Donali (Persian: دونَلی) is an Iranian folk instrument from the

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

province in Iran, a pair of

fipple The term fipple specifies a variety of end-blown flute that includes the flageolet, recorder, and tin whistle. The Hornbostel–Sachs system for classifying musical instruments places this group under the heading "Flutes with duct or duct flut ...

flutes that are put in the mouth at the same time to play. The instrument is from the

Ney The ''ney'' ( fa, Ney/نی, ar, Al-Nāy/الناي), is an end-blown flute that figures prominently in Persian music and Arabic music. In some of these musical traditions, it is the only wind instrument used. The ney has been played continually ...

family. The doneli's body is made of reed. One of the instruments is called male (نر) and the other female (ماده). The instrument named female plays melody and the instrument named male play harmony.

History

Donali or Doney is an immigrant instrument and was brought to Baluchistan, Iran, from

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

and Balochistan of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, half a century ago. In addition to Balochistan, this instrument is used in

Indian music Owing to India's vastness and diversity, Indian music encompasses numerous genres in multiple varieties and forms which include classical music, folk (Bollywood), rock, and pop. It has a history spanning several millennia and developed ove ...

(the (

Alghoza Alghoza is a paired woodwind instrument. It is traditionally used by Baloch, Saraiki, Sindhi, Kutchi, Punjabi and Rajasthani folk musicians. It consists of two joined beak flutes, one for melody, the second for drone. The flutes are either t ...

) and

Pakistani music The Music of Pakistan ( ur, , lit=pákistáni mosíqi) includes diverse elements ranging from music from various parts of South Asia as well as Central Asian, Middle Eastern, and modern-day Western popular music influences. With these multiple ...

Playing

"Nal"(نَل) in Balochi means straw. This instrument consists of two reeds that the musician puts both in his mouth while playing. The type of mouthpiece and the way of blowing in a donali is like a

recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...

. Unlike a recorder, which uses regular breathing, the doneli is played with

circular breathing Circular breathing is a technique used by players of some wind instruments to produce a continuous tone without interruption. It is accomplished by breathing through the nose while simultaneously pushing air through the mouth using air stored ...

. This means that the artist inhales through the nose and exhales through the mouth, and uses pressure in the mouth to keep the flow of air uninterrupted even while breathing in. The technique allows a musician to play non-stop. The female reed has ten holes that are fitted with only six holes. The male reed also has seven holes and none of them are fingered. Male reed holes are used to create various harmonies and some of the holes can be blocked with wax to set the pipe's notes. Donali sound pipes do not have an acoustic hole in the back. The most famous musician of this instrument is Shir Mohammad Espandar from Balochistan. Shir Mohammad Espandar The instrument may be played solo, or may be accompanied with a tambourine and drum.

References

{{Iranian musical instruments Iranian musical instruments Fipple flutes