The acoustics of the Bagana

The Bagana lyre of Ethiopia is an instrument with a very particular timbre whose acoustic characteristics is determined by U-like leather strips placed between each string and the bridge. These leather strips give a deep buzzing sound that influences pitch duration, intenisty, and timbre. The sounds of the instruments were recorded with and without buzzers for comparison. Data were analyzed to characterize the main acoustic features of the instrument. In addition a high-speed camera (400 images/second) was used to describe the different vibratory modes. The main observation is that buzzers enhance the spectrum up to more than 10 kHz; they also modify the attack and the release of the sound. The duration and the loudness of the sound are increased because they enhance the energy’s repartition in the spectrum, especially in the area around 1500–300 Hz. Another effect of the buzzers is that the instrument produces low pitch and loud sounds without having a big resonator or tall harmonic strings.