The ''mey'' is 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 ...

aerophone used in Turkish folk music. The ''mey'', ''

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 ...

'', and '' balaban'' are almost identical, except for historical and geographical differences. A COMPARATIVE VIEW OF THE MEY, BALABAN AND DUDUK AS ORGANOLOGICAL PHENOMENA
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Description

A ''mey'' consists of three parts: ''ana gövde'' (main part), ''kamış'' (reed), and ''kıskaç'' (clip). #Cylindrical in shape and made of wood, the main part has seven finger holes on its front side, and one finger hole at the back. The ''mey's'' main tubular body is usually built from the wood of harder trees such as plum, walnut, beech, etc. It has a sound range of about one octave. There are three sizes of ''mey'': ''cura mey'' (smallest, highest pitched), ''orta mey'', and ''ana mey'' (largest, lowest pitched). #A double reed (''kamış'' in Turkish) essentially a large and almost flattened cylinder on the mouth side, and conical-round where it is attached to the main part, gives this instrument its characteristic deep sound. #A tuning-bridle called ''kıskaç'' (clip) mounted to the end of the reed and pushed up and down on the reed until a position is decided serves to tune the Mey and to prevent alterations in pitch of the sound. A wooden piece similar to the ''kıskaç'', which is called ''ağızlık'', covers the part of the reed's mouth when the ''mey'' is not being played in order to preserve or protect it. The size and nature of the reed is dependent on the size and nature of the instrument, but is usually approximately one third the size of the main part.

History

There are many instruments similar to the ''mey'' in Eurasia. These include the European ''

aulos An ''aulos'' ( grc, αὐλός, plural , ''auloi'') or ''tibia'' (Latin) was an ancient Greek wind instrument, depicted often in art and also attested by archaeology. Though ''aulos'' is often translated as "flute" or "double flute", it was usu ...

'' and '' douçaine '', the Azerbaijani/Iranian '' balaban'', the Uyghur ''balaman'', the Dagestani ''

yasti balaban Balaban, or balaman ( az, Balaban – بالابان; fa, بالابان) is cylindrical-bore, double- reed wind instrument about long with eight finger holes and one thumb hole. This instrument is played in the eastern part of Iran's hist ...

'', the Georgian ''

duduki 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 the ...

'', the Armenian ''

'', the Japanese ''

hichiriki The is a double reed Japanese used as one of two main melodic instruments in Japanese music. It is one of the "sacred" instruments and is often heard at Shinto weddings in Japan. Its sound is often described as haunting. According to scholar ...

'', the Korean ''

piri The ''piri'' is a Korean double reed instrument, used in both the folk and classical (court) music of Korea. Originating in Central Asia, it was introduced to the Korean peninsula from China, and has been used there as early as the Three Kingdom ...

'', the Chinese '' guanzi'' and ''

houguan Houguan may refer to: * Guan (instrument), a Chinese double reed wind instrument * Houguan, Hebei (侯贯), a town in Wei County, Xingtai, Hebei, China * Houguan county (侯官), a former county near Fuzhou, Fujian, China {{disambiguation, ge ...

'', the Kyrgyz ''

kamis sirnay Kamis S.A. is a Polish manufacturer of spices, mustard, ketchup, breading, marinades, vinegar, salt, tea. Most of the products are sold under the brand names Kamis or Galeo, Tea - under the brand name Irving Tea. The company was founded in 1991. A ...

'', and the Cambodian ''

pey au The ''pey au'' (sometimes spelled ''pei au'' or ''pei ar'') (Khmer: ប៉ីអ) is a Cambodian musical instrument, similar to a flute but using a set of double reeds to produce sound. The instrument uses an external reed, cut from a prebos ...

''. Musicologists like Farmer (1936: 316) and Picken (1975: 480) have suggested that the ancient wind instruments '' mait'', ''

monaulos An ''aulos'' ( grc, αὐλός, plural , ''auloi'') or ''tibia'' (Latin) was an ancient Greek wind instrument, depicted often in art and also attested by archaeology. Though ''aulos'' is often translated as "flute" or "double flute", it was usu ...

'', and ''

auloi An ''aulos'' ( grc, αὐλός, plural , ''auloi'') or ''tibia'' (Latin) was an Music of ancient Greece, ancient Greek wind instrument, depicted often in Ancient Greek art, art and also attested by classical archaeology, archaeology. Though ''a ...

'' present major resemblances with the ''mey'' and the other similar instruments. In Hellenistic Egypt, there was an instrument called ''mait'' or ''monaulos'' which was similar to the ''mey'' and there was another one in Anatolia which was called ''auloi'' and its picture was found on a vase.

References

External links

*http://mey.gen.tr/Mey/eng/themey.htm {{Doublereed Double-reed instruments Turkish musical instruments Musical instruments of Georgia (country) Armenian musical instruments Uzbekistani musical instruments Kyrgyz musical instruments Dagestanian musical instruments Turkmen musical instruments Turkish words and phrases tr:mey