The duduk ( ; ) or tsiranapogh (, meaning "apricot-made wind instrument"), 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 ...

woodwind instrument Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and ...

made 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 originating from

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

. Variations of the Armenian duduk appear throughout the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

, the Balkans, and the Middle East, including

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Kurdistan Kurdistan (, ; ), or Greater Kurdistan, is a roughly defined geo- cultural region in West Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages, and national identity have historically been based. G ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. Duduk, Balaban, and Mey are almost identical, except for historical and geographical differences.A COMPARATIVE VIEW OF THE MEY, BALABAN AND DUDUK AS ORGANOLOGICAL PHENOMENA
/ref> It is commonly played in pairs: while the first player plays the melody, the second plays a steady drone called ''dum'', and the sound of the two instruments together creates a richer, more haunting sound. The unflattened reed and cylindrical body produce a sound closer to the

English horn The cor anglais (, or original ; plural: ''cors anglais''), or English horn (mainly North America), is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, making it essentially ...

than the

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...

bassoon The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity ...

. Unlike other double reed instruments like the oboe or

shawm The shawm () is a Bore (wind instruments)#Conical bore, conical bore, double-reed woodwind instrument made in Europe from the 13th or possibly 12th century to the present day. It achieved its peak of popularity during the medieval and Renaissanc ...

, the duduk has a very large reed proportional to its size.

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

proclaimed the Armenian duduk and its music as a Masterpiece of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2005 and inscribed it in 2008. Duduk music has been used in a number of films, most notably in ''

The Russia House ''The Russia House'' is a spy novel by British writer John le Carré published in 1989. The title refers to the nickname given to the portion of the British Secret Intelligence Service that was devoted to spying on the Soviet Union. A film ba ...

'' and ''

Gladiator A gladiator ( , ) was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their ...

''.

Etymology

There have been two published lines of thinking on the origins of the word. Both the Russian book ''Musical Instruments Encyclopedia'' (Музыкальные инструменты. Энциклопедия) and American book ''Musical Instruments, A Comprehensive Dictionary'' give an ultimate origin of the name as Persian, the word ''tutak''. In Armenia, the instrument is also known as ''tsiranapogh'' (). This instrument is not to be confused with the northwestern Bulgarian folk instrument of the same name (see below, Balkan duduk). Similar instruments used in other parts of

Western Asia West Asia (also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia) is the westernmost region of Asia. As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions, the subregion consists of Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Armenian ...

are the '' mey'' and '' balaban''.

Overview

The duduk is a

instrument with ancient origins, having existed since at least the fifth century, while there are Armenian scholars who believe it existed more than 1,500 years before that. The earliest instruments similar to the duduk's present form are made of bone or entirely of cane. Today, the duduk is exclusively made of wood with a large double reed, with the body made from aged

wood. The particular tuning depends heavily on the region in which it is played. An eight-hole duduk (not counting the thumb hole on the lower side) can play ten successive notes of a

diatonic scale In music theory a diatonic scale is a heptatonic scale, heptatonic (seven-note) scale that includes five whole steps (whole tones) and two half steps (semitones) in each octave, in which the two half steps are separated from each other by eith ...

with simple fingering, or sixteen consecutive notes of a

chromatic scale The chromatic scale (or twelve-tone scale) is a set of twelve pitches (more completely, pitch classes) used in tonal music, with notes separated by the interval of a semitone. Chromatic instruments, such as the piano, are made to produce the ...

by half-covering holes. For example, an A duduk can play all the notes from F♯ to the A more than an octave higher. (Another reference gives different information.) By using the lips to "bend" notes and partially covering holes any pitch in this range can be produced, as required for Oriental music. The instrument's body has different lengths depending upon the range of the instrument and region. The

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 * Re ...

(Armenian: եղեգն, ''eġegn''), is made from one or two pieces of cane in a duck-bill type assembly. Unlike other double-reed instruments, the reed is quite wide, helping to give the duduk both its unique, mournful sound, as well as its remarkable breathing requirements. The duduk player is called ''dudukahar'' ( դուդուկահար) in Armenian. The performers use air stored in their cheeks to keep playing the instrument while they inhale air into their lungs. This "circular" breathing technique is commonly used with all the double-reed instruments in the Middle East. Duduk "is invariably played with the accompaniment of a second ''dum duduk'', which gives the music an energy and tonic atmosphere, changing the scale harmoniously with the principal duduk." Duduk Info at Ethnicinstruments.co.uk

History

Armenian musicologists cite evidence of the duduk's use as early as 1200 BC, though Western scholars suggest it is 1,500 years old. Variants of the duduk can be found in

and the

. The history of the Armenian duduk music is dated to the reign of the Armenian king

Tigran the Great Tigranes II, more commonly known as Tigranes the Great (''Tigran Mets'' in Armenian; 140–55 BC), was a king of Armenia. A member of the Artaxiad dynasty, he ruled from 95 BC to 55 BC. Under his reign, the Armenian kingdom expanded beyond its t ...

, who reigned from 95 to 55 B.C. According to ethnomusicologist Dr. Jonathan McCollum, the instrument is depicted in numerous Armenian manuscripts of the Middle Ages, and is "actually the only truly Armenian instrument that's survived through history, and as such is a symbol of Armenian national identity ... The most important quality of the duduk is its ability to express the language dialectic and mood of the Armenian language, which is often the most challenging quality to a duduk player."

Balkan duduk

While "duduk" most commonly refers to the

instrument described on this page, there is a very similar instrument played in northwestern Bulgaria. This is a blocked-end flute known as a

kaval The kaval is a Diatonic and chromatic, chromatic end-blown flute, end-blown oblique flute traditionally played throughout the Balkans (in Albania, Romania, Bulgaria, Southern Serbia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Northern Greece, and elsewhere) and ...

, resembling the Serbian

frula The frula (, sr-Cyrl, фрула), also known as svirala (свирала) or jedinka, is a musical instrument which resembles a medium sized flute, traditionally played in rural Southeast Europe, primarily South Slavs, South Slavic countries. It ...

, or kavalče in a part of Macedonia, and as duduk in northwest Bulgaria. Made of maple or other wood, it comes in two sizes: and (duduce). The blocked end is flat.

In popular culture

The sound of the duduk has become known to wider audiences through its use in popular film soundtracks. Starting with

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...

's score for

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...

's '' The Last Temptation of Christ'', the duduk's archaic and mournful sound has been employed in a variety of genres to depict such moods. Djivan Gasparyan played the duduk in ''

'', ''

Syriana ''Syriana'' is a 2005 American political thriller film written and directed by Stephen Gaghan, loosely based on Robert Baer's 2003 memoir '' See No Evil''. The film stars an ensemble cast consisting of George Clooney, Matt Damon, Jeffrey Wr ...

'', and ''

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'', among others. It was also used extensively in ''

Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. It began with the original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel series, '' Galactica 1980'', a line of book adaptat ...

''. In the TV series '' Avatar: The Last Airbender'', its computer-altered sound was given to the fictitious ''Tsungi horn'', most notably played by Iroh and often being featured in the show's soundtrack. With many of the members who worked on ATLA now working on ''

The Dragon Prince ''The Dragon Prince'', known as ''The Dragon Prince: Mystery of Aaravos'' from the fourth season onward, is an Animated series, animated Fantasy television, fantasy television series created by Aaron Ehasz and Justin Richmond for Netflix. Prod ...

'', the duduk regularly appears in its soundtrack as well. The sound of the duduk was also used in '' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' for a lullaby which Mr. Tumnus plays on a fictitious double flute, and was featured in the theme song of the Dothraki clan during the TV adaptation ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy Drama (film and television), drama television series created by David Benioff and for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of high fantasy novels by ...

''. Armenia's entry in the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest, " Apricot Stone," featured Armenian musician

Djivan Gasparyan Djivan Gasparyan (var. Jivan Gasparyan; , ; 12 October 1928 – 6 July 2021) was an Armenian musician and composer. He played the duduk, a double reed woodwind instrument related to the orchestral oboe. Gasparyan is known as the "Master of the d ...

playing the duduk.

Film soundtracks

The duduk has been used in a number of films, especially "to denote otherworldliness, loneliness, and mourning or to supply a Middle Eastern/Central Asian atmosphere". * ''Ararat'' (2002) by Mychael Danna * ''Avatar'' (2009) by Nacer Khemir, in the track ''Shutting Down Grace's Lab'' * Bab'Aziz: le prince qui contemplait son âme (Bab'Aziz: The Prince Who Contemplated His Soul), 2005 by Nacer Khemir * ''Bedtime Stories'' (2008) by

Rupert Gregson-Williams Rupert Gregson-Williams is a British composer, conductor, and record producer, best known for his film, video game, and television scores. His filmography includes ''Hotel Rwanda'', for which he was awarded the European Film composer award, '' ...

* ''Brotherhood of the Wolf'' (2001) by Joseph LoDuca * ''Chilean Gothic'' (2000) by

Fractal In mathematics, a fractal is a Shape, geometric shape containing detailed structure at arbitrarily small scales, usually having a fractal dimension strictly exceeding the topological dimension. Many fractals appear similar at various scale ...

* ''Constantine'' (2005) by

Brian Tyler Brian Theodore Tyler (born May 8, 1972) is an American composer, conductor and arranger, best known for his film, television, and video game scores. In his 26-year career, Tyler has scored seven installments of the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise, ...

Klaus Badelt Klaus Badelt (born 12 June 1967) is a German composer, producer, and arranger of film scores. He is known for his collaborations with Hans Zimmer, helping to write scores for dozens of critically acclaimed films including '' The Thin Red Line'' ...

, in the track ''Circle of Hell'' * ''The Crow'' (1994) by

Graeme Revell Graeme Revell (born 23 October 1955) is a New Zealand musician and composer. He came to prominence in the 1980s as the leader of the industrial rock/ electronic rock group SPK. Since the 1990s he has worked primarily as a film score composer. ...

featuring the duduk player

* ''Dead Man Walking'' (1995) by David Robbins * ''Elektra'' (2005) by

Christophe Beck Jean-Christophe Beck (born in 1968) is a Canadian television and film score composer. He is best known for his collaborations with Disney and its subsidiaries, which include composing the soundtracks of '' The Muppets'' (2011) and '' Muppets Mos ...

* ''Gladiator'' (2000) by

in the track ''Duduk of the North'' * ''Hotel Rwanda'' (2004) main theme music"Hotel Rwanda Film Music" * ''

Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...

'' (2003) duduk by

Pedro Eustache Pedro Eustache (born August 18, 1959) is a Venezuelan flutist, reed player, woodwind player, composer, instrument maker, and collector. Education Eustache studied first in Venezuela under Michel Eustache (his brother), Ernesto Santini, Antonio ...

Danny Elfman Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer, songwriter, and musician. He came to prominence as the lead vocalist and primary songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since scoring his ...

* '' The Island'' (2005) by

Steve Jablonsky Steve Jablonsky (born October 9, 1970) is an American composer for film, television, and video games, best known for his musical scores in the ''Transformers'' film series, ''Desperate Housewives'', and '' The Sims 3''. Some of his frequent col ...

* ''

The Kite Runner ''The Kite Runner'' is the debut novel of Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini. Published in 2003 by Riverhead Books, it tells the story of Amir, a young Afghan boy from Wazir Akbar Khan, Kabul. The story is set against a backdrop of tumul ...

'' (2007) by Alberto Iglesias * '' The Last Temptation of Christ'' (1988) by

, featuring the duduk player Vatche Hovsepian * ''

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe ''The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' is a portal fantasy novel written by British author C. S. Lewis, published by Geoffrey Bles in 1950. It is the first published and best known of seven novels in ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' (1950–1956 ...

'' (2005) by

Harry Gregson-Williams Harry Gregson-Williams (born 13 December 1961) is a British composer, conductor, orchestrator, and record producer. He has composed music for video games, television and films including the ''Metal Gear'' series, '' Spy Game'', '' Phone Booth' ...

, in the track ''A Narnia Lullaby'' * ''

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

'' duduk by

(2005) by

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

* '' Mayrig'' (1991) by Omar Al Sharif * ''

Next NeXT, Inc. (later NeXT Computer, Inc. and NeXT Software, Inc.) was an American technology company headquartered in Redwood City, California that specialized in computer workstations for higher education and business markets, and later develope ...

'' (2007) by

Mark Isham Mark Ware Isham (born September 7, 1951) is an American musician and composer. A trumpeter and keyboardist, Isham works in a variety of genres, including jazz and electronic music, electronic. He is also a prolific and acclaimed composer of Film ...

* ''

The Passion of The Christ ''The Passion of the Christ'' is a 2004 American epic biblical drama film co-produced and directed by Mel Gibson from a screenplay he wrote with Benedict Fitzgerald. It stars Jim Caviezel as Jesus of Nazareth, Maia Morgenstern as the Bl ...

'' (2004) by

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Mel Gibson, multiple accolades, he is known for directing historical films as well for his act ...

, composer

John Debney John Cardon Debney (born August 18, 1956) is an American composer and conductor of film, television, and video game scores. His work encompasses a variety of mediums and genres, including comedy, horror, science fiction, thriller, fantasy and ...

duduks by

and Chris Bleth * '' Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End'' (2007) by

Hans Zimmer Hans Florian Zimmer (; born 12 September 1957) is a German film score composer and music producer. He has won two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, five Grammy Awards, and has been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmy Awards and a Tony ...

* '' Rendition '' (2007) by Paul Hepker and Mark Kilian, duduk by

* '' Ronin'' (1998) by Elia Cmiral, duduk by Albert Vardanyan * ''

'' (2005) by

Alexandre Desplat Alexandre Michel Gérard Desplat (; born 23 August 1961) is a French film composer and conductor. He has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and two Grammy Awards. Desplat was m ...

, duduks by

and

* ''

'' (1990) by

Jerry Goldsmith Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer, conductor and orchestrator with a career in film and television scoring that spanned nearly 50 years and over 200 productions, between 1954 and 2003. He was consid ...

* ''

The Siege ''The Siege'' is a 1998 American action thriller film directed by Edward Zwick. The film is about a situation in which terrorist cells have made several attacks in New York City. The film stars Denzel Washington, Annette Bening, Tony Shalhoub ...

'' (1998) by

, in the track ''Torture'' * '' Vantage Point'' (2008) by Atli Orvarsson * '' Wanted'' (2008) by

* '' Warriors of Heaven and Earth'' (2003) by

A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967), also known by the initialism ARR, is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and philanthropist known for his works in Indian cinem ...

* ''

You Don't Mess with the Zohan ''You Don't Mess with the Zohan'' is a 2008 American Satire (film and television), satirical Action comedy, action comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan and written by Adam Sandler, Robert Smigel, and Judd Apatow. Sandler also stars, alongside Joh ...

'' (2008) by

* ''Beasts in Our Time'' and ''Under The Eye Of The Sun'' played by Rob Townsend on

Steve Hackett Stephen Richard Hackett (born 12 February 1950) is an English guitarist who gained prominence as the lead guitarist of the progressive rock band Genesis (band), Genesis from 1971 to 1977. Hackett contributed to six Genesis studio albums, three l ...

's album ''At The Edge Of Light'' * '' 3 Faces'' (2018) by

Jafar Panahi Jafar Panâhi (, ) (born 11 July 1960) is an Iranian film director, screenwriter, and editor. He is known internationally for his contributions to Iranian cinema and has received numerous awards at major film festivals, including the Palme d'Or ...

, duduk by Yusef Moharamian * ''Dune'' (2021) by

, duduk by

* '' Dune: Part Two'' (2024) by

, duduk by

Television soundtracks

* ''

Angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

'' by Rob Kral * '' Avatar: The Last Airbender'' by

Jeremy Zuckerman Jeremy Zuckerman (born July 31, 1975) is an American composer of concert music, film and television music, music for modern dance, and experimental music. He is best known as the composer for the animated series ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' a ...

features the instrument in a recurring motif associated with the character of

Zuko Prince (later Fire Lord and Lord) Zuko (), also known as the Blue Spirit, is a fictional character in Nickelodeon's animated television series '' Avatar: The Last Airbender''. Created by Eric Coleman and designed by series creators Michael Dan ...

, most notably in the tracks "Iroh's Tsungi Horn" and "The Blue Spirit" * ''

'' (2004 TV series) by

Bear McCreary Bear McCreary (born February 17, 1979) is an American composer of film, television, and video game scores. His work includes the scores of the television series '' Battlestar Galactica'' (2004), '' Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'', '' Black Sails'', '' ...

. Its tracks "Two Funerals", "Starbuck on the Red Moon", "Escape from the Farm", "Colonial Anthem, "Black Market", "Something Dark is Coming", "Martial Law", "Prelude to War" feature the duduk. Roslin's theme was set to lyrics a second time for the third-season premiere "Occupation", this time in Armenian. * ''

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. The concept is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film, also written by Whedon, a ...

'' by

, Tomas Wanker, Rob Dunkin, Douglas Stevens * ''

Castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

'' by Robert Duncan * ''

Children of Dune ''Children of Dune'' is a 1976 science fiction novel by Frank Herbert, the third in his ''Dune'' series of six novels. Originally serialized in ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' in 1976, it was the last ''Dune'' novel to be serialized before ...

'' by Brian Tyler in the tracks "Dune Messiah", "The Throne of Alia", "The Preacher At Arrakeen", "Farewell" * ''

Cold Case ''Cold Case'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series. It ran on CBS from September 28, 2003, to May 2, 2010. The series revolved around a fictionalized Philadelphia Police Department division that specializes in invest ...

'' by Michael A. Levine * ''CSI: New York'' by Bill Brown * ''

Firefly The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...

'' by

Greg Edmonson Greg Edmonson is an American music composer for television and movies. He is primarily known for composing the soundtrack to the television series ''Firefly''. He is also the composer for the first three games in the ''Uncharted'' video game se ...

* ''

'' by

Ramin Djawadi Ramin Djawadi (born 19 July 1974) is an Iranian-German film score composer, conductor, and record producer. He is known for his scores for the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'', for which he was nominated for Grammy Awards in 2018 and 2020. He is al ...

features the instrument in

Daenerys Targaryen Daenerys Targaryen ( ) is a fictional character in the series of epic fantasy novels ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' by American author George R. R. Martin. She is a prominent point-of-view character, and is one of the series' most popular charact ...

's theme * '' JAG'' by Steve Bramson * ''The Mummy Who Would Be King'' by Gil Talmi, Andrew Gross * ''

Over There "Over There" is a 1917 war song written by George M. Cohan that was popular with the United States military and the American public during World War I and World War II. Written shortly after the American entry into World War I, "Over There" i ...

'' by Ed Rogers * ''

The Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

'' by

Blake Neely Blake Neely (born April 28, 1969) is an American composer, conductor, and orchestrator. He has been nominated for seven Emmy Awards for his work on '' Everwood'', '' The Pacific'', ''Pan Am'', '' Pamela, a Love Story'', '' Good Night Oppy'' and ...

and

Geoff Zanelli Geoffrey Zanelli (born September 28, 1974) is an American composer working primarily in the medium of film, television, and video game scores. His early career was notable for scoring additional music on roughly 30 film scores written by Hans Zim ...

* '' Path to 9/11'' by John Cameron * ''

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

'' by

Jeff Beal Jeff Beal (born June 20, 1963) is an American composer of music for film, television, recordings, and the concert hall. Highly regarded as a jazz instrumentalist and versatile composer, Beal creates music that often incorporates a synthesis of impr ...

*''

'' by Frederik Wiedmann * ''

Spartacus Spartacus (; ) was a Thracians, Thracian gladiator (Thraex) who was one of the Slavery in ancient Rome, escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major Slave rebellion, slave uprising against the Roman Republic. Historical accounts o ...

'' by Randy Miller. Track ''Second Thought'' * '' Star Trek: Enterprise'' by

Paul Baillargeon Paul Baillargeon (born 1943) is a Canadian composer, known for his music for television shows. He contributed music to 41 episodes of Star Trek shows, and won the 2002 ASCAP Award (Top TV Series) for Enterprise, shared with the series' other regu ...

* ''

Yu-Gi-Oh! is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kazuki Takahashi. It was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' between September 1996 and March 2004, with its chapters collected in 38 volumes. The ...

'' by Wayne Sharpe * '' Xena: Warrior Princess'' by Joseph Loduca * '' The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power'' by Bear McCreary features this instrument in settings of the Númenor theme. * '' Boohbah'' * ''

Foundation (TV series) ''Foundation'' is an American science fiction television series created by David S. Goyer and Josh Friedman for Apple TV+, based on the '' Foundation'' series of stories by Isaac Asimov. It features an ensemble cast led by Jared Harris, L ...

'' by

features the instrument in a recurring motif associated with the character of Gaal Dornick.

Video game scores

* ''Shards of the Exodar'' in '' World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade'' by Derek Duke, Glenn Stafford and

Russell Brower Russell Brower is an American music composer and three-time Emmy Award-winning sound designer who has created sounds for ''Tiny Toon Adventures'', ''Animaniacs'' and ''Batman: The Animated Series'', and video game music for games including ''Join ...

* ''Dalaran'' in '' World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King'' by Derek Duke, Glenn Stafford and

* ''Orsis'' in ''

Hearthstone ''Hearthstone'' is a 2014 Online game, online digital collectible card game, digital collectible card video game produced by Blizzard Entertainment, released under the free-to-play model. Originally subtitled ''Heroes of Warcraft'', ''Hearthsto ...

: League of Explorers'' * ''

Civilization V ''Sid Meier's Civilization V'' is a 4X turn-based strategy video game developed by Firaxis Games and published by 2K (company), 2K. It is the sequel to Civilization IV, ''Civilization IV'', and was released for Microsoft Windows, Windows in Sep ...

'' by Michael Curran * '' Crimson Dragon'' by Saori Kobayashi and Jeremy Garren * ''

Dark Void ''Dark Void'' is a 2010 third-person shooter game developed by Airtight Games and published by Capcom. In the game, players must face an alien threat that humanity had previously banished. It was released for PlayStation 3, Windows, and Xbox 3 ...

'' by

* ''

Dota 2 ''Dota 2'' is a 2013 multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game by Valve Corporation, Valve. The game is a sequel to ''Defense of the Ancients'' (''DotA''), a community-created Mod (video gaming), mod for Blizzard Entertainment's ''War ...

'' by Jason Hayes * ''

F.E.A.R. ''F.E.A.R.'' is a first-person shooter Horror game#Psychological horror, psychological horror video game series created by Craig Hubbard in 2005. Released on Microsoft Windows, Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, there are three main games i ...

'' by Nathan Grigg * ''

God of War III ''God of War III'' is a 2010 action-adventure game developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. First released for the PlayStation 3 on March 16, 2010, it is the fifth installment in the ''God of War'' serie ...

'' by Gerard Marino * ''

Mass Effect ''Mass Effect'' is a military science fiction media franchise created by Casey Hudson. The franchise depicts a distant future where humanity and several alien civilizations have colonized the galaxy using technology left behind by Elder race, a ...

'' by Jack Wall * '' Myst III: Exile'' by Jack Wall * '' Myst IV: Revelation'' by Jack Wall * '' Outcast'' by

Lennie Moore Lennie Moore is an American composer and conductor of music for video games, film, television, and multimedia. Biography Moore is best known as the composer of the 1999 video game ''Outcast (video game), Outcast'', and most recently, the ''Wat ...

in the track ''Oriental Spirit'' * '' Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones'' by Inon Zur * '' Uncharted 2'' by

* ''Croft Manor Theme'' in '' Tomb Raider Legend'' by Troels Brun Folmann * '' The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim'' (2011) by

Jeremy Soule Jeremy Soule ( ; born December 19, 1975) is an American composer of soundtracks for film, television, and video games. He has composed soundtracks for over 60 games and over a dozen other works during his career, including ''The Elder Scrolls'', ...

in the track ''Tundra'' * '' Total War: Rome II'' by Richard Beddow * '' Empire: Total War'' * '' Metro Exodus'' by Oleksii Omelchuk * ''

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 ''Xenoblade Chronicles 3'' is a 2022 action role-playing game developed by Monolith Soft and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is an installment in the open-world '' Xenoblade Chronicles'' series, itself a part of the larger '' Xe ...

'' by Kenji Hiramatsu in both ''Day'' and ''Night'' versions of the track ''Eagus Wilderness'' * ''

Sonic Frontiers is a 2022 platform game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega. As Sonic, the player explores the Starfall Islands to collect the Chaos Emeralds, after Sonic and his friends are separated when falling through a wormhole. ''Frontiers'' ...

'' in the movements for ''Ares Island'' by Tomoya Ohtani (duduk performed by Tarumi Yasutaka)

Popular music

*"Come Talk to Me" by

(from the 1992 album '' Us'') *"Zachem Ya" by

t.A.T.u. t.A.T.u. (, ) were a Russian pop duo consisting of Lena Katina and Julia Volkova. The two started out as part of the children's musical group Neposedy before being managed by producer and director Ivan Shapovalov and signing with Russian reco ...

(from the 2001 album ''

200 Po Vstrechnoy ''200 Po Vstrechnoy'' (Cyrillic: ''200 По Встречной''; translation: "200 m/hAgainst the Traffic", pronounced ) is the debut studio album by Russian duo t.A.T.u. It was released by Neformat Records and Universal Music Russia on 21 Ma ...

'') *"Prelude & Nostalgia" by

Yanni Yiannis Chryssomallis (; born November 14, 1954), known professionally as Yanni ( ), is a Greek composer, keyboardist, pianist, and music producer. Yanni continues to use the musical shorthand that he developed as a child, blending jazz, clas ...

(from the 1997 album ''

Tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of lands which the state con ...

'') *"Prelude & Nostalgia" by

(from the 2006 album ''

Yanni Live! The Concert Event ''Yanni Live! The Concert Event'' is the third live album by Yanni. It was recorded live at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas on November 6, 2004, and released in August 2006 as a CD and concert film on DVD. The album peaked at No. 1 on ...

'') *"Science" and "Arto" (Hidden Track) by System of a Down (from the 2001 album ''

Toxicity Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacteria, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect o ...

'') *" Jenny Wren" (2005) and " Back in Brazil" (2018) by

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

*"All That I Am" by Rob Thomas (from the 2006 album '' ...Something to Be'') *"Touching the Void" by Soulfly (from the 2008 album ''

Conquer Conquer may refer to: * Conquer (Soulfly album), 2008 * Conquer (Carl Thomas album), 2011 * "Conquer" (''The Walking Dead''), an episode of the television series ''The Walking Dead'' See also * *Conquistador (disambiguation) Conquistador is a ...

'') *"

Qélé, Qélé Armenia was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "Qélé, Qélé", composed by H.A. Der-Hovagimian (aka DerHova), with lyrics by Sirusho, and performed by Sirusho herself. The Armenian participating broadcaster, Public ...

" by

Sirusho Siranush Hrachyayi Harutyunyan (; born 7 January 1987), known professionally as Sirusho (), is an Armenian singer and songwriter. She received her first award when she was nine years old for her song "Lusabats". Sirusho's first studio album, ''Si ...

(from the 2008

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

Armenian entry) *"

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...

" by

Jamala Susana Alimivna Jamaladinova. (born 27 August 1983), known professionally as Jamala,. is a Ukrainian singer. She represented and won the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with her song "1944 (song), 1944". In 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023 and 2024 ...

(2015) *"Soulfly X" by

Soulfly Soulfly is an American heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Phoenix, Arizona in 1997. Soulfly is led by former Sepultura frontman Max Cavalera, who formed the band after he left the Brazilian group in 1996. To date the band has release ...

(from the 2015 album ''

Archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the Catholic hierarchy of angels, based on and put forward by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite in the 5th or 6th century in his book ''De Coelesti Hierarchia'' (''On the Celestial Hierarchy'') ...

'') *"Model Village" by

Gong (band) Gong are a psychedelic rock band that incorporates elements of jazz and space rock into their musical style. The group was formed in Paris in 1967 by Australian musician Daevid Allen and English vocalist Gilli Smyth. Band members have inclu ...

(from the 2016 album '' Rejoice! I'm Dead!'') *"Come Along" by

Cosmo Sheldrake Cosmo Christopher Sheldrake is an English musician, composer, and Record producer, producer. He is the son of Parapsychology, parapsychologist Rupert Sheldrake and voice teacher Jill Purce, and the brother of mycologist Merlin Sheldrake. He rele ...

(from the 2017 album "The Much Much How How and I", and featured in advertisements for Apple's

iPhone XR The iPhone XR is a smartphone developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is part of the twelfth generation of the iPhone, alongside the higher-end iPhone XS/XS Max models. Pre-orders began on October 19, 2018, with the official release on Octo ...

in the UK, USA, and Canada) *"Meeting" album by A.G.A. Trio with Arsen Petrosyan on Duduk (2020 by NAXOS WORLD)

Anime soundtracks

* '' Arrietty'' by Cécile Corbel, in the track "Sho's Song - Instrumental Version" * ''

Tales from Earthsea ''Tales from Earthsea'' is a collection of fantasy stories and essays by American author Ursula K. Le Guin, published by Harcourt in 2001. It serves as an accompaniment to the five novels (1968 to 2001) of the Earthsea cycle, all set in the fi ...

'' by Tamiya Terashima, in the tracks "The Trip", "The Spider" and "Violent Robbery/The Seduction of the Undead".

Etymology

Overview

History

Balkan duduk

In popular culture

Film soundtracks

Television soundtracks

Video game scores

Popular music

Anime soundtracks

See also

References

Further reading