The shehnai (also spelled shenai) is a musical instrument from South Asia. It is made of wood, with a double reed at one end and a metal or wooden bell-shaped part at the other end. It was one of the nine instruments used in the royal court. The shehnai is similar to South India's nadaswaram.

Characteristics

This tubular instrument gets wider at the bottom. It usually has between six and nine holes. It uses one set of quadruple reeds, which makes it a quadruple reed woodwind instrument. To play it well, the musician must use different and complex mouth position and finger techniques.

The shehnai can play notes over two octaves, starting from the A below middle C to the A one line above the treble clef (A3 to A5 in scientific pitch notation). A shehnai is often made with a body of wood or bamboo and a flared metal end, though this is not always the case.

Origin of the shehnai

The shehnai is believed to have been introduced by the Mughal Empire because it was most commonly used in Mughal royal courts.

There are several stories and expert ideas about how the instrument got its name.

One well-known story says that Emperor Aurangzeb stopped musicians from playing the pungi in his court because of its loud, sharp sound. A barber (nai) from a family of musicians later changed the instrument by making a longer, wider pipe with seven holes. This new version created a softer and more pleasant sound. Since the instrument was first played in the emperor’s private rooms and its maker was a nai, it became known as shehnai. Another version of the story suggests the name comes from "shāh" (king) and "nai" (flute), meaning "the king’s flute" or "royal flute."

Another idea is that shehnai comes from "sur-nāl," combining "sur" (a musical note or melody) and "nāl" (a pipe or reed in many Indian languages). Musicologist Dileep Karanth has suggested that "sur-nāl" might also be the origin of the name "surna/zurna," which is used for similar reed instruments in the Middle East and Eastern Europe.

Similar instruments

The similar instruments to the shehnai found in Western India and Coastal Karnataka originated in those regions. Shehnai players have always been an important part of the Goan/Konkani area and temples along the western coast. These players are known as Vajantri, and they were given land as a reward for their service to the temples.

Gallery

• The Nepalese version, called the sahane, has a curved shape and is played during the panche baja.
• A shehnai player is most commonly found in South India.

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 that is similar to the shehnai
• Nadaswaram, a South Indian instrument that is similar to the Mizmar
• Reed instrument, a kind of woodwind instrument
• Shawm, a kind of reed instrument