The kobyz or qobyz,[a] also known as the kylkobyz,[b] is an ancient Turkic bowed string instrument, spread among Kazakhs, Karakalpaks,[1]: 114  Bashkirs, and Tatars.

In the 1930s, when the first folk instrument orchestras were established in the Soviet republic of Kazakhstan, a new kind of kobyz came into existence.

[1]: 362 The kobyz is still played today by jyrau (one of the two types of Karakalpak bard), as accompaniment during recitation of epics and dastan.

[1]: 114–115 The jyrau sings with a guttural, raspy timbre, in a style common to many nomadic groups of Central Asia, Mongolia, and Southern Siberia.

[1]: 114 The art of kobyz flourished before the fall of the Kazan khanate in 1552 among Tatars and some other ethnic groups of Volga region.