Music of the !Kung San bushmen from the Kalahari
At the foot of this page there is a transcription of music played on a musical bow. The bow is of the "braced" type (see sketch, left) in which the wire string is divided into two sounding lengths. A light wooden stick is used to strike one or other section of the string. One end of the bow is held against the open lips of the player, who uses his mouth resonance to amplify one of the harmonics of the note from the string. The two fundamental pitches of the string are A and C (actually slightly flatter). The selected harmonics of A are E (third harmonic) and A (fourth harmonic). The selected harmonics of C are C (second harmonic) and G (third harmonic).
In the transcription, the lower set of notes is the fundamental pitches and the upper set of notes is the harmonics. The rhythm (to my ears, at least) is made up from units of 3/8 + 3/8 or 3/8 + 1/8, which I have notated as bars of 6/8 or 4/8. Accuracy of transcription is not guaranteed, but I did my best. Click here for a soundfile
