Rebec ‐ The sound of the medieval times. How you can do it

In this video you can see how a medieval instrument, the rebec, is built.
To do this I have based myself on what appears in the Beat de Girona and on the studies of Antoni Madueño.
Although I use current tools, all the materials are original or rather, could be, since we lack a lot of information about it.
Finally, you will be able to hear what this type of instrument sounded like and step into the medieval era. I'm sorry I don't have the knowledge to play more notes than I do in the video.
I hope you like it.

[@melodoubt]

Superb construction ! The tensioned bow hair - very interesting.

[@jengime]

All bows have tensioned bow hair. The mechanism is different in modern bows.

[@marffvmarffv5438]

Hello. Nice instrument. I have made one by myself. A three strings rebec with spruce top, no leather. Amazing how good those instrument can sound.

[@europeanancientculture]

I'm glad you like it. I also made one with three strings and a hard cover. I used Mediterranean woods to be true to the materials they could have used originally in my area and it also sounds great. They are amazing instruments. Thanks for your comment.

[@Spirosaur]

Great video, I would have loved to seen more played at the end !

[@europeanancientculture]

Thanks for watching the video and for your comment. I too would have liked to be able to play the instrument a little more, but I'm not a musician and I didn't know how to do it.

[@arlynnecumberbatch1056]

So this is like the 10th grandparent of the violin, no wonder its very popular

[@stevenhenning9833]

Nice build, very interesting, thanks 🎻

[@johnmarcgreen]

Thank you for sharing this video, wow that's a lot of work! The instrument turned out so well... it was really great to see the process.

[@europeanancientculture]

Thanks for your comment!

[@omeed9015]

Lovely work!

[@PeppoMusic]

Great build! Sounds surprisingly good and not at all that quiet. You could use the tuning instrument to help you find some of the placements of notes and mark them out. This would help the intonation somewhat.

[@superxuliguay]

Maravellós!

[@boticland4342]

The process feels like it was really made in the mid-evil period.

[@suppiluiiuma5769]

Don't sweat it because it's not a big problem, but I just thought I'd tell you that it's "medieval." Peace.

[@europeanancientculture]

Thanks for the clarification

[@user-pq4il4xo9s]

​@@suppiluiiuma5769mid-evil is cool though

[@droomtraus7467]

@@user-pq4il4xo9s That's just averagely evil.

[@malahamavet]

especially whith all the electric tools

[@jamesware-ji2oe]

Great, vid should of had more of u playing the finished product, skill deficit be damned

[@europeanancientculture]

Thanks for watching the video. You're absolutely right, but I'm not a musician and learning to play this instrument would take up a lot of time that I don't have. The idea was to reproduce the sound that could be heard in the 10th or 11th century. The idea was more to reproduce the sound than to do a concert. I wish I could play!

[@tomhill4003]

This instrument looks like a predecessor of the Gadulka

[@langsromana117]

You are the best channel in the universe

[@johnjones2786]

Fascinating.

[@shorsh420]

buen video amigo

[@ackthegreat6697]

Thats sick

[@joekelly3263]

Great to watch fella, thanks

[@eduardgarcia3400]

Brutal 😊

[@europeanancientculture]

Thanks for your comment!

[@Despotic_Waffle]

sounds very viking esque

[@lirabarbajavier]

Wow! Thats a pretty piece of art! Nice work, congrats! 😊😈

[@europeanancientculture]

Thanks for your comment!

[@trashpanda9380]

I'm mostly watching this so I can figure out how to use my own wood chisels

[@candykantin1851]

Beau travail

[@josequins9099]

The sound was really good. I was wondering if it would be much different to the wood topped rebecs. It seems a bit richer in sound, though still with that rebec tone.

[@Jimmith829]

Very cool

[@europeanancientculture]

I'm glad you like it

[@phillipbingham487]

Excellent work

[@phillipbingham487]

I make stringed instruments out of olive oil cans

[@europeanancientculture]

@@phillipbingham487 Exactly The idea is the same. With current materials you can achieve better sound.

[@robabnawaz]

i know, the few instruments we found had thinner walls. Very nice project, but why did u leave the walls so thick? As far as I know, the instruments we found had thinner walls.

[@europeanancientculture]

Very interesting your comment. It was one of the dilemmas I had. No original rebec has been preserved from the period I want to reproduce. The original source is an illustration from a 10th century manuscript and therefore only the shape and number of strings can be appreciated. I chose to look at more recent and popular looking instruments and they were quite thick. In 13th and 14th century instruments, with the glued wooden cover, there is no need for such thick walls, but in this case nails had to be driven in and there was a risk that the wood would break. That's why I gave it a thickness of 1.5 cm. The keys made one. For the same reason I chose poplar wood, since it does not split, it weighs little, it is local and it is a wood widely used by shepherds who built rebecs in the 19th century. In any case, it could probably be a little thinner.

[@europeanancientculture]

Sorry .Where it says keys and it should say nails.

[@Cratercitysmith]

wow i would love to attempt something similar to this

[@europeanancientculture]

I'm glad you like it and I encourage you to make one. It's a bit laborious, but it doesn't require any more skill than a willingness to work. Soon, I hope to upload a video of how I made the gut strings in case it helps.

[@Cratercitysmith]

@@europeanancientculture do you think rawhide and sinue would work as a substitute? I live in Ontario and lamb isn’t very common around where i live

[@hollyingraham3980]

@Cratercitysmith would a skin drum head work for the top? I don't know how thick your parchment is.

[@Leotheviolist]

Neat

[@celeos9935]

Rien ne permet de penser que la fabrication d'un rebec relève d'une mise en œuvre monoxyle. Mais la démarche reste intéressante.

[@malahamavet]

id like aome talking in theae videos you have great skill, so id like to know what youre thinking about the things you make while im watching you

[@susanjeffay3851]

Wish we could hear its sound...

[@pablosintes5773]

mola

[@bearshield7138]

exquisite work

[@europeanancientculture]

I'm glad you like it.

[@vladimiraleksandrovich3706]

​@@europeanancientculture привет, от куда ты смелый человек?

[@fluffy4192]

what material was used as the drum skin face for the instrument? i recognize it is some type of animal skin or byproduct, but is there a specific name for it to be used for instruments beyond leather of drum skin?

[@elricthebald870]

6:05

[@Thoroughly_Wet]

Ill just use a woody gourd.

[@nickdryad]

Could have been clogs, but no, he make a musical instrument. Sheesh😂

[@venomousviperkin]

Was hoping the video would be more educational

[@nathanpearce7169]

I was hoping it to be less educational

[@shutup5318]

and to think if you were a beaver or maybe a large burrowing rodent you could do all that carving with your teeth 🥲

[@barryoconnor721]

The sound of what? You couldn't play even a single note?

[@europeanancientculture]

Thanks for watching the video, but I think you missed a part as I play them for a while. Maybe you went directly to the images at the end? As I've already answered in some comments, I'm not a musician and I can't make it sound like I would play but I play for a while and you can really appreciate the sound it produces. On the other hand, we don't have sheet music and therefore we don't know which songs were played with these instruments. That's why I put medieval sound and not music. I wish I could play better. I hope I have answered your question.