Gaida
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-->The gaida (also spelled "gajda") is a bagpipe from South Eastern Europe (The Balkans). It is played throughout Bulgaria and Macedonia primarily. Cousins of this instrument are found in Albania, Bosnia, Croatia, Greece, Romania, Serbia and Turkey.
Contents
Instrument parts
Bag
This consists of a bag made out of goat or sheep hide that is airtight. Different regions have different ways of treating the skin. The simplest methods involve just the use of salt, while more complex treatments involve milk, flour, and the removal of hair. The bag is the reservoir that supplies the pipes with air. When this bag is squeezed under the player's arm, air is forced through the reeds of the pipes, creating sound. The stocks into which the chanters and blowpipe and drone fit are called "glavini" (главини) in Bulgarian. These can be made out of Cornel wood (дрян) or animal horn.Blow pipe
This is a short, conical wooden or bone tube in which the player blows to refill the bag. At the end of the blow pipe that is within the bag, there is a small valve of leather or felt that allows air into the bag via the blow pipe but not back out.
Chanters
These are the pipes that play the melody.Reeds (lemellas)
Each chanter is fitted with a reed made from reed (arundo donax), bamboo, or elder. The reed is fitted into the end of the chanter that goes into the bag. The reed itself is a round tube plugged at one end with cork, wax or the natural walls of the reed. The other end is open and a tongue is cut that vibrates when air is passed through. The end of the reed is wrapped in string to create an airtight seal when inserted into the chanter. The length of the reed that protrudes from the chanter determines the chanter's tuning, and can be adjusted by sliding it in or out. The wrapping is traditionally lubricated with suet, although the same cork grease used for clarinets also works fine. If the reeds don't sound properly, the notch cut in the open end of the reed can be tightened closer to the tube part of the reed, using a rubber band to create a narrower gap.Melody chanter (gaidunitza)
This is a smaller tube (chanter) with a conical bore (in Bulgaria), cylindrical bore (in Macedonia and other regions), made from boxwood (shimshir) cornel wood, plum wood or other fruit wood. It has 8 holes in it: the top four are covered by the thumb and first three fingers of the left hand, then the four fingers of the right hand cover the remaining four holes. An important feature of the gaida's chanter (which it shares with a number of other Eastern European bagpipes) is the "flea-hole" (also known as a mumbler or voicer) which is covered by the index finger of the left hand. The flea-hole is smaller than the rest and usually consists of a small tube that is made out of metal or a chicken or duck feather. Uncovering the flea-hole raises any note played by a half step, and it is used in creating the musical ornamentation that gives Balkan music its unique character.Drone
This pipe is a long, three-piece tube. It has no fingerholes, unlike the melody chanter, since it only plays one note, a "drone". This note is normally lower than those played by the melody chanter (because it is longer and its reed is twice as big).Related instruments
The gaida has many cousins, some of which can be found here. Some of these related instruments are:- Bock (Czech)
- Cimpoi (Romanian)
- Duda (Hungarian/Polish)
- Koza (Polish)
- Diple (Dalmatian Coast)
- Tulum (Turkish)
- Dankiyo (Pontic [Turks and Greeks])
- Gaiinda (Greek)
- Gajdy (Polish/Czech/Slovak)
- Gaita (Galician)
- Surle (Serbian/Croatian)
- Mezoued/Zukra (Northern Africa)
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