From Kanon, the Life of Composer Ara Sevanian

Hedjaz

“When I was child, I put glasses with different measure water.  I play little melody on glasses, because every musician start with instrument.  For some, voice is instrument, for some, piano.  My family has piano in house, but I think to myself, everybody plays piano. When my father bought his kanon, I want to play it.  I like sound it makes.  In Armenia, where I come from, people crazy ’bout that instrument . . .”

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The kanon is an ancient Middle-Eastern harp.  It’s similar to a German zither, because it lies across a performer’s knees.  It’s different because it is larger and uses gut strings instead of wires. The kanon has a broader range than some modern counterparts, since it has more strings.  It also has a fish skin sounding board for added resonance.

My father ordered his kanon from Turkey.  I remember the day the package arrived from the post.  He took it out of its case and showed it to me.  I wanted to play it, but Mother locked it in the bedroom.  She thought I might harm the instrument.  Since I had a deep love of music, I watched where Mother hid the key. I sneaked into the bedroom and plucked the strings quietly, trying to produce melodies.  I practiced for about a month, and nobody knew what I was doing.

One night there was a big party at our house.  Lots of family and friends came.  I played with the children.  People drank, they sang, they had a good time.  After a while, my father brought out his kanon to entertain his friends.  When I saw that, I left the other children and ran to sit at my father’s knee.  I watched him and listened.  When he was done, I begged, “If you give me the kanon, I’ll play.”

He said, “No, no. Go play with the children.”

“But I can play! I can play!” I insisted.

He refused a couple of times, and the guests started to complain, “Give it to your child.”  So he gave me the instrument and I started to play.

My father was surprised. “How can you play?  You play well!  Where did you learn?  How did you learn?”

“If I tell, you won’t spank me?”

“No, I won’t spank,” he promised.  So I told him how I found the key and practiced in the bedroom. 

I was only about five or six years old, but that day my parents decided to look for a music teacher.