Cifteli Player

Çifteli – An Albanian musical instrument mostly used in the northern Albanian territories such as the areas of Kosovo, but can be found throughout the Albanian populated regions. It is also known in some areas by the names of dyzen, karadyzen, tamrre and tamburrase. It has a pear-shaped sound bowl made out of a single piece of wood. The instrument has three parts, the bowl, the top, and the handle. The handle is divided in 13 parts by copper bars tuned in 4ths, and is fretted in a diatonic scale with partial flats that produce the Albanian “natural” scale (do-re-mi (partial flat)-fa-sol-la (partial flat)-si (flat)-do). Size and bowl shape varies by region, the most common type has two strings; there are other variations with three and four strings. The pick is usually made out of the bark of a cherry tree.

The first string is used to play the notes while the seconds strings acts as a backup harmonic tune. An experienced player can also use the second string to play complex melodies. The instrument is used to play a variety of Illyrian songs and duet dances (shota). Solo singers also use the instrument in traditional story telling songs. It is can be used in an ensemble with other instrument’s such as Zumarja, Bishnica, Fyelli, Bilbili and Sharkija.

Play with the flash version of the çifteli above to get a feel of what the instrument sounds like.