Kaval
Bulgarian kaval in key of D (Re), African blackwood, made in 2012 by master craftsman Radoslav Paskalev,
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| Classification | Woodwind, Wind, Aerophone |
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| Related instruments | |
| Çığırtma, Dilli Kaval, Duduk, Flute, Frula, Kawala, Jedinka, Ney, Shvi, Sring | |
The kaval is a chromatic end-blown flute traditionally played throughout the Balkans and Turkey. The kaval is primarily associated with mountain shepherds.
Unlike the transverse flute, the kaval is fully open at both ends, and is played by blowing on the sharpened edge of one end. The kaval has 8 playing holes (7 in front and 1 in the back for the thumb) and usually four more unfingered intonation holes near the bottom of the kaval. As a wooden rim-blown flute, kaval is similar to the kawala of the Arab world and ney of the Middle East.
While typically made of wood (cornel cherry, apricot, plum, boxwood, mountain ash, etc.), kavals are also made from water buffalo horn, Arundo donax Linnaeus 1753 (Persian reed), metal and plastic.
A kaval made without joints is usually mounted on a wooden holder, which protects it from warping and helps keep the interior walls oiled. According to the key, the kaval can be in the high register (C, C#), middle (D, H) or low (A, B). The kaval plays two octaves and a fifth, in the chromatic scale. Its sound is warm, melancholic and pleasant.
The kaval is primarily associated with mountain shepherds throughout the Balkans and Anatolia and in the book Kaval: Traditional Folk Melodies for Balkan & Anatolian Folk Flute, musician Pat MacSwyney suggests that the kaval spread with the Yoruks from the Taurus mountains of southern Anatolia into the southern Balkans of southeast Europe.
While in the past it was almost entirely a shepherd's instrument, today it is widely used in folk songs and dances as part of ensembles or solo.
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Wikipedia