Kaval

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This article is about the flute. For the city in Iran, see Kavar. For the
professional wrestler formerly known as Kaval, see Low Ki.
Bulgarian Kaval
Bulgarian kaval in key of D, African blackwood.jpg
Bulgarian kaval in key of D (Re), African blackwood, made in 2012 by master
craftsman Radoslav Paskalev

Bulgarian kaval in key of D (Re), Mopane wood, Pewter inlay - Wedding style kaval,
made in 2012 by master craftsman Radoslav Paskalev, Virginia, USA
Classification

Woodwind, Wind, Aerophone

Related instruments

�igirtma, Dilli Kaval, Duduk, Flute, Frula, Kawala, Jedinka, Ney, Shvi, Sring
The kaval is a chromatic end-blown flute traditionally played throughout Armenia,
the Balkans and Turkey.[1] The kaval is primarily associated with mountain
shepherds.[citation needed]

Unlike the transverse flute, the kaval is fully open at both ends, and is played by
blowing on the sharpened edge of one end. The kaval has 8 playing holes (7 in front
and 1 in the back for the thumb) and usually four more unfingered intonation holes
near the bottom of the kaval. As a wooden rim-blown flute, kaval is similar to the
kawala of the Arab world and ney of the Middle East.

Contents
1 Construction
2 History
3 Playing
4 Types
4.1 Bulgaria
4.2 Turkey
4.3 Greece
4.4 Republic of Macedonia
5 Related flutes
5.1 Svirka
5.2 Bashkirs and Caucasus
5.3 Romania
5.4 Moldova
6 See also
7 External links
8 References
Construction

A 1919 Kaval. Bone ferrules decorated on the lathe with turned grooves and bird's
eye decorations are applied with a preshaped cutting tool.
While typically made of wood (cornel cherry, apricot, plum, boxwood, mountain ash,
etc.), kavals are also made from water buffalo horn, Arundo donax Linnaeus 1753
(Persian reed), metal and plastic.

A kaval made without joints is usually mounted on a wooden holder, which protects
it from warping and helps keep the interior walls oiled. According to the key, the
kaval can be in the high register (C, C#), middle (D, H) or low (A, B). The kaval
plays two octaves and a fifth, in the chromatic scale. Its sound is warm,
melancholic and pleasant.
History
The kaval is primarily associated with mountain shepherds throughout the Balkans
and Anatolia and in the book Kaval: Traditional Folk Melodies for Balkan &
Anatolian Folk Flute, musician Pat MacSwyney suggests[citation needed] that the
kaval spread with the Yoruks from the Taurus mountains of southern Anatolia into
the southern Balkans of southeast Europe.

While in the past it was almost entirely a shepherd's instrument, today it is

widely used in folk songs and dances as part of ensembles or solo.

Playing
Unlike the transverse flute, the kaval is fully open at both ends, and is played by
blowing on the sharpened edge of one end. The kaval has 8 playing holes (7 in front
and 1 in the back for the thumb) and usually 4 more near the bottom of the kaval.
These holes are not used for playing the instrument, but determine the lowest
tone's pitch and timbre and are supposed to improve tone and intonation. In
Bulgaria they are known as "devil's holes", based on a folk tale in which the devil
tries to out-play a shepherd in a musical duel. While the shepherd is sleeping, the
devil drilled holes in the shepherd's kaval but instead of ruining the kaval, this
only served to enhance the shepherd's kaval playing thus thwarting the devil. In
Macedonia they are known as "glasnici" (????????) meaning "giving voice to/of".

When played, the kaval is held with both hands at an angle of approximately 45�
from the body, with the four fingers of the one hand covering the lower holes; the
upper three holes and the thumbhole are covered with the other hand. The mouth
covers ~� of the end. Change of the breath air pressure also changes the pitch.

Types
Bulgaria
The kaval that is most common in Bulgaria is the one in middle (D) register. The
kaval in lower (C) register is also not uncommon for this country. What is
characteristic for the Bulgarian style of kaval performance is the incredible
diversity of sound shades and techniques. According to the pitch there are four
different registers that can be achieved with the Bulgarian kaval. What controls
which register the performer works in is mostly the air flow and to some extent the
position of the mouth and the lips on the end of the kaval. A very characteristic
sound of kaval is achieved in the lowest register. It could sound very mild and
gentle if blown lightly while by changing the air stream a deeper (flageolet like)
sound is achieved. This sound is so outstanding that some consider it another
register that they call - kaba. It is also very interesting to notice that the
technique of circular breathing is successfully utilized while playing the kaval.
This technique lets the performer play without interrupting the air flow, while
taking a breath through the nose. In the past it has been considered an
extraordinary skill while nowadays it is used by more and more young performers.

The Bulgarian kaval, once made of a single piece of wood, is now constructed of
three separate sections (of cornel, walnut, plum or boxwood), with a total length
of 60 to 90 cm. Bone rings cover the joints, to prevent the wood from cracking.
Metal decoration is also found. The finger-holes are located in the central
section, while the lower (shorter) section has four additional holes called
dushnitsi or dyavolski dupki (�devil�s holes�); these are not covered in
performance. The kaval can be made in various tunings, D being the most common.

In the south-west Rhodope mountains, two kavals in the same tuning (called chifte
kavali) are played together, one performing the melody, the other a drone. This
type of kaval is made from one piece of wood. A similar use of the kaval is also
known in Macedonia and Kosovo, where one kaval of the pair (usually a lower one of
a same key) is �male�, the other �female�.
Turkey
In Turkey the term �kaval� is used generally to refer to all shepherd�s pipes and
more particularly (though not invariably) to ductless flutes. The presence or
absence of a duct is sometimes specified by the addition of a qualification: dilsiz
kaval (�kaval without a tongue�), dilli kaval (�kaval with a tongue�). Other
qualifications may be added to describe materials, size or constructional features:
kamis kavali (�reed kaval�), �am kavali (�pine kaval�), madeni kavali (�metal
kaval�); cura kavali (�small kaval�), �oban kavali (�shepherd�s kaval�, i.e. long
kaval); �� par�ali kavali (�kaval with three parts�). The Turkish kaval can be made
of wood, cane, bone or metal (usually brass) and has five or more finger-holes, one
thumb-hole and sometimes additional unfingered holes like the Bulgarian instrument.

Greece
In Thrace and some of the Aegean Islands the term �kavali� refers to an end-blown
flute of the flogera family. It has seven finger-holes and sometimes an additional
thumb-hole. In Greece's Macedonia the term kavali is also used to denote the
souravli. In Epirus the end-blown kaval is known as dzhamara.

Republic of Macedonia
There are five types of kavals in Republic of Macedonia,[citation needed] according
to their length and register:

najmal kaval (the smallest kaval) - length: 630 mm, basic tone: dis1;
mal kaval (small kaval) - length: 672 mm, basic tone: d 1;
kaval koj nema posebno ime (no-special-name kaval) - length: 700 mm, basic tone:
cis 1;
sreden kaval (middle kaval) - length: 752 mm, basic tone: c 1;
golem kaval (the big kaval) - length: 785 mm, basic tone: h.
The smallest and the "no-name" kavals are the most used in the Republic's of
Macedonia music tradition.

The Republic's of Macedonia �upelka is similar to the kaval (open on both ends),
except that it is shorter (240�350 mm). It can be made of either walnut, barberry,
ash wood, maple or other wood. The �upelka plays the chromatic scale (two octaves),
except the first note of the lower octave. In the low register, its sound is soft
and pleasant, while in the upper register it is sharp and shrill.

Related flutes
Svirka
The svirka (or tsafara, svorche, or little kaval) is a Bulgarian shepherds' flute,
consisting of one wooden tube 25 to 50 cm long with six or seven holes for fingers,
and a bone lip where it is endblown. It is played much like the kaval.[citation
needed]

Bashkirs and Caucasus

An open end-blown flute similar to that used by the Bashkirs and the Caucasians,
and are called by such terms as khobyrakh, Quray and choor or shoor.

A typical khobyrakh is a 70 cm-wide, smooth, hollow pipe made of an umbel (hollow

stem of a big, parasol-like umbelifer) or wood, with 3 or sometimes 6 finger-holes.
Nowadays, it is also made of plastic.[citation needed]

Romania
The Romanian caval dobrogean ("Dobrujan caval") or caval bulgaresc is a similar
instrument to the Bulgarian kaval. The instrument known simply as caval, however,
is instead a large duct flute. It has five finger-holes arranged in groups of two
and three, counting from the distal end.
Moldova
The Moldovan kaval is a Hungarian-Romanian[clarification needed] played in Cs�ng�
music; however, it is a fipple flute rather than endblown like the kaval.

See also
Salamuri
Sring
Dilli Kaval
Shvi
Frula, Central Balkans
Kawala
External links
Bob Snider's kaval page
Jouer du kaval Bulgare: approche pratique � usage des d�butants at blogspot (in
French)
References
Jeremy Montagu (29 October 2007). Origins and Development of Musical Instruments.
Scarecrow Press. pp. 47�. ISBN 978-0-8108-7770-2.
vte
Flutes and whistles
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Armenian musical instruments
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Macedonian musical instruments
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Iranian musical instruments
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Turkish musical instruments
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Azerbaijani musical instruments
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