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Playable heritage gameRabab plucked lute
Also known as rabab (rubab)
The rabab, or rubab, is a plucked lute of South and Central Asia, carved from one piece of wood with a skin-covered face. It has melody strings that are plucked with a plectrum, drone strings, and extra strings that ring in sympathy.
How to play
- Two drone strings sit on the top row, six melody notes in the middle and a strum below.
- Notes travel toward a line at the bottom; strike the lane just as a note arrives.
- Begin with a drone note and let the melody answer it, then try the strum in six beats.
- Finish with the rising phrase, which climbs the whole set of melody notes.
Rules at a glance
- The melody notes follow a minor-like mode of seven degrees; the drone strings sound the root and the fifth below.
- A stroke within a hair of the note is perfect, a near one is good, and a missed one scores nothing.
- An extra stroke while a song is running costs a few points.
- Each song plays twice; three stars need roughly nine notes in ten on time.
- One song runs in six beats to the bar, the other two in four.
About the tradition
The rabab is played from Afghanistan across Pakistan and northern India, in courts, villages and concert halls, and it is the national instrument of Afghanistan. Makers carve the body from a single block of mulberry or similar wood and cover it with skin.
Origins
Usually placed in the era of Crossroads and Golden Ages (about 500 to 1500), although its exact origins are uncertain, within the cultural world of South Asia.
Credits
- Tradition: rabab playing of South and Central Asia; figures written for this game
- Photo of a rabab from the Metropolitan Museum of Art (CC0)
- Photo: Unnamed photographer, released into public domain by Metropo, CC0, source on Wikimedia Commons
- Text: CC BY-SA 4.0, World Heritage Games.
Sources
Get the app
Rabab plucked lute is one of 11 instruments in the String Music of the World app for iPhone, iPad and Android. Live on Google Play. Submitted to the App Store; in review, and the store link appears here the day it goes live. One app, many traditions, no account needed.
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