The Å¡vilpa is a
transverse flute
A transverse flute or side-blown flute is a flute which is held horizontally when played. The player blows across the embouchure hole, in a direction perpendicular to the flute's body length.
Transverse flutes include the Western concert flut ...
type instrument of Lithuania. It is made of willow or aspen bark, or of ash or maple wood. A cylindrical pipe is made with a thin and a wide end. At times the pipe was made of several shorter pipes stacked together. The mouthpiece is similar to that of a flute, a
skudutis or
lamzdelis. While playing, the left hand holds the Å¡vilpa, and the index finger of the right hand covers the open end. The sound of the Å¡vilpa is soft, the timbre is gentle. The Å¡vilpa is a solo instrument for free improvisation, song and dance melodies, and
sutartinÄ—s
Lithuanian folk songs (in Lithuanian: "liaudies dainos") are often noted for not only their mythological content but also their relating historical events.
Lithuanian folk music includes romantic songs, wedding songs, as well as work songs and ...
.
Lithuanian musical instruments
Side-blown flutes
{{Flute-stub