zamponia

As I explained on previous posts, a Zampoña is a variety of pan flute broadly used in South-America since Pre-Columbian times. The main characteristic of the Zampoña is that it has two rows of pipes. The one in the front is named "Ira" that means male in Aymara, and the second row is name "Arca" that mean female.

Zampona pipes originated with the Tiahuanaco culture, which flourished around 700 AD near the border of Peru and Bolivia. In their language it was called the Siku and players were Sikuris.

Zampogna players have secular and religious repertoires. The former is used for the novena and devotional processions, while the latter are used to accompany dancing and singing.

The Zampogna originated in southern Italy and Sicily, and was an instrument played by shepherds while watching over their flocks of sheep or goats. The organ like sound of the multiple pipes is very strident and carries a long distance. It also was a favorite instrument for Italian folk dances.

Playing the zampoñas is a bit different than many common wind instruments. Various sounds are created by blowing over the top of the reeds in the same way you might blow over an empty soda bottle to create a musical note.

Zampoñas & Chromatic flutes In this section you will find Antaras and Zampoñas (Sikus) of different types: Chromatic, Toyo, Marimacha, Basto, Malta and Chulli.

The “zampogna” player (zampognaro) blows a hollow wooden socket, through which the air gets into the bag and, at the same time, he squeezes the bag, kept under his arm, in order to maintain constant air pressure which assures the continuous sound.

It is etymologically related to the Greek sumphōnía (συμφωνία), meaning "concord or unison of sound" (from σῠν- syn-, "with, together" + φωνή phōnḗ, "sound") and applied later to a type of bagpipe.

The modern “zampogna” is still made more or less in the same way as its forerunner. As a matter of fact, it is made of a goat skin or simply of a plastic skin which resembles that of a goat, to which a blowpipe is attached. It has usually two chanters and two drones from which the air goes out propagating the sound.

Zampoña. This is the panpipe, known as siku in the Aymara language. The unusual feature of zampoñas is that a complementary pair is needed to play a melody as each instrument has only certain notes. Zampoñas are made and bound with reed.

Two types of zampogna are made in Scapoli: “con chiave” (or “keyed” pipes) and “la zoppa” (or “lame” pipes). “Keyed” pipes have two chanters of different length and two drones, the longer of which produces the sound, while the second is mute, and double reeds on all the sounding pipes.

The “zampogna” player (zampognaro) blows a hollow wooden socket, through which the air gets into the bag and, at the same time, he squeezes the bag, kept under his arm, in order to maintain constant air pressure which assures the continuous sound.