The ''shehnai'' is a type of

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...

from the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

. It is made of wood, with a

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 ...

at one end and a metal or wooden flared bell at the other end. It was one of the nine instruments found in the royal court. The shehnai is similar to South India's

nadaswaram The ''nadaswaram'' is a double reed wind instrument from South India. It is used as a traditional classical instrument in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Kerala and in the northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka. This i ...

Characteristics

This tubular instrument gradually broadens towards the lower end. It usually has between six and nine holes. It employs one set of quadruple reeds, making it a quadruple reed

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 ...

. To master the instrument, the

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

must employ various and intricate embouchure and fingering techniques. The shehnai has a range of two

octave In music, an octave (: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is an interval between two notes, one having twice the frequency of vibration of the other. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referr ...

s, from the A below

middle C C or Do is the first note of the C major scale, the third note of the A minor scale (the relative minor of C major), and the fourth note (G, A, B, C) of the Guidonian hand, commonly pitched around 261.63 Hz. The actual frequency has d ...

to the A one line above the treble clef (A3 to A5 in

scientific pitch notation Scientific pitch notation (SPN), also known as American standard pitch notation (ASPN) and international pitch notation (IPN), is a method of specifying musical Pitch (music), pitch by combining a musical Note (music), note name (with accidental ( ...

). A shehnai is often but not always made with a body of

wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

and a flared

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

end.

Origin of the shehnai

The shehnai is thought to have been brought by the Mughal Empire as its use was most associated with the Mughal courts and it's sound closely resembles the trumpet known as "doira" in modern-day Ferghana Valley in Uzbekistan which was the ancestral homeland of Mughals. The adaptation has been developed by improving upon the pungi (a woodwind folk instrument used primarily for snake charming). The counterparts to the shehnai played in

Western India Western India is a loosely defined region of India consisting of western states of India, Republic of India. The Ministry of Home Affairs (India), Ministry of Home Affairs in its Western Zonal Council Administrative divisions of India, Adminis ...

and Coastal Karnataka are indigenous to the territory. Shehnai players were/are an integral part of Goan/Konkani region and the temples along the western coast and the players are called ''Vajantri'' and were allotted lands for services rendered to the temples.

Music

It takes a lot of effort to play these instruments. The performance of the instrumentalist is essential, especially for a long and fast-paced song. In the Kannada film '' Sanaadi Appanna'' this instrument was used widely. The shehnai is played during religious festivities and wedding celebrations.

Gallery

File:Sahane.jpg, The Nepalese version, called the ''sahane'', has a curve and is played in the panche baja. File:A tribal shehnai player.jpg, A shehnai player.

Notable Indian shehnai players

* Bismillah Khan
Pandit Shailesh Bhagwat
* Anant Lal * Ali Ahmed Hussain Khan * S Ballesh Bhajantri * Lokesh Anand *Daya Shankar, son of Anant Lal

Other related wind instruments

* Mizmar, a shawm similar to the shehnai *

Nadaswaram The ''nadaswaram'' is a double reed wind instrument from South India. It is used as a traditional classical instrument in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Kerala and in the northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka. This i ...

, a similar South Indian instrument * Reed instrument, a type of woodwind instrument *

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 ...

, a type of reed instrument

Notes

References

* * {{Authority control Single oboes with conical bore Hindustani musical instruments Quadruple-reed instruments Nepalese musical instruments