rebec

rebec, bowed, stringed musical instrument of European medieval and early Renaissance music. It was originally called a rubebe, developed about the 11th century from the similar Arab rabāb, and was carried to Spain with Muslim culture.

PLAYING, SOUND AND TUNING The rebec was played up at the chin or chest, with the instrument held horizontally in the left hand, while the right hand drew the bow laterally across the strings.

It has been known in Europe since the 10th century but their use in art music was chiefly during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. The rebec's rounded pear-shaped body is carved from a single block of wood and tapers in such a way that there is no visible distinction between the body and the neck.

One prominent characteristic of all rebecs is their arched body, which is somewhat like that of a lute. Unlike the lute, the body is usually carved from a single piece of wood. The neck of the rebec is not distinct from its body.

The rebec is a bowed instrument that originated around the l0th century, apparently deriving from the Arabic rebab and the Eastern European lira. It was probably smaller than the vielle as a rule since one medieval writer compares its sound to a woman's voice.

Based on instruments from the 11th through the 14th C, this rebec has good resonance without being really loud. It has a solid poplar body with a spruce soundboard, white oak tailpiece, maple bridge, walnut fingerboard, boxwood nut, and modern violin strings.

Its sound has a nasal quality, unlike the more full-sounding modern violin, which shares some of the rebec's characteristics: strings played with a bow, a fretless neck, a curved bridge to allow strings to be bowed singly, and a soundboard carved to have a gentle upward curve.

rebec rēˈbĕk [key] , one of the earliest forms of the violin. It was pear-shaped, had from three to five strings, and possessed a strident tone. Its use, which began in the 13th cent., was to play melodies of popular songs and dance music, accompanied by percussion.

Its sound has a nasal quality, unlike the more full-sounding modern violin, which shares some of the rebec's characteristics: strings played with a bow, a fretless neck, a curved bridge to allow strings to be bowed singly, and a soundboard carved to have a gentle upward curve.

The BEC phenomenon was first predicted by Satyendra Bose and Albert Einstein: when a given number of identical Bose particles approach each other sufficiently closely, and move sufficiently slowly, they will collectively convert to the lowest energy state: a BEC.

It was pear-shaped like the lute, but usually more slender, having only three strings, and its sound (if modern reproductions are to be believed) has a distinctive nasal quality. Rebec. Manuscript illumination (detail) from an English Psalter (12th century).

The rebec produces a unique sound, which may come off somewhat sharp and crass compared to the softer sounds of modern violins and fiddles. It is able to sustain long notes, like most bowed instruments, and does not strictly adhere to what is now the Western set of musical notes.