Music Teachers - Panflute
About Panflute lessons
About the Panflute
The panflute is found in many forms and known by many names: panpipes, syrinx, frestel, nai, miskal, etc. Each name refers to essentially the same instrument but from different times or places. From the earliest times of the panflute in Ancient Greece up to the present day, all panflutes had one similarity: they are edge-blown aerophones consisting of a row of stopped pipes.
Syrinx
The history and development of the panflute is a very long and fascinating story which begins with the famous myths of Ancient Greece and the story of the god Pan and the nymph Syrinx. Since the Ancient Greeks the panflute has been found across the world, and is famous as a South American instrument, but the curved panflute I play is the Romanian variant: the nai.
The Nai
The nai itself has its origins in the Ottoman Empire and is a common instrument in Romanian folk music today. The nai has pushed the boundaries of the technique and possibilities of the panflute and made it into a versatile instrument for folk music as well and classical and contemporary music, jazz, and movie scores.
Unique and Universal
In the musical landscape today, the panflute is a less conventional choice of instrument, but it offers a longer history than almost any other instrument and stretches across the entire world, from jazz to film music, Renaissance to contemporary classical, the panflute has a rich world and unique sounds waiting to be discovered by musicians of all ages and abilities.