A Peruvian man playing an Incan zampoña.

The pan flute (also known as panpipes) is an ancient musical instrument based on the principle of the stopped pipe, consisting usually of ten or more pipes of gradually increasing length (and, at times, girth). The pan flute has long been popular as a folk instrument, and is considered the ancestor of both the pipe organ and the harmonica, or mouth organ. The pan flute is named for its association with the rustic Greek god Pan. The pipes of the pan flute are typically made from bamboo or giant reed (Arundo donax); other materials used include wood, plastic, and metal. Pan pipes, from Nordisk familjebok. ... Image File history File links Caption: MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. ... Image File history File links Caption: MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. ... For other meanings of Inca, see Inca (disambiguation). ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... Organ in Katharinenkirche, Frankfurt am Main, Germany // The pipe organ (Greek ὄργανον, órganon) is a musical instrument that produces sound by admitting pressurized air through a series of pipes. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Pan (Greek , genitive ) is the Greek god of nature who watches over shepherds and their flocks: paein means to pasture. ... Diversity Around 91 genera and 1,000 species Subtribes Arthrostylidiinae Arundinariinae Bambusinae Chusqueinae Guaduinae Melocanninae Nastinae Racemobambodinae Shibataeinae See the full Taxonomy of the Bambuseae. ... Binomial name Arundo donax L. Arundo donax L. (Giant Reed) is a tall perennial reed, native to fresh waters in the Mediterranean region. ...

Another term for the pan flute is syrinx, from Greek mythology, the story of Pan. The plural of syrinx is syringes, from which the modern word syringe is derived. (Pan pipes is both singular and plural.) Other names for the instrument include the Latin fistula panis. According to Bulfinchs Mythology, Syrinx (Greek Συριγξ) was a nymph and a follower of Artemis, known for her chastity. ... Note: This page or section contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ...

Structure

The pipes comprising it are stopped at one end, at which the standing wave is reflected giving a note an octave lower than that produced by an open pipe of equal length. In the traditional South American style, pipes are fine-tuned to correct pitch by placing small pebbles or dry corn kernels into the bottom of the pipes. Contemporary makers of curved Romanian-style panpipes use wax (commonly beeswax) to tune new instruments. Special tools are used to place or remove the wax. Corks and rubber stoppers are also used, and are easier to quickly tune pipes. Beeswax cake Fresh wax scales (in the middle of the lower row) Beeswax is a product from a bee hive, specifically the hive of any species of honey bee (the genus Apis). ...

The god Pan teaching Daphnis to play the syrinx

Download high resolution version (388x769, 31 KB)Pan and Daphnis This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Download high resolution version (388x769, 31 KB)Pan and Daphnis This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ...

Playing

The pan flute is played by blowing horizontally across the open end against the sharp inner edge of the pipes. Each pipe is tuned to a note, called the fundamental. By overblowing, that is, increasing the pressure of breath and tension of lips, odd harmonics (notes whose frequencies are odd-number multiples of the fundamental) may also be produced. The Romanian panflute has the pipes arranged in a curved array, enabling the player to easily reach all the notes by simply swiveling their head. These instruments can also play all the sharps and flats, with a special technique of both tilting the pipes and jaw movement. An advanced player can play any scale and in any key. There are two styles of vibrato possible, hand vibrato and breath vibrato. In hand vibrato, the player applies a gentle motion to one end of the panflute (usually the high end) in much the same way as the violin vibrato is achieved by rocking the hand from the wrist. Breath vibrato is the same technique used by players of the flute and other woodwinds. Overblowing is producing a different note in a wind instrument by forcing air harder. ... Pitched musical instruments are usually based on a harmonic oscillator such as a string or a column of air. ...

Variations

The European curved-style pan flute was popularized by the Romanian musician Gheorghe Zamfir, who toured extensively and recorded many albums of pan flute music in the 1970s, and by several other artists who began recording at the same time. Today there are thousands of devoted players across Europe, Asia and the Americas. Both the curved and traditional South American variations are also very popular in Peruvian traditional groups and other Andean music. A musician is a person who plays or composes music Musicians can be classified by their role in creating or performing music: A singer (or vocalist) uses his or her voice as an instrument. ... Gheorghe Zamfir (born April 6, 1941, in Găeşti, Romania) is a musician who is a virtuoso of the pan flute. ... A quena, a traditional Andean instrument Andean music comes from the approximate area inhabited by the Incas prior to European contact. ...

This simple instrument was used in some songs by The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, Bee Gees, Agustín Lara, Luis Miguel, Aerosmith and Céline Dion, and has enjoyed some popularity in New Age music. The Beatles were an English rock band from Liverpool whose members were John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. ... Simon and Garfunkel are an American popular music duo comprised of Paul Simon and Arthur Art Garfunkel. ... The Bee Gees were a singing trio of brothers — Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb — that became one of the most successful musical acts of all time. ... Agustin Lara. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Aerosmith is a prominent American rock band, regarded by some as Americas Greatest Rock and Roll Band. [1][2] Although they are known as the bad boys from Boston[3], none of the bands members are actually from that city. ... Céline Marie Claudette Dion, OC OQ (born March 30, 1968) is a Canadian Grammy and Juno award winning pop singer and occasional songwriter. ... New Age describes a broad movement characterized by alternative approaches to traditional Western culture. ...

Types of pan flutes

Chilean panflute, or siku.

• Nai (Romania). Note that nai is also the Romanian word for the Middle Eastern reed flute ney.
• Antara (Andes)
• Paixiao (China)
• So (Korea)
• Syrinx
• Siku (Andes)
• A small syrinx called chiflo or xipro was used by Galician cycling sharpeners in Spain^[1], Argentina^[2] and Mexico, who quickly blew loud scales to advertise their arrival to the neighborhood. Traditionally they were bored from a block of wood but more recently they were cast from plastic.

Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (794x1242, 135 KB) cutout from Image:Chilean pan pipes. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (794x1242, 135 KB) cutout from Image:Chilean pan pipes. ... NAI may mean: Network Associates, Inc. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Planes view of the Andes, Peru. ... The paixiao (traditional: 排簫; simplified: 排箫; pinyin: páixiao; also pai xiao, pai-hsiao) is an ancient Chinese wind instrument, a form of pan pipes. ... According to Bulfinchs Mythology, Syrinx (Greek Συριγξ) was a nymph and a follower of Artemis, known for her chastity. ... Tuyu siku The Siku (also sicu or sicus), is a zampoña panpipe. ... Planes view of the Andes, Peru. ... Galicia (Spain) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... A hand-spun pencil sharpener. ...

Panflutists

• Douglas Bishop (USA)
• Gheorghe Zamfir (Romania)
• Ulrich Herkenhoff (Germany)
• Damian Luca (Romania)
• Raluca Patuleanu (Romania)
• Fănică Luca (Romania)
• Stefan Negura (Moldova)
• Nicolae Pirvu (Romania)
• Radu Simion (Romania)
• Stanciu Simion (Romania)
• Matthias Schlubeck (Germany)
• Nicolae Voiculet - Romania
• Brad White (USA)

Gheorghe Zamfir (born April 6, 1941, in Găeşti, Romania) is a musician who is a virtuoso of the pan flute. ... Fănică Luca (5 April 1894 - 26 October 1968) was a Romanian musician and a pan pipe virtuoso, who was the first to make this instrument popular outside his own country. ...

External links

Two European pan flutes

• Video: How to Play Panflute by Brad White
• Visit Pan-Flute.Com's All About Panflutes by Brad White
• A Worldwide History of the Panflute by Douglas Bishop
• Free Panflute Lessons by Douglas Bishop
• The Hall of Panflutists by Douglas Bishop
• Panflute World Forum (Yahoo! group)
• Panflute-Page Forum (Yahoo! group)
• Panflute Forum (Panflute discussion group)
• World Pan Flute Association Inc. (a non-profit organization)