Other names gardon Hornbostel–Sachs classification 321.322 | Classification bowed chordophone | |
 | ||
The ütőgardon, also called a gardon, is a folk musical instrument played primarily in Transylvania. It is similar in appearance to a cello, but it is played percussively like a drum. Instead of being played with a bow, its strings are plucked and beaten with a stick.
Culture and Use
The gardon was primarily played by the Székelys, a Hungarian ethnic group in Transylvania, and the Csángós of the Gyimes region. It can have three or four strings, usually tuned to D and d. Playing with a stick instead of a bow provides a droning accompaniment. Musically there are some similarities between the violin-gardon ensembles of Hungarians and some Roma in Transylvania and the zurna-davul widespread throughout the Balkans, Anatolia, and the Near East. The gardon is regularly, though not exclusively, played by a woman, the wife of the violinist.