What you’re holding
The guembri is a fretless three-stringed bass plucked lute from Morocco. It is the bass voice of Gnawa music — a steady, hypnotic foundation that anchors every piece in the lila ceremony. You’ll also hear it called sintir (more common in the south) or hajhuj (the Moroccan-dialect name, etymology “there are two [strings]” — a hint that the instrument originally had two strings, not three).
The body is carved from hardwood (walnut is common, but the species varies by maker) and covered on the playing side with a stretched skin head — usually dromedary (camel), sometimes goat. The neck is a simple stick.
You may have seen older photos or recordings where a small metallic rattle — the sersera — sits at the top of the neck, buzzing softly when the strings vibrate. On most modern instruments the sersera is absent: amplification replaced the volume it added, krakeb cover its rhythm, and today even makers who still build them note that almost no one mounts them (Sechehaye, Hanáková & Dobbelaere 2016). If your guembri has one, treat it as a bonus; if not, you haven’t lost anything essential to playing.
The three strings
You have three strings, but they are not equal: two run the full length of the neck, and one — string 2, the middle — is shorter and only reaches halfway down the neck. That short string can’t be fretted. It only ever plays open.
From the top of the instrument as you hold it, downwards toward your face, the strings are usually as follows. Click each one to hear it.
How to hold it
Sit comfortably. Rest the body of the guembri on your right thigh, with the neck pointing up and slightly to your left. Some players cradle the body in the crook of the right elbow; others let it rest flat. There’s no single correct posture — go with whatever lets your right thumb fall naturally on the strings without tension.
Your right thumb does most of the plucking, striking down across the strings near the bridge. Your right palm or fingers can also tap the camel skin head for a percussive thump — that thump is part of the guembri’s sound, not a mistake. Your left hand stops the long strings against the neck to change pitch.
Up next
Before you can play anything, the strings need to be in tune with each other. The next lesson walks through D — D — G, by ear or with the built-in tuner.