A Musical Instrument Being Transmitted from Local to National through Mass Media: Kabak Kemane

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.

From 1950’s, kabak kemane has been performed by the musicians of “The Community of Music and Voices From Turkey”. By this means, it has been started to appear on radio and television broadcasts. Kabak kemane has become a national instrument because it was carried from rural area to urban through the performances of “The Community of Music and Voices From Turkey” on the audiovisual media. In this article, kabak kemane, merely played by nomadic villagers living in mountain villages located in western Anatolia by the time 1950’s, is introduced. Also how it was started to perform in Turkish folk music broad- casts on tv’s and radio is examined. Thus, being transmitted of kabak kemane from rural to urban and from local to national are evaluated. Moreover, the structural properties of kabak kemane, its performers, its performance context and change in its repertory in this transmission process are evaluated.

For full article in Turkish (Tübitak - Ulakbim - TR Dergileri Dizini)
@ A Musical Instrument Being Transmitted from Local to National through Mass Media: Kabak Kemane

Journal of Turkish World Studies [Year:2017 Volume:17 Issue:1 Pages: 155-166]

Author's picture

Assoc. Prof. Özgür Çelik

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.