The frula (, sr-Cyrl, фрула), also known as svirala (свирала) or jedinka, is a musical instrument which resembles a medium sized

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

, traditionally played in rural

Southeast Europe Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe is a geographical sub-region of Europe, consisting primarily of the region of the Balkans, as well as adjacent regions and Archipelago, archipelagos. There are overlapping and conflicting definitions of t ...

, primarily South Slavic countries. It is an end-blown

aerophone An aerophone is a musical instrument that produces sound primarily by causing a body of air to vibrate, without the use of strings or membranes (which are respectively chordophones and membranophones), and without the vibration of the instrume ...

with six holes, typically made of wood. The frula is a traditional instrument of South Slavic

shepherd A shepherd is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations; it exists in many parts of the globe, and it is an important part of Pastoralism, pastoralist animal husbandry. ...

s, who would play while tending their flocks. For a list of similar instruments, see the section below.

Names

In Croatia, it is also commonly known as "jedinka". Other local names in Croatia include ''žveglica'', ''šaltva'', ''kavela'', ''ćurlik''. In English, the instrument has also simply been called the "Serbian flute".

Overview

The frula is a small wooden flute with six holes. In rural Southeast Europe, the frula was played by shepherds while tending their flocks. It is a traditional instrument of Serbia, one of several aerophones used for leisure time, rituals, or accompanying the '' kolo'' (circle dance), along with long flutes (''duduk'', ''cevara''), the double flute (''dvojnice''), and the bag-pipe ('' gajde'').

Legacy

There are many events dedicated to the frula, such as the ''Prva pastirska frula'' in Jagnjilo, ''Dani Save Jeremića'' in

Ražanj Ražanj () is a village and municipality located in the Nišava District of southern Serbia. The municipality consists of 23 settlements having a total population of 7,010 inhabitants, with 1,138 inhabitants living in Ražanj itself (2022 census ...

, ''sabori frulaša'' in Lelić and Prislonica, ''takmičenja frulaša'' in Iđoš, and ''Frula fest'' in

Kruševac Kruševac ( sr-Cyrl, Крушевац, ) is a list of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Rasina District in central Serbia. It is located in the valley of West Morava, on Rasina (river), Rasina river. According to the 202 ...

. A popular Serbian folk song is ''Ej čija frula'' ("O, whose frula"), recorded by, among others, Braća Bajić, Radiša Urošević and Cune Gojković. ;Other similar flutes * '' shvi'', Armenia * '' sopilka'', Ukraine * ''

lamzdeliai Lamzdeliai (pipes) are traditional wind instruments in Lithuania. The instrument was popular during night herding, at young people's gatherings, and weddings. ''Lamzdeliai'' are used to play improvised herding melodies—''raliavimai'', ''ridovim ...

'', Lithuania * '' floghera'', Greece * '' furulya'', Hungary * '' fujarka'', Poland * ''

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 ...

'', Turkey * '' balaban'' or '' duduk'', double-reed, Armenia and Azerbaijan

References

* * {{Serbian souvenirs Fipple flutes Croatian musical instruments Serbian musical instruments Music of Croatia Music of Serbia