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 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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