Frula
Encyclopedia
A frula is the Serbian
name for a musical instrument which resembles a small recorder
or flute
. It is an end-blown aerophone
. Similar instruments are played throughout Eastern Europe
and the Balkans
. It is typically made of wood and has six holes.
The frula is a traditional instrument of shepherd
s, who would play while tending their flocks.
Other names for this instrument and similar instruments are: dentsivka
(Ukraine
), dudka (Russia
), duduk (Serbian Vlach
, north-western Bulgaria
), floghera (Greece
), fluier (Romania
), furulya (Hungary
) and fujarka (Poland
). Although it shares the same name as the Bulgarian and Serbian Vlach duduk, the Turkish
duduk
is a double-reed instrument, very different from the frula.
, waltz
, mazurka
, quadrille
, and march
). The instrument was popular during night herding, at young people’s gatherings, and weddings, and is known throughout the territory of Lithuania.
Serbian language
Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
name for a musical instrument which resembles a small recorder
Recorder
The recorder is a woodwind musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes—whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle. The recorder is end-blown and the mouth of the instrument is constricted by a wooden plug, known as a block or fipple...
or flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
. It is an end-blown aerophone
Aerophone
An aerophone is any musical instrument which produces sound primarily by causing a body of air to vibrate, without the use of strings or membranes, and without the vibration of the instrument itself adding considerably to the sound...
. Similar instruments are played throughout Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
and the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
. It is typically made of wood and has six holes.
The frula is a traditional instrument of shepherd
Shepherd
A shepherd is a person who tends, feeds or guards flocks of sheep.- Origins :Shepherding is one of the oldest occupations, beginning some 6,000 years ago in Asia Minor. Sheep were kept for their milk, meat and especially their wool...
s, who would play while tending their flocks.
Other names for this instrument and similar instruments are: dentsivka
Dentsivka
The dentsivka is a musical instrument.The dentsivka is often commonly called a sopilka, however, it differs from the true sopilka in that the dentsivka has a fipple, like the western European recorder. It is thus classified as a duct flute.Usually it is made from a tube of wood approximately 30...
(Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
), dudka (Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
), duduk (Serbian Vlach
Vlachs
Vlach is a blanket term covering several modern Latin peoples descending from the Latinised population in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. English variations on the name include: Walla, Wlachs, Wallachs, Vlahs, Olahs or Ulahs...
, north-western Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
), floghera (Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
), fluier (Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
), furulya (Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
) and fujarka (Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
). Although it shares the same name as the Bulgarian and Serbian Vlach duduk, the Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
duduk
Duduk
The duduk , traditionally known since antiquity as a Ծիրանափող is a traditional woodwind instrument indigenous to Armenia. Variations of it are popular in the Middle East and Central Asia...
is a double-reed instrument, very different from the frula.
Lamzdeliai
Traditional lamzdeliai (pipes) are made of either bark or wood. The bark pipe (zieves lamzdelis) is made in the springtime of a willow, aspen or pine sprout. The bark is beaten on all sides, and twisted off of the wood. The blowing end is closed off with a stopper made from the wood, with one side cut off. At the place where the stopper ends, a whistle hole is cut into the bark, and one end of the hole is bent slightly inwards. Three to six finger holes are cut in the pipe. Wooden pipes are made of ash or linden wood. The bark is removed, and the instrument is hollowed out by burning, drilling or carving. The blowing hole, whistle hole and finger holes are made in the same way as for the bark pipes. Lamzdeliai are usually tuned to a diatonic major scale. The timbre is soft and breathy, but when the instrument is blown too strongly, the sound becomes sharp and shrill. Lamzdeliai are used to play improvised herding melodies—raliavimai, ridovimai, and tirliavimai. Herders calmed their animals with these melodies, or they imitated the sounds of nature and birds. Other tunes played on the pipes were sutartines, songs, and contemporary dances (polkaPolka
The polka is a Central European dance and also a genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the 19th century in Bohemia...
, waltz
Waltz
The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...
, mazurka
Mazurka
The mazurka is a Polish folk dance in triple meter, usually at a lively tempo, and with accent on the third or second beat.-History:The folk origins of the mazurek are two other Polish musical forms—the slow machine...
, quadrille
Quadrille
Quadrille is a historic dance performed by four couples in a square formation, a precursor to traditional square dancing. It is also a style of music...
, and march
March (music)
A march, as a musical genre, is a piece of music with a strong regular rhythm which in origin was expressly written for marching to and most frequently performed by a military band. In mood, marches range from the moving death march in Wagner's Götterdämmerung to the brisk military marches of John...
). The instrument was popular during night herding, at young people’s gatherings, and weddings, and is known throughout the territory of Lithuania.
See also
- List of European folk music traditions
- NeyNeyThe ney is an end-blown flute that figures prominently in Middle Eastern music. In some of these musical traditions, it is the only wind instrument used. It is a very ancient instrument, with depictions of ney players appearing in wall paintings in the Egyptian pyramids and actual neys being found...
- DudukDudukThe duduk , traditionally known since antiquity as a Ծիրանափող is a traditional woodwind instrument indigenous to Armenia. Variations of it are popular in the Middle East and Central Asia...
- FluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
- JedinkaJedinkaThe jedinka is a small Croatian whistle flute, usually highly carved and decorated. Often carved from maple or chestnut wood, the jedinka is a single tube with a whistle-like mouthpiece and six equally spaced finger holes...
- Dilli KavalDilli KavalThe dilli kaval is a traditional end blown flute from Turkey, Azerbaijan. They are typically made of plum, ebony, or apricot wood. The soprano dilli kaval in C and the alto version in A are hand-made. Both types were patented by Burhan Tarlabaşı...
- ShviShviThe shvi which means "whistle" in Armenian, is a fipple flute with a labium mouth piece. Commonly made of wood or bamboo) and up to 12 inches in length, it typically has a range of an octave and a-half...
- KavalKavalThe kaval is a chromatic end-blown flute traditionally played throughout Azerbaijan, Turkey, Hungary, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo, southern Serbia , northern Greece , Romania , and Armenia...