Gusle

Gusle
Typical gusle
String instrument
Classification Bowed string instrument
Hornbostel–Sachs classification321.321-71
(Bowl lyre sounded by a bow)
Related instruments

The gusle (Serbian Cyrillic: гусле) or lahuta (Albanian: lahutë) is a bowed single-stringed musical instrument (and musical style) traditionally used in the Dinarides region of Southeastern Europe (in the Balkans). The instrument is always accompanied by singing; musical folklore, specifically epic poetry. The gusle player holds the instrument vertically between his knees, with the left hand fingers on the strings. The strings are never pressed to the neck, giving a harmonic and unique sound.

Singing to the accompaniment of the Gusle as a part of Serbia's intangible cultural heritage was inscribed in 2018 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of UNESCO.