Group Reader Guide: Music

NAÏ

The naï is a “pipe” instrument, common throughout the Balkans, with Romania having the greatest variety. The wooden instrument is usually made by the player and can have 5-11 pipes, or tubes, of varying lengths, with or without finger holes, with the bottom tube closed or open at the lower end. It is played similarly to a flute, blowing air into the wooden pipes, sometimes using the throat and tongue to help the passage of air through the tubes. The instrument has been referred to as “Flûte de Pan” and is used by Romanian shepherds in the countryside and Romanian folk musicians and dancers.

Gheorghe Zamfir–Balada Sarpelui