Ephemeral Mists' Musical Instruments - Ney

The ney (also nai, nye, nay, gagri tuiduk, or karghy tuiduk ) is an end blown flute which plays a prominent role in Persian, Arabic, and Turkish music traditions. It is a very ancient instrument, with images of ney players portrayed in wall paintings of the Egyptian pyramids and actual neys being found in the excavations of Ur. This indicates that the ney has been played continuously for 4,500–5,000 years, making it one of the oldest musical instruments still in use. I feel that the memories and history wrapped around this wonderful instrument seems to be bound within the timbre of the instrument, as it possesses a very warm and haunting, mournful sound (especially in the lower registers). The ney is made of a piece of hollow cane or reed. Traditionally, they have five or six finger holes and one thumb hole. I personally use the 6 hole version. A highly skilled ney player can reach more than three octaves, making the ney a wonderful and expressive melodic instrument. There are differences between the Turkish neys and the Neys found in the Persian regions. I personally use the Turkish model, as I prefer the "Bashpare" (which is a mouthpiece found on the Turkish models, not present on Persian models).