The instrument which Martha uses to accompany her wonderful Amharic folk songs is called krar. This stringed lyre is used in the music cultures of the Amhara  and Tigray  of central and northern Ethiopia. A sound world that is amazing for Western ears is revealed when hearing the krar playing melodies reflecting love and tenderness, social (everyday) life, joy and grief. The instrument uses four distinct tunings (modes or scales) each consisting of five pitches.  Since every scale consists of a large number of songs, the krar player must retune the strings from one scale to next according to the music to be performed. In Ethiopia such breaks are used to serve coffee, Tejj or Tella, while the audience and/or the listeners discuss and enjoy the lyric of already chanted songs.

Tizita – is the term given to the first five-pitched traditional scale
Tizita means in the first place reminiscence or recollection of the past; apart from the traditional tuning, tizita also refers to the well-known ballad which is performed in the tizita scale;

Bati  — is the second five-pitched traditional scale
The term bati denotes the small town located in the former province of Wollo, Central-Ethiopia. Like the tizita, the bati scale with its distinct intervals also contains a number of traditional songs which may be performed both in solo and in groups.

Anchi Hoye Lene  — is the third five-pitched traditional scale
The distinct notes of the anchi hoye lene scale sound like the high pitched song of Eve, thus reflecting the femininity and sensuality created by God. Directly translated from Amharic the name of this scale means „oh, you whom I desire“

Ambassel — the fourth five-pitched traditional scale
Also Ambassel is, so to speak, the sound of another town in the former Wollo province of Central Ethiopia.