A very common chordophone has this shape in various parts of the continent and in particular throughout the Horn of Africa. The instrument in the foreground comes from Somalia and has a wooden soundbox hollowed out of a single block. The harmonic surface is usually made of parchment and a thin hide fixed to the edge of the soundbox by a ring of string or small nails. Through two holes in the hide covering, two wooden arms are fitted and a yoke is mortised on to their ends. The six metal strings are stretched by a tailpiece placed on the soundbox. The LYRE is played holding it against the chest; one hand to hold it and the other to pluck the strings.
In the case of the instrument in the background, also from Somalia, the harmonic box is a common enamel basin, easily found on every African market; for this reason the sonority of the two instruments, although similar, is completely different.
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