Apache fiddle

Chasi, a Warm Springs Apache musician playing the Apache fiddle, 1886, photo by A. Frank Randall[1]
Arizona Apache fiddle, from the Musical Instrument Museum - Phoenix, Arizona

The Apache fiddle (Apache: tsii' edo'a'tl, "wood that sings")[2] is a bowed string instrument used by the indigenous Apache people of the southwestern United States. The instrument consists of a plant stalk, such as that of the agave or mescal plant. One or sometimes two strings, often made of horse hair, are secured at both ends of the stalk, a bridge and nut added, and the string is played with a bow resined with pine pitch.[3] The string is touched with the fingers to change its note. The Smithsonian Institution holds an Apache fiddle collected in 1875.[4] In 1989 Apache fiddle maker Chesley Goseyun Wilson of Tucson, Arizona won a National Heritage Award.[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Portrait of Chasi, Bonito's Son..." National Anthropological Archives. (retrieved 11 June 2010)
  2. ^ Experimental Musical Instruments. Experimental Musical Instruments. 1995. p. 34.
  3. ^ Jadrnak, Jackie (1 August 2014). "Man wants to reintroduce the Apache fiddle, which has few makers remaining". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  4. ^ American Indian art magazine Published by American Indian Art, Inc., 1980. Original from the University of Michigan. Digitized Dec 19, 2007. Page 28.
  5. ^ 1989 NEA National Heritage Fellow: Chesley Goseyun Wilson Archived 2008-10-05 at the Wayback Machine, National Endowment for the Arts (USA)

Sources

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