Kontra
A kontra (Hungarian: háromhúros brácsa, 'three-stringed viola') is a musical instrument found in Hungary, Czechia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and among the Romani of Transylvania, usually created by modifying a standard viola.
Kontra
- Field
- bowed string instrument.
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gnd · 309337-2 · wikidata · Q1057085 · wikipedia · Kontra
In this article
Construction
Construction
The kontra can be constructed new, but is most often a classical viola with several modifications. These changes include thinning (or "regraduating") the top, back, and sides to increase the amplitude, and flattening the bridge, which allows the player to sound all three strings at once in order to produce chords. The instrument has three strings rather than the standard four with a viola.
Tuning
Tuning
The kontra is tuned like a viola, though lacking its low C string: G3-D4-A4. Frequently, the A string is replaced with a second G string tuned to A3, a major second above the g, in a form of re-entrant tuning.
Ensemble playing
Ensemble playing
The kontra has a defined role within dance band music. Its range lies between that of the fiddle or Vioara cu goarnă on the high-end and the double bass on the low-end. Many Hungarian and Romanian bands also feature the cimbalom or citera, clarinet, accordion, and Ütőgardon or cello.
Technique
Due to the flattened bridge, the standard method of play is to play double stops and three-note chords and let the fiddle play melody lines. Rarely, parts of the main melody are also played on the top or the bottom string, but the middle string for a kontra can't be bowed due to the flat bridge.
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Kontra, revision 1353087965 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Viola (three-stringed). MúzeumDigitár.
- 2.Ebru TV | 2/10 Eletfa Hungarian Folk Band.
- 3.Arendas, Peter. TÁNCHÁZ 50 - HALF A CENTURY OF THE HUNGARIAN TÁNCHÁZ MOVEMENT PROCEEDINGS OF THE SYMPOSIUM ORGANIZED BY THE INSTITUTE FOR MUSICOLOGY RCH (HUNGARY) AND THE INSTITUTE OF ETHNOMUSICOLOGY, ZRC SAZU (SLOVENIA), BUDAPEST, 2023, EDITED BY DÁNIEL LIPTÁK AND PÁL RICHTER; Article Titled “WHAT IS AUTHENTIC PERFORMANCE? PRINCIPLES AND CONSIDERATIONS OF THE HUNGARIAN REVIVAL OF THE VILLAGE STRING BAND TRADITION”.
- 4.Arendas, Peter. A KONTRA MINT KÍSÉRŐHANGSZER A 20. SZÁZADI ERDÉLYI VONÓS NÉPZENÉBEN.
- 5.Thomson, John. THE GYPSY IN VIOLIN MUSIC: A LECTURE RECITAL FEATURING THE MUSIC OF KREISLER, RAVEL, AND SARASATE; TOGETHER WITH THREE RECITALS OF MUSIC BY BARTOK, BEETHOVEN, CHAUSSON, DVORAK, SCHOENBERG, SCHUBERT, SHOSTAKOVICH, AND TCHAIKOVSKY.
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References
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Broader subject
1- bowed string instrumentTerminology
Established from a fact already recorded on a verified source.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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