Diplica: Croatia musical instrument

The diplica or diplice is a single-reed musical instrument fabricated in Balkans that has been performing in different forms through many parts of Croatia, but today, it survives primarily in the baranya region of the country.

source: gajde.com

The diplica are double clarinets. The widespread practice of performing wind musical instrument in pairs led to the fabrication of the double clarinet, or even triple or quadruple clarinets. Most of the instruments were double clarinets, with two tubes of reed safely tied or gummed together in a parallel position where one of the tubes acts as drone. Musical instruments of this kind can be traced back to about 2700 BCE in the Egyptian empire, where there were initially called ‘memet’. During the ancient kingdom in Egypt, memet were portrayed on the relief of seven tombs at Saqqarra, six tombs at Giza and the pyramid of Queen Khentkaus. The double clarinets are particularly essential in the Arab countries, but have spread all through the Mediterranean province, India, Sardinia and the South America.

The diplica has a traditional mouth horn that grips an idioglot reed two pipes carved from the piece of wood. The pipe has just a few finger holes that are bored into it. The musical instrument is often in the key of E, but it can be made in F, D and C.