The gralla (), also known as grall de pastor, xaramita or xirimita, is a traditional

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

double reed instrument in the

shawm The shawm () is a Bore_(wind_instruments)#Conical_bore, conical bore, double-reed woodwind instrument made in Europe from the 12th century to the present day. It achieved its peak of popularity during the medieval and Renaissance periods, after ...

family classified in the group 422.112 in the Hornbostel-Sachs system. Like the

dolçaina The dulzaina () or dolçaina (/) is a Spanish double reed instrument in the oboe family. It has a conical shape and is the equivalent of the Breton bombarde. It is often replaced by an oboe or a double reeded clarinet as seen in Armenian and ...

from Valencia – a very similar instrument that many experts consider a variety of the gralla –. The gralla comes from the ancient

xeremia The ''xeremia'' (, plural ''xeremies'') is a type of bagpipe native to the island of Majorca (''Mallorca'').* It consists of a bag made of skin (or modern synthetic materials), known as a ''sac'' or ''sarró'' which retains the air, a blowpipe (' ...

a medieval instrument largely used until the Baroque. Probably, the name of the instrument comes from its strident sound similar to the sound of a

Jackdaw Jackdaws are two species of bird in the genus ''Coloeus'' closely related to, but generally smaller than, the crows and ravens (''Corvus''). ''Coloeus'' is sometimes treated as a subgenus of ''Corvus'', including by the IUCN.Madge & Burn (1994) ...

native to Catalonia and northern Spain and also called 'Gralla' in Catalan. This traditional instrument is used during the construction and dismantling of human towers or

castell A ''castell'' () is a human tower built traditionally at festivals in Catalonia, the Balearic islands and the Valencian Community. At these festivals, several ''colles castelleres'' (teams that build towers) attempt to build and dismantle a t ...

s and other traditional festivities. it is usually played with the

timbal The timbau or Brazilian timbal is a membranophone instrument derived from the caxambu drum, usually played with both hands. Slightly conical and of varying sizes, it is usually light in weight and made of lacquered wood or metal (usually alumin ...

, a percussion instrument similar to a drum. The traditional ''gralla'' melody used in castells, called the ''toc de castells,'' serves to advise the castellers within the tower what stage of the construction their colleagues have reached, as they are unable to see this. The ''gralla'' regains its popularity in the end of 1970s. Grallaire

Types

There are two types of ''gralla'', the ''seca''(dry) and the ''dolça'', (sweet). Both can be characterised by their sound: the ''gralla seca'' (dry) has a harsher or strident sound while the ''gralla dolça'' (sweet) has metal keys that increase its register.

Components

* ''Cap'': in the top of the instrument is where the tudell is inserted with the canya. * ''Tub'': the part between the tudell and the canya or inxa. * ''Tudell'': a conic tube made of metal where the canya is inserted. * ''Canya'' o ''inxa'': Formed by two identical reeds made of wood but independent, tied together by a wire. * ''Cos'': the central part of the instrument. A conical wood tube with six gaps in the front side and one in the back. * ''Campana'': the final part that act like an amplifier of the sound and has two gaps in the sides. It is usually covered with metal.

References

External links

Grallers.cat El web de la gralla i el món grallerPartitures per a gralla

Més partitures per a grallaEncara més partitures per a gralla
{{Authority control Catalan musical instruments Oboes