The ''gyaling'' (,
English: also spelled , , , , , , etc.), literally "Indian trumpet", is a traditional
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 ...
instrument used in
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...
. As its name indicates, it is the Chinese
double reed
A double reed is a type of reed used to produce sound in various wind instruments. In contrast with a single reed instrument, where the instrument is played by channeling air against one piece of cane which vibrates against the mouthpiece and ...
Suona
The ''suona,'' also called ''dida,'' laba or ''haidi'', is a traditional double-reeded Chinese musical instrument. The ''suona's'' basic design originated in ancient Iran, then called " Sorna". It appeared in China around the 3rd century and ...
horn (much like the Iranian
sorna) used mainly in Tibetan monasteries during ''
puja'' (chanting and prayer) and is associated with peaceful deities and the idea of devotion.
Design
The gyaling is oboe-like in appearance with a long hardwood body and copper brass bell. The instrument is generally covered with ornate embellishments of colored glass. The double reed, which is made from a single stem of marsh grass, is placed upon a small metal channel that protrudes out of the top.
There are eight (8) fingerholes on a standard gyaling.
To play a gyaling requires a technique called
circular breathing, in which the instrument is played continuously, even while the musician breathes. The reed is placed fully in the player’s mouth but does not touch it; the lips are pressed against the flat metal channel below the reed. Airflow affects the gyaling's
tuning. Gyaling technique varies depending on the lineage and ritual.
Usage in ritual
A typical
Tibetan Buddhist
Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Darjeeling, Sikkim, and Arunachal Prades ...
ritual orchestra consists of a gyaling,
dungchen,
kangling,
dungkar (conch shells),
drillbu (handbells),
silnyen
The silnyen is a Tibetan percussion instrument in the form of a cymbal with a small or no central boss. The silnyen is struck by horizontal movement and is used in Buddhist rites.
See also
* Rolmo
The rolmo is a horizontal ritual cymbal used by ...
(vertical cymbals), and most importantly, chanting. Together, the music creates a state of mind to invite or summon deities.
Often, the style of performance is similar to that of 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, No ...
, with many short and fast
neighbor tones.
Gallery
File:Ghyaling (Wooden oboe, double reed - Rgya-gling).png, Gyaling at the National Museum of World Cultures and the World Museum.
File:Monk with trumpets and hats. Key Monastery Spiti.jpg, Monk at Key Monastery Spiti, Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...
, India.
File:Solo, Tharlam Monastery Band Plays During Lamdre, Boudha, Kathmandu, Nepal.jpg, Tharlam Monastery, Boudha, Kathmandu, Nepal
File:Zanskar Lingshed hautbois.jpg, Playing gyaling at Lingshed Monastery
See also
*
Music of Asia
*
Shawm
The shawm () is a Bore (wind instruments)#Conical bore, conical bore, double-reed woodwind instrument made in Europe from the 13th or possibly 12th century to the present day. It achieved its peak of popularity during the medieval and Renaissanc ...
*
Suona
The ''suona,'' also called ''dida,'' laba or ''haidi'', is a traditional double-reeded Chinese musical instrument. The ''suona's'' basic design originated in ancient Iran, then called " Sorna". It appeared in China around the 3rd century and ...
*
Sorna
*
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, D ...
References
External links
Clip of traditional Tibetan musicInformational gyaling video on circular breathing
Single oboes with conical bore
Tibetan musical instruments
{{DoubleReed-instrument-stub