Balaban, or balaman ( az, Balaban – بالابان; fa, بالابان) is cylindrical-bore, double-

reed Reed or Reeds may refer to: Science, technology, biology, and medicine * Reed bird (disambiguation) * Reed pen, writing implement in use since ancient times * Reed (plant), one of several tall, grass-like wetland plants of the order Poales * ...

wind instrument about long with eight finger holes and one thumb hole. This instrument is played in the eastern part of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

's historic

Azerbaijan region Azerbaijan or Azarbaijan ( fa, آذربایجان, ''Āzarbāijān'' ; az-Arab, آذربایجان, ''Āzerbāyjān'' ), also known as Iranian Azerbaijan, is a historical region in northwestern Iran that borders Iraq, Turkey, the Nakhchiva ...

as well as in the Republic of

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

(where it is also called '' Düdük'' according to the ''

Encyclopædia Iranica ''Encyclopædia Iranica'' is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times. Scope The ''Encycl ...

''). Balaban, Mey, and

Duduk The duduk ( ; hy, դուդուկ ) or tsiranapogh ( hy, ծիրանափող, meaning “apricot-made wind instrument”), is an ancient Armenian double reed woodwind instrument made of apricot wood. It is indigenous to Armenia. Variations of th ...

are almost identical, except for historical and geographical differences. A COMPARATIVE VIEW OF THE MEY, BALABAN AND DUDUK AS ORGANOLOGICAL PHENOMENA
/ref> Balaban can be made of

mulberry ''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of diverse species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 identif ...

or other harder woods, such as

walnut A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true ...

. The bore through the instrument is about in diameter. The double reed is made out of a single tube of cane about six cm long and pressed flat at one end. The performer uses air stored in his cheeks to keep playing the balaban while he inhales air into his lungs. This “circular” breathing technique is commonly used with all the double-reed instruments in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. Balaban can be found in regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey. It is sometimes used as Balaman, Mey or Whistle, among Azerbaijan and Turkistan in the West Azerbaijan region. Consisting of a body (govda) and a mouth-worn flat reed mouthpiece, Balaban is 280-300 millimeters long and 20-22 millimeters in diameter. The sound is dull and light, and because it is weak, it is mostly played in closed spaces and room meetings. Thanks to the clamp on the reed, the sound can be thinned and thickened. The cane, flattened by a special method, consists of a clamp and a body. By pushing the grapple upwards or downwards on the reed, one-curtain sound change can be made and it can adapt to the instrument groups immediately. According to Azerbaijani artist Hüseynqulu Sarabski, hunters steal balans and attract quails. Another type of Balaban is used in love music. Alihan Samedov is a famous Azerbaijani ballaban artist.

Structure

Balaban, which is often called also yasti (flat) balaban for flat mouthpiece and soft sound, consists of body made of apricot tree, cane, barrow and cover. The body has 8 holes on the surface and 1 on the back in the middle of the first and second holes (sound fret) on the surface. It consists of a stem, a

, a regulator, and a cap.Charming Sounds of the Balaban
by Saadat Abdullayeva The stem of the balaban, or ''govda'', is a cylindrical tube made primarily of

apricot An apricot (, ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus ''Prunus''. Usually, an apricot is from the species '' P. armeniaca'', but the fruits of the other species in ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca'' are also ...

wood (sometimes hazel, pear, mulberry, boxwood, etc.). The process of carving a balaban stem is called ''balaban chakma''. The upper end of the stem (''bash'' or ''kup'') is given a round shape, whereas the lower end (''ayag'') is sharpened. The bore is in diameter. Eight holes or "tones" constituting a "sound tone" () are made on the obverse and another one is made on the bottom side, opposite of the interval between the first and the second holes of the . Sometimes an additional hole called is made on the lower end of the bottom side to ensure good

timbre In music, timbre ( ), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound quality of a musical note, sound or musical tone, tone. Timbre distinguishes different types of sound production, such as choir voice ...

. The holes made on the stem are classified as follows: The reed (, or ) made of club-rush that grows in an arid area is inserted into the upper end. It flattens and takes the shape of a

double reed A double reed is a type of reed used to produce sound in various wind instruments. In contrast with a single reed instrument, where the instrument is played by channeling air against one piece of cane which vibrates against the mouthpiece and c ...

. It is tied to a long and wide regulator (, , , , ) made of a willow or grape branch cut lengthways. The reed is then fixed by a collar-like regulator on one side and a pivot on the other side. The cap (, , , ''band'', etc.) made of willow, hazel, cornel or mulberry is put on the reed to prevent it from damage. It is tied to the regulator in order not to be lost.

History

In the region; Balaman is also called Yasla Balaman, flat Balaman. * Balaman in Black Hearts. Balaban first used in Azerbaijan orchestra since 1931, when the Folk Instrument Orchestra was established in Azerbaijan. It is used to accompany songs in Turkmen and Kurdish cities such as Erbil, Süleymaniye, Kirkuk. Balaban, which has a warm sonority, is often used as a companion to the songs of heaven and bendir and Aşık. Kudüm and defle can also perform a duet, and are also performed solo. 2 The balaban plays together, while someone gives a sound, and someone plays the melody.

Use

On solemn occasions such as weddings and holiday ceremonies, a balaban-player is accompanied by a percussionist. A traditional Azeri musical group consisting of two balaban-players and a percussionist is called . The short selection of Azerbaijani

mugham Mugham ( az, Muğam) or Mughamat ( az, Muğamat) is one of the many classical compositions from Azerbaijan, contrasting with tasnif and ashik. It is a highly complex art form that weds classical poetry and musical improvisation in specific l ...

played in balaban, national wind instrument was included on the

Voyager Golden Record The Voyager Golden Records are two phonograph records that were included aboard both Voyager spacecraft launched in 1977. The records contain sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth, and are intended for ...

, attached to the Voyager spacecraft as representing world music, included among many cultural achievements of humanity. It was also used in pastoral songs and funeral music. According to

Huseyngulu Sarabski Huseyngulu Sarabski ( az, Hüseynqulu Sarabski), born Hüseynqulu Malik oğlu Rzayev (20 March 1879 – 16 February 1945), was an Azerbaijani opera singer (tenor), composer, playwright, stage actor, theatre director, and musician (tar). Early li ...

, hunters played the balaban to attract

quail Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally placed in the order Galliformes. The collective noun for a group of quail is a flock, covey, or bevy. Old World quail are placed in the family Phasianidae, and New Wor ...

s. Certain types of the balaban are also used in

ashik An ashik ( az, aşıq, ; tr, âşık; fa, عاشیق) or ashugh ( hy, աշուղ; ka, აშუღი) is traditionally a singer-poet and bard who accompanies his song—be it a dastan (traditional epic story, also known as '' hikay ...

music.

Legacy

Kamil Jalilov's recording of the song with balaban was included on the

, attached to the Voyager spacecraft as representing

, only Azerbaijani song included among many cultural achievements of humanity.

Gallery

File:Novruz Baku03.jpg, Ashuq plays balaban (right) in

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

. The Lute to the left is a Bağlama. File:The Soviet Union 1990 CPA 6249 stamp (Azerbaijani balaban, nagara, tar, saz and zurna).jpg, Azerbaijani musical instruments (including balaban) on the stamp of

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

, 1990

References

External links

* * ''Ch. Albright''
BĀLĀBĀN
Iranica.
Mey-Duduk-Balaban , Müzik Öğretmenleri Sitesi

Balaban, Duduk and Mey (video)
{{Authority control Single oboes with cylindrical bore Azerbaijani musical instruments Azerbaijani inventions Iranian inventions Azerbaijani words and phrases Iranian musical instruments