Duduk: Armenia musical instrument

This musical instrument that is traditionally known since the ancient time as “Tsiranapogh” is an old style woodwind musical instrument belonging to the Armenia and also used in the Eastern Europe, the Middle East and the central Asia. It is a long term relative instrument of the eastern Asia; example is the “guanzi” of China, the “piri” of the Korea and the Japanese “hichiriki”.  The duduk has a very long reed which varies from the double reed musical instruments such as the oboe or Shawn, and it has cylindrical shape that gives it a quality that is close to saxophone.

source of picture: armintour.com

The duduk is known as a double-reed musical instrument that has an ancient origin and assumed to have existed since the 5^th century. Some Armenian scholars also believe that this musical instrument has existed more than 1500 years before the 5^th century. An instrument that has the same features with the duduk is made of animal bone or cane. The duduk of the present day is mainly made of apricot wood with a large double reed. Some parts of Armenia call this musical instrument “Tsiranapogh” or “apricot pipe”. The tuning of the musical instrument varies from region to region. The duduk started to be standardized simple musical scale and single-octave in range in the 20^th century. While playing the musical instrument, the performer will need to use the air that is stored in his cheek to play the musical instrument and as he is doing this, he breadths in air into his lungs.

Some musicologists from Armenia pointed out some evidence of the use of the musical instrument in the early 1200BC. Similar instrument to the duduk can be found in Armenia and the Caucasus. The history of the Armenian duduk can be traced back to the reign of the Armenian king Tigran the Great who ruled from 95-55 BC. The most crucial standard of the duduk is the ability of the instrument to be used to express the mood and language of the Armenians. There has been an existence of a similar instrument to the duduk in the northwestern Bulgaria. This musical instrument is one-end-blocked flute that has some qualities of the Serbian frula and is known as the kaval and it is reported to come in two different sizes; 700-780mm and 240-400mm. As the blocked end is flat, to play the musical instrument is easier and simpler and the sound is clean and enjoyable.