The Traditional Music of Morin Khuur

　　 
Proclamation: 2003

　　Member State(s): Mongolia

　　Region: Asia-Pacific

　　Associated themes: Traditional music

　　For more than seven centuries, the two-string horse head fiddle, known as the morin khuur, has figured prominently in Mongolia's nomad culture. String instruments adorned with horse heads are attested to by written sources dating from the Mongol empire of the13th and 14th centuries. The fiddle's significance extends beyond its function as a musical instrument, for it was traditionally an integral part of ceremonial rituals and everyday activities. The morin khuur's distinctive design is closely linked to the all-important cult of the horse. The instrument's hollow trapezoid-shaped body is attached to a long fretless neck bearing a carved horse head on its extremity. Just below the head, two tuning pegs project like ears from either side of the neck. Traditionally, the soundboard is covered with animal skin, and the strings and bow are made of horsehair.

　　Despite its deceptively simple design, the morin khuur possesses an astonishing range of expressive sounds. The instrument's characteristic sound is produced by sliding or stroking the bow against the two strings. Common techniques include multiple stroking by the right hand and a variety of left-hand fingering, "shake-hold" and "pull" playing, different forms of pizzicato, and "gliding" the sound pitch, a technique borrowed from Chinese music. The instrument is mainly played solo but sometimes accompanies dances, long songs (urtyn duu), mythical tales, ceremonies and everyday tasks related to horses. To this day, the morin khuur repertory has retained some ancient tunes (tatlaga) specifically intended to tame animals, a remnant of a bygone era when music was thought to possess magical functions. Owing to the simultaneous presence of a main tone and overtones, morin khuur music has always been difficult to transcribe using standard notation. Traditional music and performance techniques have been transmitted orally from master to apprentice for many generations.