Qenet

Qiñit (Amharic: ቅኝት; singular; alternatively spelled Qignit) is a term used for a single pentatonic musical scale developed by the Amhara ethnic group of Ethiopia. A qiñit consists of a set of intervals defining the mode of a musical piece or the tuning scale of the instrument playing the piece.^[1] There are four main qiñit scales: Tizita (ትዝታ), Bati (ባቲ), Ambassel (አምባሳል), and Anchihoye (አንቺሆዬ).^[2][3] Three additional modes are variations on the above: Tizita minor, Bati major, and Bati minor.^[4] Some songs take the name of their qiñit, such as Tizita, a song of reminiscence.^[3]

History

Ashenafi Kebede was one of the early scholars to standardize the kignits of northern and central Ethiopia.^{[citation needed]}