ÇALĞi aləTLƏRİ DÜnyani valeh ediR

SHEPHERD’S PIPE SOUNDS IN ORCHESTRAS 
AND ANSAMBLES
The ney and tutek – the wind musical instruments that represent the eastern 
form of the flute and pipe, have long been widespread in Azerbaijan. The first 
examples of simple flutes and pipes without sound openings were discovered 
by the archaeologists in the Paleolithic monuments [34]. The multibarrelled 
and transversal flutes and pipes, according to researchers, appeared relatively 
late – in the early and late neolithic period.
Instruments of the same type as the ney are common in many parts of the 
world under different names. For example, in Ukraine, a similar instrument 
is called floyara, in Moldova – fluyer and kaval, in Abkhazia - acharpyn, in 
Ajaria – choban-salamuri, in Ossetia - uadynz, in Adygea - kamyl, in Kabarda-
Balkaria - bzhami, in Karachay-Cherkessia – sibizga and kamyl, in Georgia 
– ueno-salamuri, avili, kavili, nay or nestvi, in Armenia - sring, in Dagestan – 
ksyul (Lezgins), shyatakhi (Dargins), zybyzgy (Kumyks), in Chechnya - dutra, 
in Bashkortostan - kuray in Kazakhstan - sybyzgy , in Turkmenistan – kargy-
tyuidyuk, in Kyrgyzstan - sarbasnay [83], in the Arab world - ney, in Greece – 
tzamara, etc. Numerous varieties of the ney differing in the length of the barrel 
are known in Egypt, Iran and Turkey. For example, in Turkey, depending on the 
mughams performed, 13 types of the ney are used: bolaheng nisfiye, bolaheng-
sipurde mabeyni, sipurde, mustahsen, yildiz, kiz, kiz-mansur mabeyni, mansur, 
mansur-shah mabeyni, shah, davud, davud-bolaheng mabeyni and bolaheng 
[69].
The names of the ney and other wind instruments are common in the 
works of the prominent Azerbaijani poets of the Middle Ages. For example, 
Nizami Ganjavi’s poem “Iskandar-nameh” tells a story about the birth of the 
ney. According to Imadeddin Nasimi, the ney sounds good with the percussion 
instrument – the def. Muhammad Fizuli’s poem “Haft Jam” (“Seven Cups”) 
presents an allegorical conversation between the poet and the ney. The poet 
asks about the reason for grief in the sound of the ney and receives the answer: 
first, when the ney was a cane, it did not know grief – it grew up on land, fed 
on water, warmed itself with the sun, swayed in the wind and got along with 
fire, but then they turned their back on it and its heart could not bear these 
troubles.

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In Azerbaijan, several varieties of the ney were widespread in different 
historical periods. Thus, the scientist and musicologist Abdulqadir Maragai, 
reports about two contemporary types of the ney - white and black which were 
used in his time [57]. 
An image of the ney can be found in the medieval miniatures of the 
Azerbaijani artists Sultan Muhammad, Mirza Ali Tabrizi, Mir Seyid Ali and 
others. In these works, the ney is portrayed in the shape of a long tube with 
a small diameter. The length of the instrument reached 700-800 mm. Both 
shepherds and professional musicians played the ney. 
Vintage neys are exhibited in the museums of Azerbaijan. The reed stem of 
the ney kept in the Azerbaijan State Museum of Fine Arts named after Rustam 
Mustafayev, is decorated with engraved ornaments and wrapped in leather in 
six places. The length of the instrument is 453 mm, the outer diameter of the 
trunk in the blowing place is 21 mm, the internal diameter - 16 mm, and at the 
other end - 16 and 13 mm, respectively, i.e. the barrel narrows down. At the 
bottom of the barrel, there are five playing openings drilled, and on the back, 
above the face - one. The blowing place is slightly pointed [3]
The ney of the well-known performer of wind instruments Hasrat Huseynov 
which is made of copper with a length of 495 mm and a diameter of 16 mm, is 
included in the collection of the Azerbaijani folk music office at Baku Music 
Academy named after Uzeyir Hajibeyli. The thickness of the wall of the trunk 
is 1.1 mm. The number of the front playing openings is 7. One rear opening is 
located closer to the blowing place.
The modern ney, as before, represents a straight cylindrical hollow 
tube with a length of 345-600 mm and a diameter of 20 mm. It is mainly 
made of cane, apricot wood or copper. For better sound, the upper end of the 
instrument is slightly pointed. 5-7 playing openings are usually drilled on the 
lower front side of the trunk and one - on the back closer to the head of the 
instrument. 
While playing, the instrument is held with its end downward and the head 
closer to the left corner of the mouth. The stream of the air is directed towards 
the sharp edge of the trunk.
It should be noted that with all the simplicity of its structure, the ney is 
quite a complex instrument for its methods of extracting the sound [61]. 
The notes of the ney are written in G clef and its range is from A in 
the small octave to F-sharp in the twice-accented octave but the professional 
players can extract the sounds from a higher octave by blowing hard and 
pressing the lips.

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By partially covering the holes with your fingers, you get chromatic 
sounds. In the lower register, the tone of the ney is soft, tender, velvety and 
slightly muffled, and in the top - strong and light.
The ney is mainly a solo instrument and is common mostly among the 
shepherds. They use the ney to play simple, melodically restricted instrumental 
pieces, as well as special tunes and melodies of lyrical content, so-called 
“Choban Bayati” and dance tunes. While playing, the performer himself often 
produces lower sounds, reaching two-voice polyphony, and at times its deep 
voice has a certain melodic pattern.
The ney is also used in the orchestras and ensembles of folk instruments. 
In the practice of the Azerbaijani symphonic music, the ney was first included 
in the score of Agshin Alizadeh’s “Fifth Symphony”. This instrument was 
heard in famous concert halls of the world and used to perform the works of 
“Dervish” and “Crossing” by Frangiz Alizadeh. Hasan Adigezalzade wrote 
two “Fantasy” for the  ney and symphony orchestra and Ilyas Mirzayev wrote 
“Concerto” and “Mystic Symphony.” Today, Ilham Najafov is known as an 
acclaimed master of the ney/nay.
The tutek is known in Russia as sopel, in Georgia –  salamuri, in Ajaria 
– kavali, in Armenia – tutak, tutuk and shvi, in Dagestan –  kshul (Lezgins), 
shuvshuv (Kumyks), shetakhi (Dargins), shutukhi (Laks), shvultram 
(Tabasarans), in Tajikistan – nay chuponi or tutak, in Ukraine –  sopilka, in 
Belarus – dudka, in Estonia – vilepilli, in Latvia – stabule and in Lithuania – 
lumzdyalis. [82]
The Caucasian varieties of the tutek have 5-8 playing openings, one of 
which is located on the back side.
Based on archaeological finds, the Azerbaijani tutek has a very ancient 
history [23]. The ethnographic fund of the National Museum of History of 
Azerbaijan, keeps a tutek made in the 19
th
 century. The instrument has a 
length of 390 mm and a maximum diameter of 30 mm in the middle, while the 
diameter of the sound channel is 20 mm. Its upper part is made from mulberry 
wood and the bottom from cane. The blowing hole has a size of 11.0x3.5 mm 
and is located at a distance of 50 mm from the upper end of the barrel, where 
the blowing hole is in the size of 11x3 mm. There are 7 playing openings with 
a diameter of 7.5-8.0 mm, including one rear opening, and they are located at 
a distance of 25-29 mm from each other.
The same museum exhibits a tutek owned by Mirza Fatali Akhundov (1812-
1878) – the founder of the Azerbaijani drama, a scientist and philosopher. The 
instrument made of cane has a length of 230 mm; the outer diameter of the 

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barrel is 17 mm and the inner diameter is 13 mm. At the top of the barrel, there 
are 6 playing openings with a diameter of 7.5 mm every 18-20 mm. Another 
opening of the slightly pointed shape is drilled at the bottom of the barrel. 
At the top of the barrel, there is a blowing hole in the size of 7x5 mm. The 
blowing place forms a semicircle in the size of 9x2 mm.
The Azerbaijan National Museum of Literature named after Nizami 
Ganjavi demonstrates a cane tutek owned by the prominent Azerbaijani writer, 
journalist and public figure Jalil Mammadgulizadeh (1869-1932). The tutek 
has a length of 330 mm and a barrel with the diameter of 17 mm, while the 
thickness of the trunk is 2.5 mm, and it is equipped with seven front (the 
distance between them is 22-24 mm) and one rear playing openings. The lower 
end of the instrument is pointed.
There is a 322-mm-long tutek with a sound channel with a diameter of 
10 mm in the rich collection of the instruments collected by the prominent 
musician and teacher Ahmad Bakikhanov (1892-1973) in the Department 
of the Azerbaijani National Musical Instruments of the State Museum of 
Musical Culture of Azerbaijan,. The tutek has eight playing openings (seven 
on the front and one on the back side). There is a ring on the upper part of the 
trunk.
The collection of the Ganja State Local History Museum named after 
Nizami Ganjavi, has a tutek with the length of 352 mm and a trunk with the 
diameter of 23 mm equipped with eight playing openings (one on the back) 
with the diameter of 8-9 mm. The diameter of the sound channel is 10 mm. 
The distance between the playing openings is 23-24 mm.
The Azerbaijan State Museum of Theater named after Jafar Jabbarli, 
presents a copper tutek with a total length of 380 mm. The bottom half has 
eightplaying openings (one rear) with the diameter of 5.5 mm. The blowing 
hole is shaped as a triangle with the base of 8 mm and height of 10 mm.
The three tuteks displayed at the Exhibition of musical instruments in St. 
Petersburg, have trunks of various forms.  There are 6-7 playing holes on the 
front side of the trunks and one on the back. One of them is equipped with a 
control valve [82].
Structurally, the modern tutek is not significantly different from its 
predecessors. As before, the instrument is a cylindrical tube with a length of 
280-350 mm made of reeds or wood (apricot, walnut, mulberry). In the center 
of the tree, a sound channel with a diameter of 18-20 mm is drilled (in old 
times, it was burned out with a hot metal rod). The upper end of the barrel has 
an oblique cut and a 30-35-mm-long willow plug with a removable upper part 

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is inserted in it; thus, there is a gap in the form of a segment between the barrel 
and the plug.
On the front side of the barrel, a square hole is opened at the level of the 
end of the plug. Thus, the plug and holes form a kind of a whistling device. 
Seven holes are drilled on the front side of the barrel, and one is drilled on the 
back side - at the point corresponding to the middle of the interval between 
the first and second top holes. A metal ring is usually placed on the upper part 
of the barrel to adjust the registry of the instrument. By moving the ring down 
and partially covering the blowing hole, you get lower sounds. Sounds are also 
regulated by changing the length of the barrel of the instrument, which is why, 
the top of the tutak (pipe) is removable in most cases. 
While playing, you need to hold the tutek slightly slanted right in front of 
you and blow the air into the upper end of the instrument through a narrow gap, 
which directs the air flow to the brink of the cross section of the barrel. This 
significantly facilitates the extraction of sound and reduces air consumption, 
which expands the technical and expressive possibilities of the instrument. 
The three front and rear openings are respectively closed and opened by the 
index, middle, ring fingers and the thumb of the left hand, and the four lower 
front openings – by the index, middle, ring fingers and the little finger of the 
right hand.
If you blow the tutek normally, its timbre will be soft and gentle and if you 
blow it strongly, the timbre will be loud and hissing. The range of the tutek 
is from B in the small octave to C in the three-line octave. With the help of 
overblowing based on the use of overtone registers, you can extract the sounds 
D-flat and D in the three-line octave.
The diatonic scale of the tutek is divided into low, medium and high 
registers. The low register is matt and hoarse and is rarely used because of 
the difficulty of intonation; the medium register is velvety, pleasant and quite 
loud; the high register is in soft, clear and very sharp tone. Double flat and 
sharp tonalities are comfortable for the tutak. Melodic phrases, tremolo and 
legato come out very easiliy. Jumps, especially octave jumps are possible, 
while staccato comes out with difficulty.
Like the ney, the tutek is used by shepherds for playing of the tunes 
associated with different episodes of a shepherd’s job (putting the cattle out to 
pasture, taking cattle to the pond, etc) [8]. Some of these tunes (e.g., “Choban 
bayatisi”) acquire an independent nature and are performed outside the context 
of work. In the past, the tutek accompanied many spectacles such as snake 
charming, performances of acrobats, tightrope walkers and the beginning of 

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circus shows. The tutek was also one of the instruments that accompanied the 
performances of professional dancers.
The tutek is also known as “duduk”, “sumsu” and “blul” in some regions 
of Azerbaijan and as “shuva” in the Ordubad region of the Nakhchivan AR. 
The wind instrument yan-tutek (yan - side) is common in Jabrayil, Fuzuli, 
Tovuz and Shahbuz districts of Azerbaijan. It is made of an apricot or a walnut, 
has a length of 540-600 mm and an outer diameter of 20-22 mm. There are also 
yan-tuteks made of copper and brass material. There are 7 playing openings 
on the front side, near the bottom and one on the back. At the bottom of the 
barrel, two more holes designed to streamline the sound are cut on the sides at 
a distance of 45-50 mm from each other. Annular grooves are usually made on 
the barrel of the instrument. Two of them are wider and divide the body into 
three approximately equal-length bends. On the upper and lower ends of the 
barrel, grooves are made for the cord with which the instrument is worn on the 
shoulder.
While playing, the instrument is held in the transverse position, inserting 
the opening in the right corner of the mouth, lightly touching it with the lips, 
and directing the air flow towards the sharp edge of the barrel. Matt and 
dull sounds are extracted in the low register, warm and velvet sounds in the 
middle register, and loud, whistling, but fuzzy sounds in the middle register. 
The height of intonation is adjusted by covering three quarters or half of the 
playing openings with fingers and by tensing lips.
The yan-tutek is also a strictly shepherd’s instrument. Melodies played 
on it consist of shepherds’ signals and tunes (“Goyun hangi” or “Goyun 
ovsharisi”, “Gaya bashi”, “Choban bayatisi”, etc.) closely related with grazing 
sheep, shepherd’s rest, hail of wolfhounds and people when predators attack 
the flock, etc [8].
Hasan Maharramov (Baku), Heydar Mammadov (Salyan), Sharbat 
Ahmadov (Shamakhi) and Bayram Mammadov (Ganja) are among the current 
tutek masters. 
The tutek, often accompanied by small instrumental ensembles, is used 
to play lyrical melodies (usually in the upper register), mughams, rangi, folk 
songs, dances and tunes. It is also used in the orchestras and ensembles of folk 
instruments.
In the orchestras of the Azerbaijani folk instruments, a small kind of tutek 
(piccolo) is also used. It differs from the conventional tutek for its slightly 
smaller size (length of up to 265 mm, the diameter of the barrel - 18 mm). In 
the absence of the adjustment ring, an additional hole is drilled on the front of 

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the barrel. For its fingering and method of playing, the small tutek is analogous 
to the usual tutek, but sounds a fourth higher. The range of the instrument is 
from E in the one-accented octave to F in the three-line octave.
In the orchestra, the ney and tutek, including its smaller type, serve 
primarily as solo instruments and form a single group with another wind 
instrument – the zourna.
The Azerbaijani composers widely used the technical, artistic and 
expressive possibilities of the tutek. The peculiar sound of the tutek is very 
pronounced (especially in the nuance forte) in the “Bulgarian Suite” by Sultan 
Hajibayov, “Egyptian Pictures” by Jahangir Jahangirov, “Spring Melodies” 
by Suleyman Alasgarov, “Dance Suite” by Khalil Jafarov, “Symphonette” by 
Haji Khanmammadov and “Choban Gara” by Agabaji Rzayeva. Coupled with 
other instruments, the tutek creates a rich sound palette. 
As it is shown, the ney and the tutek are popular not only among the folk 
musicians, but also the professionals.
TO THE RHYTHMS OF THE NAGHARA,  
GAVAL AND GOSHA-NAGHARA 
According to the written sources, the webbed percussion musical 
instruments, which have long been popular in Azerbaijan (membranophones 
in scientific literature), differed in design, shape, size, material and sound 
[3,15]. They were one and two-sided, i.e. the sounding membrane stretched 
over one or both of the open sides of the body, as well as binary – consisting 
of two bodies. They produced low, strong, hoarse or crackling sounds with the 
help of sticks, mallets, hands or fingers.
The number of the one-sided percussion instruments reached 11 (gaval, 
gosha-naghara, daira, def, tebil, dumbek, tebil-bas, kus, jift-kos, mazhar and 
nagharazan) and two-sided - 5 (naghara, davul, duhul, dumbul and tabira). 
They were used as signaling instruments in the battles to raise the morale of the 
soldiers, during the folk performances and festivals, meykhana performances 
(folk music - a kind of recitative improvisation), religious rituals, funeral 
processions, parades, weddings, dances and sports games. They were played 
solo and in ensembles with other instruments. This tradition continues today, 
too.

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Among the webbed instruments, the naghara - a kind of drum - is 
the most common among the Azerbaijanis (from the Arabic word “naqr” - 
“tapping”). 
 The body (saghanag, gobul) of the naghara has a cylindrical shape and is 
made of apricot, walnut, mulberry and lime trees. To this end, they hollow out 
a piece of wood to a thickness of 5-6 mm or take a board with a thickness of 
4-5 mm, soak and then bend it. Across the body, 1-3 sound holes (oyug) with 
a diameter of 10 mm are drilled in the middle – otherwise the body, unable to 
bear the load, may crack. Sometimes, a vertical bar is fixed inside the body to 
provide rigidity for the rib. 
A goat skin is mainly used for the membrane of the instrument. Gazelle or 
deer skins were used previously. The skin is slightly damped, and pulling pile 
over its top (in this case, the instrument sounds better), they sew it with a double 
stitch on a steel rim (chenber), which has 6-12 copper loops like the figure of 
eight (garmag, uzuk, khalga) placed at an equal distance from each other. 
The rims with the membrane are fixed on the open sides of the body with 
the help of the plaited ropes (kendir, jiya) passing through the loops and twisting 
with wooden pegs  and are tightly pulled on the body of the instrument. The 
loop of one rim should be on the axis of symmetry between the loops of the 
opposite rim. This way of fastening the membrane makes it possible to adjust 
the tension of the membrane, and therefore, its relative height. To facilitate the 
movements of the performer, the instrument is equipped with a tether strap. 
The body of the naghara has different diameters. Depending on this, the 
instrument is called in a different way: large ones - kos (koos, kus), dumbul 
(in Shabran and Guba districts), middle-sized ones – orta, goltug (axillary), al 
(manual) naghara or simply naghara, toy (in the Nakhchivan AR), and smaller 
ones – jura, kichik or bala naghara. Structurally, all varieties of the naghara 
are identical.
The diameter and height of the rib of the big naghara – the kos – is 400-450 
and 500-550 mm, respectively. A sound hole is cut out in the shape of a square, 
or small circles are drilled on the body. Due to the fact that the instrument 
is played in a standing position, it is provided with a belt for wearing. It is 
played with two spherical-ended mallets (chilik, chiling) bent in the form of a 
hook with belt loops in the length of 395-405 and 280-285 mm, respectively 
and in the diameter of 13-15 and 9-10 mm. The big naghara (kos) is always 
“accompanied” by its small variety, whose body has a height of 340-360 mm 
and a diameter of 300-320 mm. Accordingly, this binary instrument is called 
kos-naghara. A large naghara is called ana kos and small one – bala kos. 

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Medium-sized nagharas have a diameter of 330-360 and a height of 260-310 
mm. Depending on their size, they are called: kichik (small, 330x260 mm), orta 
(medium-sized, 340x290 mm) and iri (large, 350-360x300-310 mm) naghara. 
These types of the naghara are usually played with both hands or with two sticks 
(large and small) with straight or hooked ends. In the latter case, the instrument 
is called the chilik (chiling, chubuk) naghara. The thick stick has a length of 
350-360 mm and a thin one - 230-235 mm. In the upper part of the sticks, a hole 
is made through which a narrow belt made of cowhides is inserted and the ends 
are sewn. While playing, the belt loop of the sticks is worn on the index fingers 
of both hands, while the sticks themselves rest on the thumbs, and the remaining 
fingers freely lie on the sticks. The big nagharas are made to orders. 
The small naghara (jura, kichik, bala) with a body diameter of 240-300 mm 
and a height of 235-295 mm. It is played with two mallets with a length of 270 
and 295 mm and a diameter of 11-13 mm, and always with played with the big 
naghara. Generally, because of its strong sound, it is played outdoors in a standing 
or sitting position. In the former position, the instrument is held under the arm 
and its body is clasped with the shoulder and held up with the left forearm. Given 
this position of the instrument, it is usually called the goltug naghara. In the 
latter position, the naghara is usually put on the left knee, while the left hand 
holds the tether strap whose belt is attached to the waist of the performer.
The naghara is played with hands and sticks. In the former case, they beat it 
with the phalanges of the index, middle, ring and little fingers focusing on their 
ends, and with the palms of both hands or by clicking and sliding the fingers 
across one membrane, as well as with various combinations of fingers. Thus, 
we get a variety of rhythmic patterns of various timbre shades and dynamics. 
The instrument produces a clean, clear, strong and sharp sound.
In Nakhchivan, while performing the “Yalli” dance, the naghara-player 
(toychu), who participates in the ensemble of zourna-players, slings the 
instrument over the neck and hits the top and bottom of the membrane with 
sticks (the thick one is called “shalban”). 
When the chilik naghara is played, it is hung from the belt slung over the 
shoulder, or is under the arm of the performer who clasps the body with his 
left hand. The sticks hit one and sometimes two membranes. While the chilik 
naghara is played, the rhythmic foundation of the accompaniment is produced 
with a thick stick held in the lower position with the right wrist bent, thus 
emphasizing the strong shares of the tact. At the same time, the thin stick, held 
in the upper position with the axial rotation of the left hand, produces a smaller 
and masterfully varied rhythm.

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The choice of the method of playing the naghara with hands or sticks, 
depends on the number of performers in the ensembles and place of performance 
- indoors or out on the square. The ensembles of ashigs, balaban-players, folk 
instruments and orchestras, play with hands, and the ensembles of dambur, 
zourna and tulum-players – with sticks.
The binary instrument  kos-naghara is held in the front and is hung over 
the shoulder on a belt. The instrument is played with one (on the ana kos) or 
two mallets (on the bala kos) put on the hands with the help of loops and is 
hit against one or both (at least on the bala kos) membranes of the instrument. 
Strong parts of the tacts are produced on the ana kos, while the bala kos 
emphasizes the rhythmic basis of tunes.
The big naghara – the kos - is used only in an ensemble of zourna-players. 
It also involves a bala kos performer. Rhythms of the kos-nagara accompany 
the beginning of a wedding, ceremonies to welcome the groom and see the 
bride off, various dances, sporting events and games.
The medium-sized naghara – the goltug naghara - is used in the orchestras 
and ensembles of folk instruments, as well as during solo performances on the 
stage. It is a part of small ensembles of sazanda, balaban-player and zourna-
player.
The small varieties of the naghara – the jura or the bala naghara – are 
mostly used in the ensembles of balaban and garmon-players, as well as while 
accompanying a clarinetist.
There are ensembles of naghara-players, which include up to 30-40 
performers. Tuning the nagara to different tones in advance, they simultaneously 
beat out rhythms in separate groups according to a pre-planned metro-rhythmic 
scheme. Nagharas are often played by groups of dancers.
The mastery of Agasuleyman Imanov, Boyukagha Muradov, Izzat 
Mammadova, Chingiz Mehdiyev, Zohrab Mammadov, Salim Guliyev, Almas 
Guliyev, Afgan Jafarov, Azer Aliyev, Rafik Ibrahimoglu and others played a 
role in the popularization of this instrument. They have made many innovations 
in the performing technique.
Chingiz Mehdiyev (1932-1992) organized the group “Rhythm” of the 
naghara-school children. It is noteworthy that in the ensemble also included 
kos, gaval, gosha-naghara, dumbek and sinj.
Nowadays, the ensemble “Rhythm Group Natig” organized by the honored 
artist Natig Shirinov gained great popularity.
Tofig Guliyev composed “Azerbaijani dance rhythms” specifically for the 
naghara and folk instruments. To liven up the scene of the holiday “Novruz”,  

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Mammad Guliyev included the zourna and naghara instruments in the score 
of the opera “Deceived stars”. The ballet-pantomime “Kos-Kosa” by Rahila 
Hasanova, was designed for 8 nagharas and a gosha-naghara including 2 
pantomimes and a choir.
Ramiz Mustafayev  composed “Azerbaijani folk rhythms” and “Dance 
Suite”  for the naghara with orchestra, Salman Gambarov – suite “East and 
West” for voice, naghara amd piano, Vasif Allahverdiyev - “Mughamsayagy” 
for woodwind instruments quartet and naghara, Jeyhun Allahverdiyev – 
“Arrangement of the mughams and folk music” for the tar, kamancha, zourna, 
balaban, naghara and soloist (khanende) with chamber orchestra.
The distribution area of another popular instrument – the gaval, which is 
similar to the tambourine, in eastern countries is wider than that of the naghara. 
There are several versions about the meaning of the word “gaval”, but the 
most plausible of them is from the famous decorator and great connoisseur 
of oriental music Latif Karimov (1906-1991). According to his conclusion, a 
“gaval” or “gavval” is a singer performing a “goul” rhythmic music based on 
Arabic texts - to the accompaniment of the percussive instrument def, which 
was widespread in the East in the Middle Ages [50].
The gaval, also known as the def (in Guba – daft, in Gazakh – damdira) in 
many parts of Azerbaijan, is a bent narrow rib (saghanag) with a diameter of 
310-320 mm, on one side of which fish (sturgeon or sheat-fish) skin is pulled. 
There are gavals with the membrane made of goat skin. 
Typically, the rib is made of thin plywood with the thickness of 11-12 mm 
and the length of 1400 mm, from mulberry or walnut. They spread joining 
cement on it and turn it three times in the form of a cylinder. The surface of 
the rib is smooth on the outside, but a little convex on the inside. Along the 
perimeter of the rib, from its inner side, rattle rings (over 60) of copper or brass 
are hung with the help of rods at a distance of 18-20 mm. The outside of the rib 
is often decorated with the mother of pearl. Gavals have different sizes - with 
a diameter of 340-450 mm and a width of 40-60 mm.
Before playing, the membrane of the gaval is heated in the sun, over a 
fire or with an electric lamp. Well-stretched and heated leather produces a 
clean, clear and powerful sound. You hold the gaval with both hands, turning 
its internal side towards yourself. At this time, the edge of the rib rests on the 
thumbs. Sounds are produced as both hands and fingers (index, middle, ring 
and little finger) softly strike the edge or the center of the membrane, as well as 
by shaking the instrument. The gaval is normally played indoors. In this case, 
a variety of ways are used: hitting the edge and middle of the membrane with 

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an open palm and fingers of one or both hands; hitting the edge and middle of 
the membrane with the tips of the fingers; hitting the edge of the membrane 
by sliding the little finger on the ring finger; shaking the instrument with both 
hands; turning the instrument after single beats. In addition, as an orchestra 
of folk instruments plays various works, the performer hits the center of the 
membrane by pressing the rim of the gaval to his knees and chest.
The gaval is an instrument that is commonly used when showing scenes 
connected with the lifestyle, customs and traditions of the Azerbaijani people. 
It sounds in different musical genres and during popular games (like the 
“jut gaval”) and performances. It is used in solo performances for rhythmic 
accompaniment to dances, singing, and for accompanying string and wind 
instruments. 
In an ensemble of sazandas, the gaval sounds in the hands of a khanende, who 
accompanies the rhythmic episodes of mugham dastgahs and zarbi (percussive) 
mughams by playing it. In this case, the gaval plays an independent role. And 
while singing, depending on the melodic line of mugham, the singer keeps the 
instrument in different positions trying to change the direction and tone of the 
sound. At the culmination of the mugham, the singer keeps the gaval at the 
mouth level closer to the ear on the left side. At this moment, the instrument 
serves as a kind of resonator. While performing the tasnifs and folk songs, 
the performer accompanies only the introductory part and interludes with the 
gaval.
Many khanendes like Jabbar Garyagdioglu, Seyid Shushinsky, Zulfi 
Adygezalov, Abulfat Aliyev and others were also famous as virtuoso performers 
of the gaval. Azizaga Najafzadeh accompanied the Song and Dance Ensemble 
of Azerbaijan State Philharmony with great skills on gaval. Nowadays, the 
khanende Alim Qasimov and Mahmoud Salah are the skilled performers of 
the gaval.
Playing the gaval is improvisational in nature. The gaval is also used in the 
orchestras of folk instruments and as an attribute by dancers. 
Rufat Ramazanov wrote the play “Diringi” for the flute, violenchel and 
gaval and “Terzi-mugam” for the clarinet, viola and gaval. 
The gosha-naghara (i.e. double naghara), also known as the dumbul and 
dumbalak, consists of two bodies (goz or gazanja) of the same height, but 
different sizes - one is smaller than the other one almost by half. In appearance, 
they resemble a bowl or a cup. The height of the instrument is 300 mm and 
the maximum diameter of the large body is 200-280 mm and the small body - 
110-180 mm. From the sides and at the top and bottom, the bodies are fastened 

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together with straps or fixed with a metal tube on a common wooden base. 
In old times, a chynqyrag (bell) was fixed between them on a special leg or a 
metal plate was hung.
Both bodies are made of walnut, mulberry trees, metal, and in the past, 
they were made of fired clay. To ensure that the instrument does not sound 
hollow, small resonator (seslik) holes are made in the bottom of the bodies. 
Goat, bull, camel or horse (from the thin thorax) skin is pulled over the open 
side of the body with interlocking narrow straps (kosha) or a special screw 
mechanism (like in a kettledrum).
Two wooden (cornel), thin, round sectional sticks (chubug, agach) with a 
length of 280-335 mm, the diameter of which is 12 mm in the head and 7 mm 
in the lower part, are used for playing. Recently, an instrument consisting of 
three bodies – large, medium-sized and small one – has been used under the 
name of “uch naghara” (three nagharas).
To extract pure and ringing sounds, the membrane of the instrument is 
gently heated over a fire before playing. The gosha-naghara is put on a special 
wooden stand (the big body is usually on the right of the performer), slightly 
tilting toward the performer, or is held under the arm while escorting a bride or 
during sporting events (zorkhana, tightrope walkers, etc.). Previously, it was 
placed on the ground or hung from the neck of the performer.
Due to the differences in the diameters of the upper body of the gosha-
naghara, one of the bodies sounds around a fourth higher in relation to the 
other. The sound of the instrument is a bit dry, ringing and has a unique color.
When it is played, different sounds are obtained by separately hitting the 
sticks against the two membranes, one membrane (in the center or edges) 
against each other or on the body, and by hitting the membrane with the hand. 
Often, strikes are produced with the thickened ends of the sticks or both hands 
on the membrane and they play by sliding sticks on the membrane, pressing 
one of the sticks against the membrane of the big body or a combination of 
these techniques. As you can see, different strikes are used, and based on this, 
complex rhythmic sounds are produced. Usually, strong parts of the tact are 
produced by hitting the membrane and the rhythmic figurations are made with 
sticks.
The performance of the professional musicians with the gosha-naghara 
is characterized by a large variety of techniques and rhythmic richness. The 
player Ahmadagha from Shaki city differed for his mastery in this instrument 
some time in the past. He had a bell without reed between the hulls of his 
gosha-nagara. He sometimes threw up tool and hit the bell. He paced and 

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played the gosha-naghara by putting the lower part of the instrument under his 
belt at the waist.
Gosha-naghara is rarely used as a solo instrument. Sadig Zarbaliev, the 
People’s Artist of the Republic of Azerbaijan, performed this instrument in 
a solo performance for the first time. Hasanaga Sadiqov from Salyan region, 
differed for his way of playing the gosha-naghara. He presses a stick to the 
membrane of the large body, and beats the membrane with the other one. By 
varying the pressure on the membrane, the artist achieves in obtaining sounds 
in height quart-quint and in the execution of melodic phrases in these intervals. 
The gosha-naghara is a part of the orchestras and ensembles of folk 
instruments, and ashug ensembles (in the Shirvan area). It is widely used 
during the folk games and performances (“zorkhana”, “mil”, “sino”). It is 
also used by a women’s instrumental ensemble consisting of the garmon, gaval 
and gosha-naghara. A trio of two balaban-players and one gosha-naghara 
player is very popular.
We described the three most popular webbed musical instruments above. 
In Azerbaijan, a dumbak with a goblet-shaped body (usually wood) with a 
length of 350-400 mm and a diameter of 250-260 mm, on which goat skin is 
stretched, is also widely used. It is played with fingers and the palms of both 
hands in the center or edge of the membrane.