Guembri

Guembri ( _ar. الكمبري) is a generic name for Berber lutes. It is made of one wooden-carved piece and covered with goatskin to form the body. Then a cylindrical wooden neck is added. The strings used are traditionally made form animal intestines, but nowadays it is common to use nylon strings. Guembris are usually applied to different styles of music:

Tagnawit: is the music of the Gnawa people. The Guembri they use is the biggest: a long body rectangular in shape. There is a hole in the skin at the bridge area for enhanced acoustics. Three strings are used, two that reach the end of the neck, and one that reaches the middle. The two strings are tuned in fourths and are fixed to the circular neck using a special knotting. How the strings stay in tune is a mystery that only the Gnawa hold the secret for. The shorter string, which is also thinner, is tuned like the lowest string and is considered a drone string. Depending on the area where the Gnawa Zaouia (shrine) is located, there are different keys to the tuning. The most common ones however are C, F, D and G. When the Gnawa are clapping and not playing with the Krakebs (a form of castanets), it is not uncommon to add a piece of metal that rings when the Guembri is played (Sersar). The plucking of the strings is done with the thumb and/or the index, and sometimes the player hits the body under the strings for a percussive sound. The Gnawa player who plays with the Guembri is called the Maalem, Master of Ceremonies. The Gnawa also refer to the Guembri as Hajhouj or Sintir. The most popular Guembri players in traditional and popular music are Abderrahmane Paco, Mahmoud Gania, Mustapha Baqbou, Hassan Hakmoun, Hajjoub Soudani, and Hamid al Kasri.

Izlan s Tamazight: sung poetry by the Berbers of the Middle Atlas and High Atlas. It has a body the size of a lute or mandolin, but the neck is usually longer and thicker. Unlike the Gumebri of Gnawa, this one has wooden tuners. There are usually four strings (although five is not unusual) tuned in fourths as well. Common tunings are A standard or C standard. It is played similar to a lute, however it has its own tonal range, scales and key progressions that are particular to the Berbers. The main artist plays the lute and sings, accompanied by bendir players and backing singers which can include both men and women. To the Berbers, this type of Guembri is more widely known as Loutar. Popular Loutar players are Mohamed Rouicha, Hammou Oulyazid, Hajjaoui and Maghni.

Malhoun: sung poetry in Moroccan colloquial Arabic (Darija). It is similar to Loutar in shape, but much smaller in size. It is not used as the main string instrument; rather it is used to provide timbre contrast to the music. It is sometimes called Gounibri as well.