A gaida is a

bagpipe Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, ...

from

Southeastern Europe Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe (SEE) is a geographical subregion of Europe, consisting primarily of the Balkans. Sovereign states and territories that are included in the region are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia (a ...

. Southern European bagpipes known as ''gaida'' include: the , , (), () () or (), ''(')'', , also .

Construction

Bag

Gaida bags are generally of sheep or goat hide. Different regions have different ways of treating the hide. The simplest methods involve just the use of salt, while more complex treatments involve milk, flour, and the removal of fur. The hide is normally turned inside out so that the fur is on the inside of the bag, as this helps with moisture buildup within the bag. 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 or animal horn.

Blow pipe

The blow pipe 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 return valve of leather or felt which allows air into the bag via the blow pipe but not back out. In some more primitive gaida there is no flap, but the player blocks returning air with his tongue during breaths.

Reeds

Each

chanter The chanter is the part of the bagpipe upon which the player creates the melody. It consists of a number of finger-holes, and in its simpler forms looks similar to a recorder. On more elaborate bagpipes, such as the Northumbrian bagpipes or th ...

is fitted with a

reed Reed or Reeds may refer to: Science, technology, biology, and medicine * Reed bird (disambiguation) * Reed pen, writing implement in use since ancient times * Reed (plant), one of several tall, grass-like wetland plants of the order Poales * ...

made from

(''

arundo donax ''Arundo donax'' is a tall perennial cane. It is one of several so-called reed species. It has several common names including giant cane, elephant grass, carrizo, arundo, Spanish cane, Colorado river reed, wild cane, and giant reed. ''Arundo'' a ...

''),

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...

, or

elder An elder is someone with a degree of seniority or authority. Elder or elders may refer to: Positions Administrative * Elder (administrative title), a position of authority Cultural * North American Indigenous elder, a person who has and ...

. In regional languages these are variously termed ''lemellas'', ''Piska'', or ''pisak''. A more modern variant for the reed is a combination of a cotton phenolic (Hgw2082) material from which the body of the reed is made and a clarinet reed cut to size in order to fit the body. These type of reeds produce a louder sound and are not so sensitive to humidity and temperature changes.

Chanter

The chanter (''gaidunitza, gaidanitsa, gajdenica, gajdica, zurle'') is the pipe on which the melody is played. Different gaida may have a

conical bore In music, the bore of a wind instrument (including woodwind and brass) is its interior chamber. This defines a flow path through which air travels, which is set into vibration to produce sounds. The shape of the bore has a strong influence on t ...

(Bulgaria), or cylindrical bore (Macedonia and other regions). Popular woods include

boxwood ''Buxus'' is a genus of about seventy species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood. The boxes are native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, northernmost South ...

(''shimshir'') cornel wood, plum wood or other fruit wood. A distinctive 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'', ''marmorka'') 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 In music, ornaments or embellishments are musical flourishes—typically, added notes—that are not essential to carry the overall line of the melody (or harmony), but serve instead to decorate or "ornament" that line (or harmony), provide adde ...

that gives Balkan music its unique character. Some types of gaida can have a double bored chanter, such as the Serbian three-voiced gajde. It has eight fingerholes: the top four are covered by the thumb and the first three fingers of the left hand, then the four fingers of the right hand cover the remaining four holes.

Drone

The drone (''ruchilo, ison, prdaljka, prdak, brčalo'') is a long pipe which provides a constant harmony note, and thus has no finger-holes. It is generally a long, three-piece tube with a note much lower than that of the chanter.

Types

Gaidas in the Balkans include, but are not limited to:За българската гайда, http://gaidari.com/gaida * Kaba gaida – a large Bulgarian bagpipe of the

Rhodope mountains The Rhodopes (; bg, Родопи, ; el, Ροδόπη, ''Rodopi''; tr, Rodoplar) are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, and the largest by area in Bulgaria, with over 83% of its area in the southern part of the country and the remainder in ...

which has a hexagonal and rounded drone. Often described as a deep-sounding gaida * Dzhura gaida – a bagpipe typically found in Bulgaria which has a straight conical drone. In contrast to the kaba gaida, this is a higher pitched instrument * Macedonian gaida – Played in the region of Macedonia, the bagpipe is structurally between a kaba and dzhura gaida and is described as a medium pitched gaida

Players and makers

Kostadin Varimezov Kostadin Varimezov ( bg, Костадин Варимезов) (1918, Rossenovo, Bulgaria-2002) was a famous Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europ ...

*Dafo Trendafilov * Vassil Bebelekov * Pece Atanasovski

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * *The presence of the gaida in Greec

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