View source for Ney

{{Short description|Middle Eastern end-blown flute}}
{{Other uses|Ney (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox instrument
| name                  = Ney
| names                 = 
| image                 = Persian ney with 6 holes.jpg
| image_capt            = Persian ney with six holes (one on the back)
| background            = Ancient
| classification        = End-blown
| hornbostel_sachs      =
| hornbostel_sachs_desc =
| inventors             =
| developed             = 
| range                 =[[File:Ney Range.png|180px|center]]
| related               = 
| musicians             =
| builders              =
| articles              =
}}
The '''ney''' ({{IPAc-en|n|eɪ}} {{respell|NAY}}; {{langx|fa|نی}}) is an [[end-blown flute]] that figures prominently in traditional [[Persian traditional music|Persian]], [[Turkish music|Turkish]], [[Jewish music|Jewish]], [[Arab music|Arab]], and [[Egyptian music|Egyptian]] music. In some of these musical traditions, it is the only [[wind instrument]] used. The ney has been played for over 4,500 years, dating back to [[ancient Egypt]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=ANE TODAY - 201801 - The Earliest Music in Ancient Egypt |url=https://www.asor.org/anetoday/2018/01/earliest-music-egypt/ |access-date=2022-09-18 |website=American Society of Overseas Research (ASOR) |language=en-US |archive-date=2022-09-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920170858/https://www.asor.org/anetoday/2018/01/earliest-music-egypt/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> making it one of the oldest musical instruments still in use.<ref>{{Citation |title=Prehistoric music |date=2022-09-06 |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Prehistoric_music&oldid=1108740429 |work=Wikipedia |language=en |access-date=2022-09-18}}</ref>

The ney consists of a piece of hollow cane or [[Arundo donax|giant reed]] with five or six finger holes and one thumb hole. The Arabic ney is played without any [[Mouthpiece (brass)|mouthpiece]]. This contrasts with the Turkish ney that sometimes have a [[Brass instrument|brass]], [[Horn (anatomy)#Human uses of horns|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 of [[metal]] or [[plastic]] tubing. The [[Pitch (music)|pitch]] of the ney varies depending on the region and the finger arrangement. A highly skilled ney player, called ''neyzen'', can reach more than three [[octave]]s, though it is more common to have several "helper" neys to cover different pitch ranges or to facilitate playing technically difficult passages in other [[dastgah]]s or [[Arabic maqam|maqams]].

In [[Romanian language|Romanian]], this instrument is called "[[fluier]]", the word ''nai''<ref name="DEX">''[http://dexonline.ro/search.php?cuv=nai nai]'' in ''[[Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române]]'', [[Academia Română]], Institutul de Lingvistică "Iorgu Iordan", Editura Univers Enciclopedic, 1998.</ref> is applied to a curved [[pan flute]] while an end-blown flute resembling the Persian ney is referred to as caval.<ref name="DEXcaval">''[http://dexonline.ro/search.php?cuv=caval caval]'' in ''[[Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române]]'', [[Academia Română]], Institutul de Lingvistică "Iorgu Iordan", Editura Univers Enciclopedic, 1998.</ref>

==Typology==
[[File:Ney, from a 19th-century Qajun Iran tile.jpg|thumb|right|120px|Ney, from a 19th-century Qajun Iran tile]]
The typical [[Iran|Persian]] ney has six holes, one of which is on the back. Arabic and [[Turkish ney]]s normally have seven holes, six in front and one thumb-hole in the back.

The interval between the holes ranges from a [[semitone]] to three [[quarter tone]]s, although [[microtones]] (and broader [[Pitch (music)|pitch]] inflections) are achieved via partial hole-covering, changes of [[embouchure]], or positioning and blowing angle.<ref name="from_neyf">{{Cite web|title=Fingering of two popular scales on two common Turkish ney types |author=Satilmis Yayla |work=fromnorway.net |format=XML+XSL: needs to be opened in MSIE version 6,7,8, or 9 |access-date=2015-09-08 |url=http://www.fromnorway.net/yaylas/zurna/neyfings.html |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412133840/http://www.fromnorway.net/yaylas/zurna/neyfings.html |archive-date=2016-04-12 }}</ref> Microtonal inflection is common and crucial to various traditions of [[taqsim]] (improvisation in the same [[Scale (music)|scale]] before a piece is played).

Neys are constructed in various keys. In the [[Music of Egypt|Egyptian]] and [[Arab tone system|Arabic system]], there are seven common ranges: the longest and lowest-pitched is the Rast which is roughly equivalent to C in the Western [[equal temperament]] system, 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 various [[Key (music)|keys]], 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 first [[octave]] ([[Fundamental frequency|fundamental]] pitches) to the second is rather awkward.

==Kargı düdük==
The ''kargı düdük'' is a long [[Bamboo flute|reed flute]] whose origin, according to legend, is connected with [[Alexander the Great]], and a similar instrument existed in ancient Egypt. 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 the [[Turkology|Turkologist]] [[Nikolai Baskakov (linguist)|N. Baskakov]] who 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.<ref>N. Baskakov, ''Altay folklore and literature'' Gorno-Altaysk, 1948, p.II</ref> 
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&nbsp;mm or five finger holes and a length of 550&nbsp;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==
The [[Pamiris|Pamiri]] nay ({{langx|tg|най}}) is a [[transverse flute]] made of wood or, in eastern [[Badakhshan]], 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 to [[Chinese flutes]] such as the [[dizi (instrument)|dizi]]—perhaps via a [[Mongolia|Mongol]] link.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.rogerblench.info/Ethnomusicology%20data/Papers/Worldwide/The%20worldwide%20distribution%20of%20the%20transverse%20flute.pdf |title=The Worldwide distribution of the transverse flute |access-date=2011-05-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121111822/http://www.rogerblench.info/Ethnomusicology%20data/Papers/Worldwide/The%20worldwide%20distribution%20of%20the%20transverse%20flute.pdf |archive-date=2012-01-21 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pamirtours.tj/sam/instruments.htm |title=Main Page |website=www.pamirtours.tj |access-date=2010-06-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100706082817/http://www.pamirtours.tj/sam/instruments.htm |archive-date=2010-07-06 }}</ref>

==Other forms with similar names==
[[File:Pastimes of Central Asians. A Musician Playing a Nai, a Flute-like Instrument WDL10825.png|thumb|This ''ney'' from [[Russian Turkestan]], about 1872, was a transverse flute.]]
The ney of [[Uzbekistan]], [[Tajikistan]] and [[Karakalpakstan]] is a [[transverse flute]] that can be made of different materials, often indicated by a prefix in the name. The agach-nai is a wooden flute, the garau-nai a [[bamboo 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==
*[[Kawala]], a similar instrument used in [[Arabic music]]
*[[Ottoman music]]
*[[Tambin]], a similar instrument used in [[West African music]]
*[[Tin whistle]]
*[[Tsuur]], a similar instrument used in [[Mongolian music]]
*[[Turkish ney]]
*[[Washint]], a similar instrument used in [[East African music]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== General bibliography ==
*Effat, Mahmoud (2005). ''Beginner's Guide to the Nay''. Translated by Jon Friesen; originally published in Arabic in 1968. Pitchphork Music. {{ISBN|0-9770192-0-9}}.
*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==
{{Commons category|Ney}}
*{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Nay|volume=19|page=318|first=Kathleen|last=Schlesinger|author-link=Kathleen Schlesinger}}
*[https://m.youtube.com/shorts/EFivEpH4ATo Sound sample]
{{Flutes}}
{{Azerbaijani musical instruments}}
{{Iranian musical instruments}}
{{Turkish musical instruments}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Ancient Egyptian musical instruments]]
[[Category:Egyptian musical instruments]]
[[Category:Arabic musical instruments]]
[[Category:Armenian musical instruments]]
[[Category:Turkish musical instruments]]
[[Category:Kurdish musical instruments]]
[[Category:Tajik musical instruments]]
[[Category:End-blown flutes]]
[[Category:Persian musical instruments]]
[[Category:Middle Eastern music]]
[[Category:Albanian musical instruments]]
[[Category:Romanian musical instruments]]
[[Category:Azerbaijani musical instruments]]
[[Category:Israeli musical instruments]]
[[Category:Sufi music]]
[[Category:Jewish music]]
[[Category:Iranian inventions]]
[[Category:Bamboo flutes]]
[[Category:Yemeni musical instruments]]