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The cobza (also cobsa, cobuz, koboz) is a multi-stringed instrument of the lute family of folk origin popular in , and contemporary Hungarian folk music. The cobza is a pear-shaped string instrument with a short neck and wooden body, traditionally used to provide rhythm and harmony in folk music. It can be played solo or in groups and is usually strummed with a folded goose feather. It is considered the oldest accompaniment instrument in the region comprising Romania and Moldova. The usage of a related musical instrument in Hungary may date back to at least the 16th century, possibly arriving with the Magyar tribes as early as the 9th and 10 centuries. The usage of the modern Romanian cobza in Hungary started following the Táncház movement of the late 20th century.
It is distinct from the Ukrainian Kobza, an instrument of different construction and origin.Gregory F. Barz, Timothy J. Cooley (eds.) (1997), Shadows in the Field: New Perspectives for Fieldwork in Ethnomusicology, Oxford University Press, New York, p. 187
The Cobza is played with a plectrum (traditionally, a goose feather) in elaborate and florid melodic passagework, and has a pick-guard similar to that of an oud. Its strings are widely spaced at the bridge to facilitate this technique. It has a soft tone, most often tuned to D-A-D-G (although tuning depends on style, region and player).
The origins of the Romanian Cobza are thought to be a local adaptation of the Persian barbat or Turkish oud, probably brought to the area by itinerant Romani people musicians in the 15th century (a Rom/Romani musician is called lăutar, literally lute-player). A Cobza player specifically is called a "cobzar".Viorel Cosma (1960), Figuri de Lautari, Musical Printing House, Bucharest, p. 230 Notable Cobza players were Ion Păturică, Ion Zlotea, Marin Cotoanță, Grigore Kiazim (from Wallachia), Nicolae Păsnicuțu and Constantin Negel (from Moldavia).
It seems that Cobza was also used in various music ensembles in the Bukovina region in the mid-war periods, being replaced totally by the mandolin and 4 stringed domra when the north of this area became incorporated into the Ukrainian SSR.Mizynec, V. - Folk Instruments of Ukraine. Bayda Books, Melbourne, Australia, 1987 - 48с.
The name of the instrument may come from the Turkic "kopuz".
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