Shehnai Recital at the Shrine
Originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shehnai
The shehnai is an aerophonic instrument which is thought to bring good luck, and as a result, is widely used in North India for marriages and processions.
This tube-like instrument gradually widens towards the lower end. It usually has between six and nine holes. It employs two sets of double reeds, making it a quadruple reed woodwind. By controlling the breath, various tunes can be played on it.
Ustad (Master) Bismillah Khan was a well-known shehnai player. Another player of the shehnai is the Ahmadi Black American jazz musician, Yusef Lateef. Dave Mason played shehnai on the Rolling Stones 1968 hit song Street Fighting Man.
[edit] Origin of the shehnai
The shehnai is thought to originate in the Kashmir Valley, where people use the instrument in band-i-pather. The shehnai was created by improving upon the pungi. There are varying legends of its origin.
In one legend, a Shah initially banned the playing of the pungi in his court due to its shrill sound. A barber, belonging to a family of musicians, improved on it and created the shehnai. As it was played in the Shah's court and giving due reference to the 'nai' or barber, it was called shehnai.
In other variants it was
> named after a shehnai player called Saina
> derived from sheh (breath) and nai (flute)
> derived from the combination of the Persian words shah (king), and nai (flute) to give the meaning "the king's flute".
[edit] See also
Reed instrument - A type of woodwind instrument.
Shawm - A type of reed instrument.
Mizmar - A shawm similar to the shanai
