I am aware that our 'Western' take on music is based on musical intervals that make up scales. And 'harmony' is a collection of these notes that go together well, and which are pleasing to the ear. A discordant sound is unpleasant because it is made up of musical notes that do not go together.

But then there are other cultures which are not based on the 'western' musical intervals. Here is an unusual sounding instrument from Turkey.

In Turkey, a new instrument has been invented that makes crazy galactic and laser-gun sounds. It’s called the Yaybahar, and it’s completely acoustic. “This is real time, acoustic, string synthesizer,” Gorkem Sen, the instrument’s creator, explains.

It is very cool — but is it music?

"The first times of Yaybahar it's a really, really bad noise. It makes really bad noise,” Gorkem admits. But it has evolved after six years of practice and much tweaking to the instrument itself. "Now it's more musical. This noise now is more musical."

Have a listen and see what you make of this.

Görkem Şen - Yaybahar



It must have struck a chord (if you'll pardon the expression) with some, and here are a couple of comments from under the video.

Wow. I clicked Play, sat back and closed my eyes, and for the next 15 minutes or so I went on an incredible journey to a beautiful place.

It's pretty incredible that he invented his own instrument. I could get lost in this for hours ...

Hugh