siku

Siku (Quechua: antara, Aymara: siku, also "sicu," "sicus," "zampolla" or Spanish zampoña) is a traditional Andean panpipe. This instrument is the main instrument used in a musical genre known as sikuri.

Sikus could have been used for anything from funerals and rituals to folk songs. Nowadays, sikus are still used as a part of Andean (Bolivian) folk music, and are still made quite often as local pieces.

The Siku is a wind instrument composed of reeds or tubes usually made of natural bamboo. These tubes closed at the bottom, are of different lengths and are tied in a row by a string. The musicians blow on the top of these tubes and each one has a different note.

Today, sikus are made of different varieties of bamboo, each providing different tonal qualities. Bamboo tubes (or pipes) of different lengths, closed at one end, are tied together with plant fibers in a tight row. Sikus average about 13 pipes, but can have more or less notes.

Siku (comics), an artist. Siku (polar bear), a bear cub who became an overnight online sensation. Siku Quanshu, a compendium of Chinese literature completed in 1782.

The Siku range of die-cast models offer a wide variety of choice in 1:87, 1:55, 1:50 and 1:32 scale. They also have a large selection of Siku miniatures. All of the models are designed and manufactured to be an exact replica of their 'real life' counterpart.

Siku (comics), an artist. Siku (polar bear), a bear cub who became an overnight online sensation. Siku Quanshu, a compendium of Chinese literature completed in 1782.

To play a Siku, the pipes are held in the left hand, and braced with the right. Blowing downwards, the player tries to force wind right to the bottom. Breath is drawn from the diaphragm, as with most wind instruments.

Sikus in the Andes serve many different purposes. They are used to communicate with the supernatural and with nature in ritual contexts. The structure of the set, which divides in two, symbolizes a male and female duality that appears in every aspect of Andean culture.

Peru and Bolivia are countries associated with the quena and siku in South America. Archaeological remains of these flutes were found in both countries. Andes music is traditionally played from memory.

A gendèr is a type of metallophone used in Balinese and Javanese gamelan music. It consists of 10 to 14 tuned metal bars suspended over a tuned resonator of bamboo or metal, which are tapped with a mallet made of wooden disks (Bali) or a padded wooden disk (Java).

Peru and Bolivia are countries associated with the quena and siku in South America. Archaeological remains of these flutes were found in both countries. Andes music is traditionally played from memory.