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| Woodwind instrument | |
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| Other names | Tav shvi |
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The shvi (Armenian: շվի, "whistle", pronounced sh-vee) is an Armenian fipple flute with a labium mouth piece. Commonly made of wood (apricot, boxwood, or ebony) or bamboo and up to 18 inches (460 mm) in length, it typically has a range of an octave and a-half. The tav shvi is made from apricot wood, it is up to 18 inches (460 mm) long, and is tuned 1/4 lower producing a more lyrical and intimate sound.
The shvi is up to 12 inches in length and is made of reed, bark of willows, or walnut wood. It has 8 holes on the front, 7 of which are used while playing, and one thumbhole. One octave is obtained by blowing normally into the shvi and a second octave is attained by blowing with slightly more force (i.e., overblowing). The lower octave has a timbre similar to a recorder whereas the higher octave sounds similar to a piccolo or flute. 8-hole traditional flute. The shvi is played with the mouth. Typically, most Armenian duduk or zurna players learn the shvi before moving on to either instrument.
See also
- Salamuri
- Dilli kaval
- Kaval (Blul)
- Duduk
- Sring
Notes
- "Volkan Gücer - Üflemeli Çalgılar". Volkangucer.com. Retrieved 2014-03-04.
- McCollum, Jonathan (2014). "Shvi." New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments. Second Edition. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199743391.
- "Description of Armenian shvi, photo, audio preview". Armenianinstruments.am. Retrieved 2014-03-04.
References
- Ararat Petrossian - "Melody of Sunik", Aya Sofia Records, 1995.
- Nor Dar - "Opus of the Lizard", Libra Music, 1997.
- Tamar Eskenian
- Various Artists - "Kalaschjan - Rural and Urban Traditional Music from Armenia", Weltmusic, 1992.
- Soviet Music and Society Under Lenin and Stalin By Neil Edmunds
External links
- Shvi information at Tripod.com
- More Shvi info at Geocities.com
| Armenian musical instruments | |
|---|---|
| Percussion instruments | |
| Wind instruments | |
| String instruments | |
| See also | |
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