PAN flute: origin and sound

At present we know an endless number of musical instruments, each with fascinating features. While some are much more popular and common than others, the truth is that there are many others that are inventions. wonderful and have a distinctive sound that has the ability to bring interesting qualities to the music. That is why in this lesson from a TEACHER we will talk about origin and sound of the pan flute so that you know yourself more about this curious instrument that is more than 3,000 years old.

Index

1. What is the origin of the pan flute
2. Characteristics of the pan flute
3. The sound of the pan flute
4. Versions of the pan flute

The pan flute is one of those instruments that have persisted throughout history despite the passage of time. The pan flute has its origin in the Ancient Greece and, with this, we refer to Europe in the period of the year 1,200 a. C. until the year 146 a. C ..

The Greeks of Ancient Greece were highly intellectual people,

As a consequence, many of its artifacts were created at the same time as symbols, musical instruments were no exception, because in fact the word "music" itself, comes from the Greek word "Muses", that in Greek mythology they are the daughters of the god Zeus who had the power to inspire in the disciplines related to creativity and intellect. The pan flute is the case, well It is named after the god "Pan", which we will talk about later.

Image: Slideshare

The pan flute is a wind instrumentwhich is formed by various reed tubes gaps in a row (sometimes it can be more than one). The tubes are open at one end and covered at the other and vary in size to change notes. The number of tubes is also not determined, since it depends on the variation of the instrument, the place of manufacture and the culture. (since even though they come from Ancient Greece, they are still manufactured today and in different places, as we will see more go ahead.)

The pan flute is named after the Greek demigod named "Pan", many times depicted as a faun (a creature of the woods, half human half goat) in Roman mythology. Pan represents the shepherds and is also a fertility and male sexuality god. People say that he used the flute to seduce nymphs (another mythological figure), who were feminine creatures of great beauty found in nature.

Pan is represented many times playing this flute, surrounded by nature or leaning against a tree.

The pan flute is played blowing shallowly above the tubes and is usually held with both hands. Since each tube is a different size, either in diameter or in length, the note it produces it is also different and the interpreter moves the flute horizontally to choose which tube blow.

In general, it is difficult to standardize the sound of the pan flute since there are several variations of it, but a characteristic quality of the sound of this instrument is the presence of air flow very clear along with the note.

Despite being such an ancient instrument, the pan flute still exists today and many variations have been created, which also come from different geographical areas. Thanks to this, this flute type in many cases it has acquired folkloric characteristics.

Between the versions of the pan flute we can mention the following:

• The syringa: another Greek version of the pan flute, but associated with a female deity.
• The paixiao: comes from ancient China.
• The zampoña or siku:common South American areas such as Bolivia and Peru.
• The wot: from Thailand. In this version the tubes are placed in a circular way.
• The nai: originally from Romania.
• The kuvytsi: the Ukrainian or Russian version of the pan flute.

We must remember that instruments are also the product of human curiosity and motivation to seek new results. Each instrument gives us sounds with different characteristics that can be used with the only limitation of our creativity. Knowing about their origin provides us with data that enhances our depth of understanding, and with it, the ability to continue creating.

If you want to read more articles similar to Pan flute: origin and sound, we recommend that you enter our category of Musical instruments.