The tsampouna (or tsambouna; el, τσαμπούνα) is a Greek musical instrument and part of the

bagpipe Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, Nor ...

family. It is a double-

chanter The chanter is the part of the bagpipe upon which the player creates the melody. It consists of a number of finger-holes, and in its simpler forms looks similar to a recorder. On more elaborate bagpipes, such as the Northumbrian bagpipes or the ...

ed bagpipe, with no

drone Drone most commonly refers to: * Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg * Unmanned aerial vehicle * Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft * Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to: ...

, and is inflated by blowing by mouth into a goatskin bag. The instrument is widespread in the

Greek islands Greece has many islands, with estimates ranging from somewhere around 1,200 to 6,000, depending on the minimum size to take into account. The number of inhabited islands is variously cited as between 166 and 227. The largest Greek island by a ...

. The word is a

reborrowing Reborrowing is the process where a word travels from one language to another and then back to the originating language in a different form or with a different meaning. This path is indicated by A → B → A, where A is the originating language, an ...

zampogna Zampogna (, , ) is a generic term for a number of Italian double chantered bagpipe that can be found as far north as the southern part of the Marche, throughout areas in Abruzzo, Latium, Molise, Basilicata, Campania, Calabria, Apulia and Sicily. Th ...

, the word for the Italian double chantered pipes. Tsampouna is etymologically related to the Greek ''sumfōnia'' ( el, συμφωνία), meaning "concord or unison of sound" (from σῠν- sun-, "with, together" + φωνή phōnḗ, "sound") and applied later to a type of bagpipe. While many bagpipes throughout Europe have experienced renewed interest in the 20th century (often after long decline or extinction), in 2006 ethnomusicologist

Wolf Dietrich The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly ...

noted: "Greece seems to be the only country in Europe which today has no bagpipe revival." However, a partial revival in the use of the tsampouna is occurring among traditional musicians on the island of

Ikaria Icaria, also spelled Ikaria ( el, Ικαρία), is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea, 10 nautical miles (19 km) southwest of Samos. According to tradition, it derives its name from Icarus, the son of Daedalus in Greek mythology, who was b ...

. Where, in recent years, it has become increasingly common for the tsampouna to be played at Ikarian festivals.Archived a
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Current revival''. In the 21st century, interest in the tsampouna is growing and re-oriented. Although its tradition emerged from a now obsolete social context, current reality is giving birth to a new tradition. New musicians, a new audience, new terms of listening, a new repertoire along with the old one, and, most important, new or ever-timely messages, form the framework within which an old instrument remains alive and even gains popularity. This new tradition goes side by side with the old one that is still carried on, and is inspired by it. At the same time it breaks the latter's closer bond with local communities, transforming the tsabouna music from a set of local dialects into a lingua franca.

Notable players

Nikos Kontizas Nikos ( el, Νίκος, ''Níkos'') is a Greek given name. It originates from Greek ''Nikolaos'', which means "victory of the people".Liddell & Scott, Abridged Greek Lexicon Although used as a proper first name, Nikos is also a popular nickname of t ...

Giannis Pantazis Yannis, Yiannis, or Giannis (Γιάννης) is a common Greek given name, a variant of ''John'' (Hebrew) meaning "God is gracious." In formal Greek (e.g. all government documents and birth certificates) the name exists only as Ioannis (Ιωάνν� ...

* Konstantis Pistiolis

Notable players

See also