'Best Performance' award for his solo with the kabak kemane at the '14th Halıcı Computer Composition Competition'. Since 2009, in the group 'Deva Music Project'; Özgür Çelik, who was the performer of 'Kabak kemane', 'Tarbağ', 'Basname' and 'Bağlama', published his book 'Three String Instruments in the Turkish World: Kılkobız, Kamança and Kabak Kemane' in 2010.
In May 2012, his first solo album titled 'Öznağme' reached the audience with the label Kalan Music. The singles 'Kaba Hava Zeybeği', 'Masal' and 'Dolunay' were released on digital platforms under the label Kalan Music. In 2018, he completed his doctoral thesis titled 'Kabak Kemane and Performance Tradition in Western Anatolia' at the Turkish Folklore Department of the Ege University Social Sciences Institute. Özgür Çelik, who has done many workshops at home and abroad, published his books titled 'Kabak Kemane Method 1' in 2019, 'Kabak Kemane Method 2' in 2020, and 'Kabak Kemane Method 3' in 2022. In December 2023, he published the 'Kabak Kemane Method for the Visually Impaired', which was prepared for the first time in the world. He organized the 1st International Turkish World Stringed Folk Instruments Symposium at Ege University D.T.M. Conservatory on 14-15 December 2023. Özgür Çelik, who was awarded the title of Associate Professor in June 2021, currently continues to serve as the head of the Turkish Folk Music Main Art Branch of the Turkish Music Department at the Ege University State Turkish Music Conservatory.