Yaybahar: an Acoustic Instrument that Makes Space Age Sounds




Yaybahar is not just an instrument. It literally is a ‘huge’ invention with its complex structure and mesmerizing sound.

The sound of Yaybahar is not only for your ears. It creates a sound that you can feel the vibrations in your whole body without needing a proper sound system. Yaybahar was invented by Gorkem Sen, a Turkish musician-inventor as a result of his continuous work of 6 years.

Describing Yaybahar is not easy at all. According to Gorkem Sen, it is an acoustic real-time synthesizer. But obviously, it is more than these three words. The sound of Yaybahar may remind you some echoes of sci-fi movie sound effects like laser guns and deep-seated vibrations. As a result, it is often for you to feel if the instrument is really acoustic with real strings!

According to Gorkem Sen, 6 years of the creation process of Yaybahar wasn’t easy at all. While he was trying to find his unique sound, he was inspired by many different instruments such as the Turkish ney, thunder drum, and Australian didgeridoo. Therefore, the eccentric style of Yaybahar stands for representing both West and Eastern influences. In addition to the mechanical design of Yaybahar, Sen says that achieving a ‘musical sound’ after a time of ‘noise’, also took a while. Sen says:


“When you listen live, this is really effective, really good mood and really good frequencies on the air. It’s really delicious for ears.”


Sen says that his favorite songs to perform are the “Gnossienne No. 1” by the French composer Erik Satie and Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy”. Ever since Yaybahar took the Internet by storm, he has been performing in many countries, like Netherlands, Italy, Spain and many more with a quest of presenting Yaybahar’s “vocation” to audiences. He is mostly sharing his concerts on his personal Facebook account due to the huge amount of interest for Yaybahar.