Ney

For other uses, seeNey (disambiguation).

Ney

Persianneywith six holes (one on the back)
Ancient
Classification	End-blown
Playing range

Theney(Persian:نی), is anend-blown flutethat figures prominently in traditionalPersian,Turkish,Jewish,Arab,andEgyptianmusic. In some of these musical traditions, it is the onlywind instrumentused. The ney has been played for over 4,500 years, dating back toancient Egypt,making it one of the oldest musical instruments still in use.

The ney consists of a piece of hollow cane orgiant reedwith five or six finger holes and one thumb hole. The Arabic ney is played without anymouthpiece.This contrasts with the Turkish ney that sometimes have abrass,horn,or plastic mouthpiece which is placed at the top to protect the wood, to produce a steeper sound, and protect it from damage, with a better edge to blow on. Modern neys may instead be made ofmetalorplastictubing. Thepitchof the ney varies depending on the region and the finger arrangement. A highly skilled ney player, calledneyzen,can reach more than threeoctaves,though it is more common to have several "helper" neys to cover different pitch ranges or to facilitate playing technically difficult passages in otherdastgahsormaqams.

InRomanian,this instrument is called "fluier", the wordnaiis applied to a curvedpan flutewhile an end-blown flute resembling the Persian ney is referred to as caval.

Typology

Ney, from a 19th-century Qajun Iran tile

The typicalPersianney has six holes, one of which is on the back. Arabic andTurkish neysnormally have seven holes, six in front and one thumb-hole in the back.

The interval between the holes ranges from asemitoneto threequarter tones,althoughmicrotones(and broaderpitchinflections) are achieved via partial hole-covering, changes ofembouchure,or positioning and blowing angle.Microtonal inflection is common and crucial to various traditions oftaqsim(improvisation in the samescalebefore a piece is played).

Neys are constructed in various keys. In theEgyptianandArabic system,there are seven common ranges: the longest and lowest-pitched is the Rast which is roughly equivalent to C in the Westernequal temperamentsystem, followed by the Dukah in D, the Busalik in E, the Jaharka in F, the Nawa in G, the Hussayni in A, and the Ajam in B (or B♭), with the Dukah Ney being the most common.

Advanced players will typically own a set of several neys in variouskeys,although it is possible (albeit difficult) to play fully chromatically on any instrument. A slight exception to this rule is found in the extreme lowest range of the instrument, where the fingering becomes quite complex and the transition from the firstoctave(fundamentalpitches) to the second is rather awkward.

Kargı düdük

Gargy-tuyduk (Karghy tuiduk) is a longreed flutewhose origin, according to legend, is connected withAlexander of Macedonia,and a similar instrument existed in ancientEgypt.Kargı in Turkish means reed (Arundo donax,also known as Giant reed). The sound of the gargy-tuyduk has much in common with the two-voiced kargyra. During the playing of the gargy-tuyduk the melody is clearly heard, while the lower droning sound is barely audible.

The allay epic songs have been described by theTurkologistN. Baskakovwho divides them into three main types:

• Kutilep kayla: the second sound is a light drone.
• Sygyrtzip kayla: with a second whistling sound like the sound of a flute.
• Kargyrlap kayla: in which the second sound can be defined as hissing.

The sound of the Turkmen gargy-tuyduk is most like the Altay Kargyrkip kayla. The garg-tuyduk can have six finger holes and a length of 780 mm or five finger holes and a length of 550 mm. The range of the garg-tuyduk includes three registers:

• The lowest register – "non-working" – is not used during the playing of a melody.
• The same as on the "non-working" register but an octave higher.
• High register from mi of the second octave to ti.

Pamiri nay

ThePamirinay is atransverse flutemade of wood or, in EasternBadakhshan,eagle bone. Although the name is similar to the Arabic end-blown nay, it might well be that this side-blown flute is more related toChinese flutessuch as thedizi,perhaps through aMongollink.

It is used for solo melodies as well as with orchestras and for vocal accompaniment. One of the main uses of the nay is for the most original form of the traditional performance ‘falaki’.

These are brief melodic sessions which can express complaints against destiny, the injustice of heaven or exile to distant places, and sentiments such as the sorrow of a mother separated from her daughter, the sorrow of a lover torn from her/his beloved, etc.

Other forms with similar names

ThisneyfromRussian Turkestan,about 1872, was a transverse flute.

The ney (nej) ofUzbekistan,Tajikistan,andKarakalpakstanis atransverse flutethat can be made of different materials, often indicated by a prefix in the name. The agach-nai is a wooden flute, the garau-nai abamboo flute,the misnai a flute made of sheet iron and the brindgzhi-nai a brass flute.

The Romanian pan flute nai consists of at least 20 to over 30 pipes closed at the bottom, which are connected to each other in a slight arc.

See also

• Turkish ney
• Classical Turkish Music
• Tambin,a similar sounding flute used inWest Africa.
• Tsuur/Choor
• Kawala,a similar instrument used in Arabic music
• Persian traditional music
• Arabic Music
• Music of Iran
• Washint
• Dilli Ney

General bibliography

• Effat, Mahmoud (2005).Beginner's Guide to the Nay.Translated by Jon Friesen; originally published in Arabic in 1968. Pitchphork Music.ISBN0-9770192-0-9.
• Marwan Hassan (2010).Kawala & Nay: Die Ur-Flöten der Menschheit: Bauen, stimmen, pflegen und spielen.[German:Explaining How to Build and Play the Kawala, Saluang, or Ghab and Ney-Flute]

External links

• Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911)."Nay".Encyclopædia Britannica(11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.