The zurna is a double reed wind instrument played in Central Asia, West Asia, the Caucasus, Southeast Europe, and parts of North Africa. It is also used in Sri Lanka. The zurna is often played with a davul (bass drum) in Armenian, Anatolian, and Assyrian folk music. The zurna is most commonly played in Turkey.

Etymology and terminology

A common explanation suggests that the name comes from the Persian words "سرنای" (surnāy), which is made up of "سور" (sūr) meaning "banquet, feast" and "نای" (nāy) meaning "reed, pipe." This term appears in the oldest Turkic writings, written as "suruna" in the 12th and 13th century Codex Cumanicus (CCM fol. 45a). Some scholars also believe the word "zurna" may have been borrowed from the Hittite or Luwian languages into Armenian, where the Armenian word "զուռնա" (zuṙna) is similar to the Luwian word "zurni," meaning "horn."

Origins

The zurna is believed to have come from Central Asia and ancient Asia Minor (Anatolia). Pictures of the zurna appear in carvings and artwork made by the Hittites, an ancient empire in Asia Minor that existed from about 2000 to 1200 B.C. The zurna was known in Persia by the 600s A.D. and later spread to many countries as Islam expanded from 650 to 1500 A.D. The zurna was an important instrument in Ottoman mehter music.

As the zurna became more popular, it spread to the east and west. In the 1500s, a type of Central Asian shawm called the "sona" reached China. The Kirghiz people, who lived in ancient Persia and Afghanistan, used the zurna, as did the Syrians, who called it "zamr." When the Ottoman Empire expanded into Europe, the zurna was brought to the Balkans, Hungary, and parts of Western Europe. Though the name and shape of the instrument changed in some places, the zurna remained clearly similar to the original. Examples include the zurna of Macedonia, the shepherd flute of the Basque region and Italian mountain areas, and the "zmar" of North Africa in Tunis and Tangier.

In Turkish folk music, the zurna was played together with the davul to create a melody that accompanied tribal and village dances. Today, the zurna is a key part of Turkish folk music and dance, as well as in Armenian, Assyrian, and Kurdish dances.

According to Turkish stories, Adam was made from clay but had no soul. It is said that only the music of the tuiduk, played by Archangel Gabriel, could give Adam life. A Turkmen legend claims that the devil played a role in inventing the tuiduk. This is reflected in the name for the small holes on the bell of the instrument, which is "devil openings" or "shaytan delikleri" in Turkish.

Characteristics

The zurna is a woodwind instrument used to play folk music, similar to the duduk and kaval. It is made from the hard wood of slow-growing fruit trees, such as plum or apricot (Prunus armeniaca). There are many types of zurnas. The most common is the Armenian zurna. The longest and lowest-pitched type is the kaba zurna, used in Bulgaria. The shortest and highest-pitched type, sometimes made of bone, is played in Messolonghi and other villages in the Aetolia-Acarnania region of Greece. The zurna is related to the oboe and is found in areas where the common reed grows. It uses a short, cylindrical reed tied to a conical brass tube. The other end of the tube is flattened into a narrow slit to produce sound.

The zurna requires strong air pressure to make sound. When played, it is very loud, high-pitched, and sharp. This makes it well-suited for continuous playing using a technique called circular breathing. A small, disk-shaped piece that the player presses against their lips helps the mouth muscles rest during long playing sessions. Because the zurna’s sound is always loud and continuous, it is not used to emphasize rhythm. Instead, it is almost always played with large drums that provide rhythm and deeper sounds that travel farther than the zurna’s high-pitched tone.

The zurna has a cylindrical shape and a bell-shaped opening that curves outward in a bowl-like shape. This design helps direct sound forward. Because of its loud, focused sound and the use of large drums, the zurna has been played outdoors during celebrations like weddings and public events. It was also used to gather crowds for announcements, a role that later influenced military music. The instrument has seven finger holes on the front and one thumb hole, allowing it to play notes over one octave, including some transposed notes.

Usage

Like the mizmar and rhaita, zurnas are used in the folk music of many countries and regions, especially in Armenia, Iran, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Central Asia, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, the Maghreb, Albania, Serbia, Bosnia, Kurdistan, and other countries in the Caucasus region. They are now also found in India, China, Korea, and Eastern Europe.

The zurna probably came before the European shawm and is connected to the Chinese suona, which is still used today in weddings, temple music, and funeral music. The Japanese charumera, or charamera, which is used by noodle vendors who travel from place to place, is a small type of zurna. Its name comes from the Portuguese word chirimoya. Very few noodle vendors still use this tradition, and those who do would use a loudspeaker playing a recorded charumera.

A zurna was used by musician Stu Mackenzie in King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard's 9th studio album, Flying Microtonal Banana.

The Homeworld series uses the zurna many times in its soundtrack, especially in scenes with action.