The caña de millo, flauta de millo or pito atravesao is a

woodwind Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and Ree ...

musical instrument of indigenous origin used in the

cumbia Cumbia refers to a number of musical rhythms and folk dance traditions of Latin America, generally involving musical and cultural elements from American Indigenous peoples, Europeans, and Africans during colonial times. Cumbia is said to have com ...

music of Colombia's Caribbean coast. It is made of ''carrizo'' cane (

Phragmites australis ''Phragmites australis'', known as the common reed, is a species of flowering plant in the grass family Poaceae. It is a wetland grass that can grow up to tall and has a cosmopolitan distribution worldwide. Description ''Phragmites australis' ...

), palm, millet, sorghum, or similar stalks, ''(not found in Wayback Machine)'' forming a tube open at both ends, with a vibrating tongue (reed) cut of the same material as the tube, with four fingerholes. It is played transverse, and used by folkloric musical ensembles called ''grupos de millo''. The ''caña de millo'' replaces the ''

kuisi A kuisi (or kuizi) is a Native Colombian fipple (or duct) flute made from a hollowed cactus stem, with a beeswax and charcoal powder mixture for the head, with a thin quill made from the feather of a large bird for the mouthpiece. Seagull, tur ...

'' (or ''gaita'') in regions of the Colombian departments of Atlántico and Magdalena. Similar instruments are found in most of the savannah region of West Africa.

Characteristics

The ''caña de millo'' is open at both ends and resembles a small flute. It measures about 20 to 30 centimeters in length and has four tonal holes of approximately 1.5 to 2 centimeters in diameter, separated by 1, 1.5, or 3 centimeters each. The tongue is thin, located at one end about 10 cm from the holes, measuring 4 to 6 centimeters long by 4 to 6 millimeters wide. Below the fixed end of the tongue, a thread passes through that allows it to vibrate. At the top of the instrument is a string so that the performer may hold the instrument with the fingers of the left hand (with the exception of the thumb which is used to cover and uncover the hole in the tube near the vibrating tab). The tongue is constructed from the bark of a cane, and forms the mouthpiece through which the air enters and leaves. ''Content in this paragraph is translated from the existing Spanish Wikipedia article at :es:Caña de millo; see its history for attribution.''

Performance

The ''caña de millo'' is unusual because of the variety of ways in which it can be played. There are four main ways to produce the notes: the first is the traditional way of blowing a flute, expelling air through the reed; the second is by inhaling the air through the reed to produce the highest notes of the flute; the third is known as gargling, which consists of vibrating the tongue with an exhalation of air that occurs from the throat, as if one were gargling; and the fourth is expelling the air and at the same time covering the hole of the cylinder or tube (this is on the side of the tongue). This last sound is called ''tapa'o'' and one can vary its tonality by covering the 4 holes with your fingers. The ''caña de millo'' is constructed in a variety of different keys. ''Content in this paragraph is translated from the existing Spanish Wikipedia article at :es:Caña de millo; see its history for attribution.''

Other names

The instrument is known by other names such as ''flauta traversa de millo'', ''carrizo'', ''lata'', or ''bambú''. In

Atlántico department Atlántico (, ) is a Departments of Colombia, department of Colombia, located in northern Colombia with the Caribbean Sea to its north, the Bolívar Department to its west and south separated by the Canal del Dique, and the Magdalena Department ...

it is known as the ''flauta'' or ''caña de millo'', and in the savannahs of Bolívar,

Córdoba Córdoba most commonly refers to: * Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain * Córdoba, Argentina, the second largest city in Argentina and the capital of Córdoba Province Córdoba or Cord ...

and

Sucre Sucre (; ) is the ''de jure'' capital city of Bolivia, the capital of the Chuquisaca Department and the sixth most populous city in Bolivia. Located in the south-central part of the country, Sucre lies at an elevation of . This relatively high ...

it is called ''pito atravesado''.La caña de millo
. acontratiempo.bibliotecanacional.gov.co A player is referred to as a ''cañamillero''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cana de millo Colombian musical instruments Flutes