View source for Shehnai

{{short description|Indian reed musical instrument}}
{{For|the films|Shehnai (1947 film){{!}}''Shehnai'' (1947 film)|Shehnai (1964 film){{!}}''Shehnai'' (1964 film)}}
{{Infobox instrument
| name           = Shehnai
| names          = Sharnai, Saanai, Sahnai, Sanai, Serunai, Shahnai, Shanai, Shenai, Shehnaai, Shenoy,
| image          = Shehnai.jpg
| classification = *[[Double reed]]
*[[Wind instrument|Wind]]
*[[Aerophone]]
| range          = 
| related        = *[[nadaswaram]]
*sundari/Mukhaveene
*[[suona]]
*[[Hne]]
*[[sopila]]
*[[zurna]]
}}

The '''''shehnai''''' is a musical instrument from the [[Indian subcontinent]].<ref name=Grove>{{cite encyclopedia |last= Flora |first= Ries|editor-last= Sadie |editor-first=Stanley |title= Śahnāī|encyclopedia= The New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments |year=1984 |volume= 3 |pages= 283–284}}</ref> It is made of wood, with a [[double reed]] at one end and a metal or wooden flared bell at the other end.<ref name=EB>{{Cite encyclopedia|title=Shehnai {{!}} musical instrument | encyclopedia=Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/art/shehnai|access-date=2023-03-10|publisher=www.britannica.com|language=en}}</ref><ref>[[#Ra|Ranade. p. 307]].</ref><ref>[[#Ho|Hoiberg, p. 1]]</ref> It was one of the nine instruments found in the royal court.{{Vague|reason=Whose royal court?|date=October 2025}} The shehnai is similar to [[South India]]'s [[nadaswaram]].

== Characteristics ==
This tubular instrument gradually broadens towards the lower end. It usually has between six and nine holes. It employs one set of [[quadruple reed]]s, making it a [[quadruple reed]] [[woodwind]]. To master the instrument, the [[musician]] must employ various and intricate [[embouchure]] and [[fingering (music)|fingering]] techniques.<ref name=EB/>

The shehnai has a range of two [[octave]]s, from the A below [[middle C]] to the A one line above the treble clef (A3 to A5 in [[scientific pitch notation]]). A shehnai is often but not always made with a body of [[wood]] or [[bamboo]] and a flared [[metal]] end.<ref>{{cite web|title=shehnai|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/indi/hd_indi.htm|website=metmuseum.org |date=March 2009 |publisher=Allen Roda|access-date=27 May 2019}}</ref>

== Origin of the shehnai ==
The shehnai is thought to have been brought by the Mughal Empire as its use was most associated with the Mughal courts.

The counterparts to the shehnai played in [[Western India]] and Coastal Karnataka are indigenous to the territory. Shehnai players were/are an integral part of the Goan/Konkani region and the temples along the western coast and the players are called ''Vajantri'' and were allotted lands for services rendered to the temples.<ref name=goa>{{cite book|title=Gazetteer of the Union Territory Goa, Daman and Diu: district gazetteer, Volume 1|year=1979|publisher=Gazetteer Dept., Govt. of the Union Territory of Goa, Daman and Diu}}</ref>

== Music ==
The shehnai is played during religious festivities and wedding celebrations.<ref>{{cite web |title=Shehnai {{!}} Indian Classical, North Indian, Wedding Ceremonies {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/art/shehnai |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Sahane.jpg|The Nepalese version, called the ''sahane'', has a curve and is played in the [[panche baja]].
File:A tribal shehnai player.jpg|A shehnai player.
</gallery>

== Notable Indian shehnai  players ==
*[[Bismillah Khan]]
*[https://youtube.com/@theshehnaai?feature=shared Pandit Shailesh Bhagwat]
*[[Anant Lal]]
*[[Ali Ahmed Hussain Khan]]
*[[S Ballesh Bhajantri]]
*[[Lokesh Anand]]
*Daya Shankar, son of Anant Lal

== Other related wind instruments ==
*[[Mizmar (instrument)|Mizmar]], a shawm similar to the shehnai
*[[Nadaswaram]], a similar South Indian instrument
*[[Reed instrument]], a type of woodwind instrument
*[[Shawm]], a type of reed instrument

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}

== References ==
* {{cite book |title=Music contexts: a concise dictionary of Hindustani Music|last=Ranade |first=Ashok Damodar|year=2006|publisher=Bibliophile South Asia|isbn=81-85002-63-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cFwbGi3oBHgC&q=Shehnai&pg=PA307 |ref=Ra }}
* {{cite book |title=Students' Britannica India|last=Hoiberg|first=Dale|author2=Indu Ramchandani |year=2000|publisher=Popular Prakashan|isbn= 9780852297605|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DPP7O3nb3g0C&q=Shehnai&pg=PA1 |ref=Ho }}

{{Double reed}}
{{Indian musical instruments}}
{{Musical instruments of Nepal}}
{{Aerophones}}
{{Reed aerophones}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Single oboes with conical bore]]
[[Category:Hindustani musical instruments]]
[[Category:Quadruple-reed instruments]]
[[Category:Nepalese musical instruments]]