The property of the most ancient Armenian people is not only the unique nature of their country, traditions, cuisine and language, but also the rich variety of various
folk instruments. Among them are drums, strings, and winds. One of the most colorful and famous is the Armenian clarinet, or, as it is called, duduk. Its sound is a visiting card of national music. How many of us at least once have not heard Armenian songs in which the soloist solo? Let’s talk about this wonderful tool.
What is he like?
The Armenian clarinet belongs to the group of reed winds. In addition to the name "duduk", which is only one hundred years old, it is sometimes also called "tsiranapoh". This is a traditional old name translated as "apricot pipe". At the beginning of the 20th century, the duduk was classified as a single-octave diatonic wind instrument.
The length of the Armenian clarinet can be 28, 33 or 40 centimeters. There are seven holes on the outside of the tube, and one more on the inside (it is clamped during the game with the thumb).
Playing this instrument consists of clamping holes on both sides and varying pressure on the double tongue. Most often, Armenian music, in which the solo clarinet is soloed, is a game of a pair of musicians - one of them (the so-called dame) creates the background, and the second - duduk - plays the melody itself. It’s more difficult
the one who plays the lady (such a musician is called a damask), because he can’t stop for a minute. This game uses a special technique of continuous breathing. At the same time, the player inhales air through the nose, and also constantly holds air in the cheeks, while releasing the flow onto the tongue of the instrument.
A bit of history
The Armenian clarinet, the history of which, according to research, dates from two to three thousand years, is mentioned in the ancient manuscripts of Urartu and the documents of King Tigran the Second Great (reigned until 55 BC).
In many countries of the world there are instruments like the duduk that differ from it and from each other only in the number of holes and the material from which the body of the clarinet is made. Even in our sister Belarus, there is a "fellow" of the Armenian duduk - this is a pipe! There are "relatives" in Georgia, Dagestan and Europe.
Unique sound
The most ancient prototypes of the duduk were made not of wood, but of bones and reeds. Now it is made only of wood. A unique feature of the Armenian instrument is the use of apricot wood. In other
countries use walnut, plum and other trees, however, the charm of sound inherent in the Armenian dudu is lost. Its sound is not nasal and sharp, but soft as a person’s voice. The timbre of the instrument is velvet, muffled.
Love and lyric songs are usually performed on a long clarinet, but for dance motifs it is better to use a short duduk. The sad sound gives the instrument a wide reed tongue.
At first glance, it seems that playing duduk is very simple, because it has only one octave. Actually, this is not so, and the musicians who own this instrument are very respected in Armenia. He is the companion of all important events - funerals, holidays, weddings, festivities.