Qenet

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Qañat/Qeñet (Amharic: ቅኝት) sometimes written Kignit, Keniet, Gegnet, Gignit are secular musical scales developed by the Amhara ethnic group of Ethiopia. Qañat consists in a set of intervals defining the mode of a musical piece or the tuning scale of the instrument playing the piece.[1] There are four main qañat scales that are used, all of which are pentatonic: tizita (ትዝታ), (ባቲ), ambassel (ዐምባሰል), and (አንቺሆዬ).[2][3] Three additional modes are variations on the above: tezeta minor, bati major, and bati minor.[4] Some songs take the name of their qañat, such as tizita, a song of reminiscence.[3]

History[]

Ashenafi Kebede was one of the early scholars to standardize the kignits of northern and central Ethiopia[citation needed].

References[]

  1. ^ https://www.persee.fr/doc/ethio_0066-2127_2013_num_28_1_1539
  2. ^ Kaufmann, Walter. Selected Musical Terms of Non-Western Cultures.
  3. ^ a b Shelemay, Kay Kaufman (2001). "Ethiopia". In Sadie, Stanley; Tyrrell, John (eds.). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Vol. viii (2nd ed.). London: Macmillan. p. 356.
  4. ^ Abatte Barihun, liner notes of the album , 200.


Retrieved from ""