Single-sided Kotamo
Everything on one level
The Ko-ta-mo is a mixture of three different instruments: Koto, Tambura and Monochord. The monochord goes back to Pythagoras and is therefore of European origin, the tambura is an Indian accompanying instrument and the koto is a Japanese melodic instrument.
Playing this instrument is relatively simple. From the very first moment you can hear very beautiful sounds coming from the instrument.
Of course, you can also combine the Kotamo with classic instruments such as guitar or violin, which often creates completely new sound spaces and ideas.
The Single-sided Kotamo has nine koto strings and four tambura strings. The remaining 21 strings are in monochord tuning. On this instrument all strings are on one playing level.
Sound
If you run your fingers over the string level of the monochord, which is tuned to one note, a very wide, overtone-rich and surprisingly profound sound develops. What is fascinating is that even though all the strings are tuned to the same tone, a whole spectrum of other tones (overtones) can be heard. On an acoustic level, the monochord sound allows you to experience that all the others are contained in one tone.
The tambura is tuned to the same tone as the monochord a