ከእጅጋየሁ ሽባባው ወርቃማ የኢትዮጵያ ዘፈኖች አንዱ በሆነውን "ገራገሩ" ዘና ይበሉ! እጅጋየሁ ሽባባው: ገራገሩ ከግጥም ጋራ
Enjoy "Gerageru", one among golden Ethiopian Music by Ejigayehu Shibabaw! Ejigayehu Shibabaw: Gerageru with lyrics
Golden Ethiopian Music ወርቃማ የኢትዮጵያ ዘፈኖች

The special characteristic of Ethiopian music is the use of a five-note, pentatonic scale with large intervals between some of the notes. The music of the Ethiopian Highlands uses a fundamental modal system called “qignit”, the Ethiopian word for “scale”, of which there are four main modes: tezeta, bati, ambassel, and anchihoye.

Tizita
Tizita is a very commonly used “qignit”. It has a major as well has a minor version. The major Tizita qignit is known as Full Tizita, and the minor Tizita qignit is known as Half Tizita. It is interesting to note that Full Tizita is the same exact scale known around the world as the major pentatonic scale.

Batti
The minor version of Batti is known to the rest of the world as the minor pentatonic scale. The minor pentatonic scale is a mode of the major pentatonic scale. It is interesting that Ethiopian musicians do not associate the Tizita major and Batti minor qignit together.

Ambassel
There are two main types of ambassel. The first one is the most widely used, while the second one is not as common. This scale is known to the rest of the world as the Mixolydian pentatonic scale, which is the 4th mode of the major pentatonic scale.

Anchihoye
There are several types of anchihoye qignits used. However, there is one that is the most commonly used.

Ethiopian traditional music is best expressed with its musical instruments, besides the contribution of the renowned vocalists. The most characteristic and widely used instruments are the masinko, the kirar, the washint, the begena, the kebero, and the tom-tom.

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