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part of the body, there are seven thick (with a diameter of 0.9-1.0 mm), and in 
the upper part – the 7 most thin (0.6 mm) strings. In the middle, there are 0.7-
0.8 mm thick strings. One end of the string passes through the holes drilled at 
the side of the body, forming a right angle, and is fixed with knots.
The knots, in turn, are closed with a removable ruler (khatkesh) placed on 
the side. The other ends of the strings are wound on the pegs (paya) located 
on the oblique side, passing through the hole previously made in it. The pegs 
are turned with a special key (achar) of bronze, copper or brass. Toward the 
pegs, under each of the triple strings, there are two bronze hinged levers (ling), 
by which, raising or lowering the strings, they change the height of the sounds 
extracted from the strings by a semitone. 

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The strings are engaged by plectrums made from horn or metal plates that 
are placed under the thimble (uskuk) worn on both index fingers. While playing, 
the ganun is placed on the knees with the long side facing the performer.
Notes for the ganun are written in the treble and bass clef, and they sound 
a tone higher than written. The range of the ganun is from G in the great octave 
to C in the three-line octave. The timbre of the ganun is unusually gentle and 
soft. 
The diatonic scale of the instrument with a volume of 3.5 octaves is divided 
into low (bem), medium  (orta) and high (zil) registers. In arpeggios, chords, 
and weak sounding, all fingers are involved. Due to the possibility of using the 
levers to change the pitch, all flat and sharp scales can be played on the ganun.
The performing technique allows for using of arpeggios, glissandos,
passages and other techniques. You can take intervals: second, third, fourth and 
fifth. Double notes, sixth, seventh, and octave intervals are obtained through 
tremolo. Intervals greater than an octave and three and four-sound chords are 
also possible. The technical capabilities of the instrument allow you to play 
complex compositions.
After nearly the 50-year “silence” of the ganun caused by the dismissive 
attitude to the instrument (and perhaps only to it) in the 1930s, thanks to 
composers Suleyman Alasgarov and Said Rustamov, it was played again 
before the audience attending the opening of the decade of the Azerbaijani 
literature and culture in Moscow in 1959. Asya Tagiyeva played the ganun 
solo at the stage of the Bolshoy Theater of the USSR.
After this, the interest in the ganun grew considerably. The ganun was 
included in all the ensembles of the folk musical instruments, as well as the 
various folk, chamber and pop ensembles. Attention was paid to teaching the 
younger generation of musicians to play the ganun. Gulara Tagiyeva created 
an amateur girl’s ensemble of ganun-players in the Palace of the Pioneers 
and Schoolchildren (now the Tofiq Ismayilov Palace of Children’s and Youth 
Creativity). 
Then the talented ganun-player Tarana Aliyeva organized the ensemble 
“Inji” of 7 performers from the graduates of the Azerbaijan National 
Conservatoire. The performed not only mughams “Bayati-Shiraz”, “Mahur-
Hindi” and works of the Azerbaijani composers at a high level, but also the 
works by foreign composers – Eduardo di Kapua “ O Sole Mio” (Oh My Sun), 
Consuelo Velasquez “Besame Mucho” (Kiss Me Much), Zequinha de Abreu 
“Tico-Tico” and others [10]. The ensemble continues to perform successfully 
in our days. 

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The ganun is first of all an instrument of professionals. It is included in 
the orchestras and ensembles of folk musical instruments. A separate group 
(at least 4 instruments) acts as a solo and accompanying instrument in the 
orchestra. It makes an especially strong impression when coupled with the 
stringed instruments like saz, oud and tar. Given the characteristics of the 
sound, the ganun is often assigned the role of the leading instrument. 
Thanks to its sonorous, bright and soft sound, the ganun is often used for 
the solo performance of mugams (mostly “Bayati-Shiraz” and “Chahargah”) 
and folk songs. From the pieces of the professional music, Zakir Bagirov’s 
“Rhapsody” was first performed to the accompaniment of two harps and the 
ganun.  
Suleyman Alasgarov wrote a “Poem” for the ganun and the orchestra of 
folk musical instruments and the dance tune “Shalakho” (in fact, “Sheleqoy”), 
Kamal Ahmadov – “Rhapsody”, Dadash Dadashov – a “Play”, the poem 
“Ithaf” (“Dedication”),  “Joy Chinar” in the genre of the scherzo, “Concert” 
for the ganun and symphony orchestra. Oktay Zulfuqarov wrote “The Ballad”, 
“Poem”, “Play” and “Lullaby”, Elnara Dadashova – “Play”, Ilham Abdullayev 
– two “Plays” for the ganun and piano.
The unique sound of the ganun is particularly noticeable while performing 
“Concert” written by Fikret Amirov and Elmira Nazirova for the piano and 
symphony orchestra.
The lyrical and gentle sound of the ganun is conveyed very effectively 
and pleasing in the works “Dream Dance” and “Spring Suite” by Haji 
khanmammadov, “Concert”, “Spring melodies”, “Song Without Words” 
and the rhapsody “Karabakh tunes” by Suleyman Alasgarov written for the 
orchestra of folk instruments.
The septet “Dervish” and “Crossing” by Frangiz Alizadeh on Nasimi’s 
words for the cello, violin and folk instruments, performed at international music 
festivals, scored great success. Using the ganun in these works, the composer 
sought to give them an “oriental breath”. It is pleasing that the ganun was 
included by the composer in the score of the opera “Intizar” (“Expectation”).
The ganun classes are currently available at the Azerbaijan National 
Conservatoire and the Music Colleges in different cities (Nakhchivan, Ganja, 
Sumgayit, Lankaran, Shaki, Aghdam and Shusha) of our country. Tarana 
Aliyava, the Honored Artist of the Republic, published “A school for the ganun 
“. So the future of the ganun is in safe hands.

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BALABAN IS A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT    
OF THE TURKISH WORLD
According to written sources, there used to be more than 20 wind musical 
instruments differing from each other on construction, means of sound 
extraction and sounding in the territory of Azerbaijan. According to modern 
classification, they referred to lip (ney, ksul, yan-tutek, nay, musigar, kelenay, 
mizmar, tutek, burbug), uvular (sumsu, sumsu-balaban, tulum, shapbir-balaban, 
balaban, zourna, argan) and mouthpiece (bug, boru, gavdum, kerenay, nefir, 
shakhnefir, sheypur) types of wind instruments [3, 64]. 
Less than half of the musical instruments mentioned above are used today, 
but widely spread ones among them, are balaban, zourna, tutek, ney and tulum. 
Among them, balaban is the one with the most delicate, velvet, extraordinarily 
lyrical and singing sound, often it is called “yasti-balaban” because of its 
flattening cane. The word “balaban” consists of two semantic syllables: “bala” 
(small) and “ban” (voice), signifying the low voice that matches the timbre 
of the instrument. In Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, Ganja-Gazakh and 
Karabag zones of Azerbaijan, it is famous under the names of “balaman” or 
“mey”.
Balaban is one of the ancient wind instruments. Its name is mentioned in 
the verses of the classics of the Azerbaijani poetry. 
Balaban consists of stem, cane, regulator and cap.
The stem (govda) is a hollow cylindrical pipe with the length of 280-320 
mm and the diameter of 20-22 mm made of (the manufacturing process is 
called “balaban chekmek” - to draw balaban) apricot (advantageously), nuts, 
pear, mulberry, cornel, cheery-plum (wild) trees as well as of unabi.
The upper end of the stem (bash, kup) is given a ball form and the lower 
end (ayag) is a bit sharpened. The sound channel (perde) with the diameter of 
10 mm is bored with drill. There are 8 bored holes (ses perdesi) on the face part. 
The museum copies of this instrument witness that their number reached up to 
6-7 in the past. On the body part, one more hole is opened corresponding to the 
half of the distance between the first and the second holes of the face side,
With the purpose of improvement of the row and timbre of the instrument 
sounding, sometimes additional holes are bored which is called a regulating 
hole (nizam perdesi) in the lower end of the face side.

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Names of the play holes reflect the functional (bash perde – first, shah 
perde – fourth, achig (open)  perde – sixth, ayaq (foot) perde - eighth, arkha 
(back)  perde – face), scale-intonational (segah perde – second and fifth, 
mahur perde, - seventh and others) and acoustic (nizam perdesi) features of 
the instrument.
The upper part of the stem is put a mouthpiece – cane (gamish, gargi, 
dil) which is made of cane, growing in waterless places. These canes don’t 
absorb the humidity. The cane is flat from the side of the cleaned external 
layer, forming the double uvula of plain form and this part is worn a regulator  
in the shape of a ring. The other end of the cane is put a wooden pivot with the 
diameter of 7-12 mm. A bit lower from the knot, the end is drawn and covered 
with thread. It is done in order to allow the free movement of the regulator 
down and not let the cane to become flat. It is covered with vegetable oil and 
burnt on a coal or a candle. The length of the mouthpiece is 90-110 mm and 
the width is 20-25 mm in the upper flattened portion. This end is kept between 
the lips of the player during the performance. 
The regulator (kherek, bogazlig, boyundurug, ulama, ekme) is made of 
a willow or a vineyard branch with the length of 60 mm and the width of 10 
mm. The wooden branch is cut in two parts on its longitudinal direction. After 
polishing and softening in the boiled water, the bent ends of the tree are joined 
with threads and worn approximately to the mid of the cane.
During the movement of it up and down around the mouthpiece, they 
change the length of its vibrating part and by it they change the order of the 
instrument – in the upper position it is lowered and in the lower it is increased.
For the protection of the cane from damage, after playing it is covered 
with wooden cap-clip (gapag, gisgach, agizlig, kip, bend, yashmag, sikhnag, 
gapanja) of willow, nut, cornel or mulberry tree. To avoid the loss, it is joined 
with thread to regulator.
During the play, the balaban is kept right in front of you in a bit bent 
position and the air is blown into cane of the instrument. Under the influence 
of the blown air, the fragile cane plates vibrate and cause the sound. The height 
of the sound is changed by means of closing and opening of playing holes by 
the fingers of both hands.
The order of the instrument is regulated by means of the regulator, widening 
of the sound holes and movement of the mouthpiece down or up. In order to 
lessen the order of the instrument to half tone or a tone, the mouthpiece is 
moved back or up to the corps of which they wear “barrel” – yedek, drawing 
the length of the stem to 8-10 mm.

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Half tone is made by closing or opening the play holes to half. For example, 
for receiving the sound  G-sharp, it is important to open the half of the hole 
which makes the sound A. For receiving the sound  G-flat, it is important to 
close the lower hole in half. The half closed holes on the face side of the stem 
are opened or closed from side part. And back hole are opened from bottom 
to up and in opposite direction, that is from top to bottom how it is closed. In 
order to receive clean half tone sounds, it is important to place the middle parts 
of the fingers on the holes.
The range of the balaban is from G in the small octave to C in the twice-
accented octave. The venerable musicians also attract the sounds C-sharp, 
D, E-flat and E in the twice-accented octave by means of pressuring of the 
muscles of the lips (dodag sikhma) and the effort of the blown air. Another 
playing manner (bogaz vurma) is used for receiving of an interrupted sound.
The sound of balaban is vague and ringing in the low (bem) registry, soft 
and lyrical in the medium (orta) registry and fragile and clear in the high (zil) 
registry. The balaban players are able to receive chromatic sounds by means of 
regulating the blowing of air with half-closed or open holes and by changing 
the level of pressing the cane with their lips in medium or in high registries.
As it is noted, the sound of the balaban is gentle, beautiful, sweet, velvety 
and soft, penetrating into the human soul. Such sounding of the instrument 
is provided by a double reed that vibrates as the performer blows through it. 
In addition, with the circulation of air drawn into the mouth through the nose 
and on the contrary, it is possible to blow air into the barrel of the instrument 
continuously and thus convey the melody more fully as the performer wishes. 
Such performance of the wind instruments is only characteristic with the 
balaban and zourna.
In Azerbaijan, there are many followers of the well-known virtuoso 
performers such as Hasan Aliyev, Ali Kerimov, Shahali Ismayilov, Mehdi 
Nazarli, Hasan Bakhshalioglu, Museyib Abbasov, Alipasha Gaytaranoglu, 
Shahmurad Tahirov, Hasrat Huseynov, Izzatali Zulfugarov, Bahruz Zeynalov, 
Rza Mammadov, Garachi Ismayil, Jannatali Hajiyev, Agasi Agasizada, 
Maharram Movsumov, Manaf Mammadov, Agasaf Seyidov, Alafsar Rahimov, 
Alakbar Asgarov, Hasan Maharramov, Alijavad Javadov, Ashraf Ashrafzada, 
Mubariz Atayev, etc. In recent years, the girls have also shown interest in this 
instrument.
Nowadays, the most famous performance is the duets of the musicians of 
gosha balaban (a pair of balabans): one of them being master, plays the main 
melody and another – demkesh, zuytutan, zuychu (apprentice) accompanies 

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that melody with bourdon on one and the same low sound on height. In the 
accompaniment of this duet, they play songs, dances and instrumental pieces.
During the weddings, holidays and celebrations as well as in the 
accompaniment of dances, this duet is joined with the musicians who play the 
gaval, naghara or gosha-naghara. 
The ensemble, including two balaban players and one percussion instrument 
is famous among the people under the name of “balabanchilar destesi”. In the 
past, the balaban player actively participated in the vocal part interval along 
with the tar and kamancha or gave bourdon sounds by preferring them while 
performing in the sazende ensembles. Additionally, as an applied destination 
on it, they also played the shepherd melodies (“Choban bayatisi”, “Goyun 
ovshari”) and mourning melodies (“Matem avazlari” – mourning verses) with 
the balaban.  
Balaban is also used in ashig ensembles. In this case, they use its rare type 
(jura), which is tuned for saz very often. Its mouthpiece is made of a thin reed, 
which is why it emits a higher sound. In ashig ensembles, it doubles the melody 
of singing or creates the background of melody with bourdon in the tonaility. 
During the instrumental introductions to the singing of ashig, the balaban-
player plays the main melody and the ashiug, in his turn, accompanies him on 
his saz with harmonic sounds. Sometimes, the balaban-player also dances in 
parallel while accompanying the song of the ashig.
The timbre and dynamic capacities of the instrument are clearly shown in 
solo singing of mugham with the duet of balaban players despite the fact that its 
sound order doesn’t allow to play all its melody parts. This is why, the mugham 
dastgahs are usually played by the balaban-players in a shortened form. At the 
same time, taking into account the range of the instrument, different tones are 
selected that are specific to mughams and its divisions. The role of the balaban 
master often varies and changes in the vocal instrumental version of playing of 
mugham. In some cases, he only plays in the background as secondary sound, 
in others especially, during a big pause in vocal party, it plays an active role in 
the introduction of melody or in switching to the playing of mugham parts in 
a suitable moment.
The balaban has great technical and artistic expressive features. Therefore, 
as the most versatile wind instrument, it is widely used in various orchestras 
and ensembles. 
In the orchestras of folk instruments, the balabans comprise two groups, which 
in turn, are divided into two parts. All kinds of balabans are used - small (piccolo), 
ordinary, tenor and bass (bem), which differ from each other with registers.

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The balaban is assigned with melodic phrases in solo playing and used for 
playing harmonic accords and burdon sounds as an accompanying instrument 
in the orchestra of folk instruments. 
The solo performances of the symphonic works of the Azerbaijani 
composers make a vivid impression on the listeners: “The Second Fantasy” 
by Uzeyir Hajibeyli, the suite “In the Fields of Azerbaijan” by Muslim 
Magomayev, “Sinfonietta” by Haji Khanmammadov, “The Dance Suite” by 
Khalil Jafarov and the poem “In Memory of the Unknown Soldier” by Ogtay 
Zulfigarov. These pieces skillfully use the balabans in high and low registers, 
providing pleasant nuances of timbre for the symphony orchestra.
In performances of the balaban, all kinds of the genres of the Azerbaijani 
music are heard – mugham (especially “Shushtar”) , songs (“Sari Galin”, 
“Apardi Sellar Sarani” , “San galmaz oldun”, “Dilberim”) and dance tunes 
(“Heyvagulu” “Gochali”, “Tarakama”). The performance of Uzeyir Hajibayli’s 
romances “Sevgili Janan” and “Sensiz”, Fikret Amirov’s “Gozalim Sensen”, 
Said Rustamov’s “Senindir”, Schubert’s “Serenade”, Cesar Cui “Orientale”, 
Tchaikovsky’s “Autumn Song” and “The Song about Tbilisi” by Revaz 
Logidze, make a great impression on the audience.
Given the musical and technical possibilities of the instrument, the 
Azerbaijani composers often include it in the scores of their major works. 
They have also written special music for this instrument. Among them are 
“Khayala Dalarkan” (Meditation)  by Suleyman Alasgarov for the balaban 
and orchestra of the folk instruments, the “Play” by Aydin Azimov for four 
balabans, a cycle of pieces “Colors of the Motherland” by Hasan Adigozalzada 
for the tar - solo, balaban and kamancha,  “Mugham and dialogue” by Rufat 
Ramazanov for the organ and the balaban, “Yalli” by Jalal Abbasov for 8 
balabans, tutek and gosha-naghara, the suite “In the chest of my grandmother” 
for chamber orchestra, children’s voices, balaban and clavecin,”Parallels” for 
piano trio and balaban, fantasy “City of my imagination” by Adila Yusifova 
for voice, string quartet, oboe,  balaban and piano, three folk dances by Yashar 
Khalilov for the quartet of balaban-players and “Play” by Nazim Guliyev for 
the balaban. 
In 1950s of XX century, playing of the balaban was included into the 
system of the professional musical education studied in the music schools in a 
methodical way. It is also taught in the National Conservatoire. It has set up a 
group of the balabani-players, which includes all types of the instrument. This 
group performs the complex works written by the classics of the world musical 
culture.

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The famous performer Alikhan Samadov has compiled a book called 
“Methodology of the balaban” and released seven albums under the name 
“Balaban”. The Azerbaijani melodies performed by him are heard in the films 
made in Hollywood and European countries.
The melodies sounded with balaban, brightly reflect all beauties and 
wonders of our musical culture. Therefore, this musical instrument is one of 
the most favorite ones in Azerbaijan.
An instrument under the same name is common in Iran [26]. The balaban 
is structurally similar to the Turkish mey. Unlike the Azerbaijani balaban, the 
Lezgins insert a cylindrical reed tube with a single lanced uvula into the upper 
end of the barrel of the balaban (known as “bumbuti” among the Dargins, 
“lalu” among the Avars and “ppelyuti” among the Laks). In Kabarda-Balkaria 
(balaban or kamyl) and in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan (balaban, bulaman, 
balabon), instruments of the same type are also provided with a single lanced 
uvula [82]. They remind the ancestor of the balaban, which is sumsu-balaban 
that existed recently in Azerbaijan. In the qamish (cane) balaban of the 
Turkmens, one end of the barrel is closed and a reed mouthpiece is inserted 
into the agach (wooden) balaban.
In Armenia, an instrument of the same type is called a duduk and in Georgia 
– a duduki. Although it is widespread, the Georgian duduki is considered to be 
borrowed from the Eastern countries and has been used since the 17
th
 century 
[88]. In Armenia, they believe that the birthplace of this instrument is ancient 
Armenia [89]. The argument for this conclusion is the Latin name of the apricot 
tree Prunus armeniaca (according to the conclusion of a prominent Russian 
botanist and academician, P. M. Zhukovskiy, this name is incorrect), which is 
used for making the barrel of the instrument.
But despite this, China is unconditionally recognized as the birthplace of 
this tree in the world. We should also recall another important fact. As noted 
above, in a duo of balaban-players, two people perform – the usta and the 
damkesh. These words have also been used in Georgia and Armenia. If the 
concept of “usta” and “damkesh” are found nowadays in everyday life and 
published works of Georgia, they avoid these terms in the literature of Armenia 
despite of using them in speaking and everyday life,  because the same words 
are not in their own language. 
The instruments similar to the balaban are also common in China, Korea 
and Japan. In China, guantzi (guan) is considered an instrument borrowed from 
the Uighurs [90], and in Korea, huanpiri but in Japan, hichikari (hichiriki) 
from the Chinese [91], i.e. the birthplace of these instruments is the Xinjiang 

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Uighur Autonomous Region of China inhabited by one of the ancient peoples 
of the Turkic group.
All these facts indicate the broader cultural ties between the peoples 
inhabiting in the vast area from Asia Minor to the Far East. So, the above-
mentioned information proves that the Armenian duduk, which is included in the 
Representative List of UNESCO, was invented in the area inhabited by Turks.