The kamancheh is the ancestor to most modern European and Asian bowed instruments, including the violin and cello. The first historical evidence of the existence of the kamancheh, or a similar bowed instrument, appears in Persian and Chinese manuscripts from the ninth century, indicating that it predates such European instruments by at least one hundred years. The instrument's name varies from region to region (it is also known as the joze, ghiczak, kamange, and sa-e Keshmiri), as does its shape, which may be spherical or cylindrical with an open or closed back. The upright bowed fiddle is admired for its beautiful timbre and capacity for subtle phrasing and accent.

The kamancheh's four metal strings (originally three) are generally tuned in fourths or fifths. The instrument is played in a kneeling position. The musician rests the kamancheh on its spike and creates sounds by turning the instrument rather than by moving the bow. Although the kamancheh remains physically free of the player, it's treated as an extension of the body. The soaring lyricism of the kamancheh combines qualities of both the violin and the cello; its tone is piercing and mellow at the same time.