Washint
| Woodwind instrument | |
|---|---|
| Classification | aerophone |
| Hornbostel–Sachs classification | 421.111.12 (end blown flute) |
| Playing range | |
| unknown, usually players take 20 to 30 washints with them for performing | |
The washint is an end-blown wooden flute originally used by the Amhara and Tigray people in Ethiopia and Eritrea. Traditionally, Amharic musicians would pass on their oral history through song accompanied by the washint as well as the krar, a six stringed lyre, and the masenqo, a one string fiddle.[1]
Construction and design
The washint can be constructed using wood, bamboo, or other cane. Varieties exists in different lengths and relative fingerhole placement, and a performer might use several different flutes over the course of a performance to accommodate different song types.[2] It generally has four finger-holes, which allows the player to create a pentatonic scale.[3]
See also
- Ney a flute of similar construction found in Middle Eastern Music
- Ney (Turkish) a Turkish flute of similar construction
- Kaval a similar wind instrument found in Azerbaijan, Turkey, Macedonia and Bulgaria
- Music of Ethiopia
- Krar
- Masenqo
References
- ^ Nidel, Richard (2005). World Music: The Basics. Routlidge Taylor & Francis Group, NY.
- ^ Kimberlin, Cynthia Tse (1974). "Ethiopian and Tribal Music". Ethnomusicology. 18 (1): 178. doi:10.2307/850080. JSTOR 850080.
- ^ Sárosi, B. (1967). "The Music of Ethiopian Peoples". Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae. 9: 14. doi:10.2307/901579. JSTOR 901579.
External links
Audio examples and pictures
- Washint tune played before entranced crowd (on EthioTube site part of YouTube)
- Boy mimicking Washint sound (on YouTube)
- Washint played by non Ethiopian (on YouTube)
- Ethiopian instruments images on the sidebar
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