The
fujara is a large folk
shepherd'sA shepherd is a person who tends to, feeds or guards sheep, especially in flocks. The word may also refer to one who provides religious guidance, as a pastor.- Origins :...
fipple flute of unique design, originating from
SlovakiaThe Slovak Republic is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe with a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia borders the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south. The largest city is its capital, Bratislava...
. It is technically a contrabass instrument in the
tabor pipeThe three-hole pipe, also commonly known as Tabor pipe is a wind instrument designed to be played by one hand, leaving the other hand free to play a tabor drum, bell, psalterium or tambourin à cordes, bones, triangle or other percussive instrument....
class. Typically 150 to 170 cm long, tuned in
GG major is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp, F. .Its relative minor is E minor, and its parallel minor is G minor....
(
AA major is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps.Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor...
and
FF major is a musical major scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat .Its relative minor is D minor and its parallel minor is F minor....
are other possiblities). It has three
tone holesA tone hole is an opening in the body of a wind instrument which, when covered, alters the pitch of the sound produced.The resonant frequencies of the an air column in a pipe are inversely proportional to the pipe's effective length. For a pipe with no tone holes, the effective length is the...
located on the lower part of the main body. The sound is produced by a fipple on the upper end of the main body of the fujara. The air is led to the fipple by a smaller parallel pipe, called a , meaning
air channel, mounted on the main body of the instrument.
The
fujara is a large folk
shepherd'sA shepherd is a person who tends to, feeds or guards sheep, especially in flocks. The word may also refer to one who provides religious guidance, as a pastor.- Origins :...
fipple flute of unique design, originating from
SlovakiaThe Slovak Republic is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe with a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia borders the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south. The largest city is its capital, Bratislava...
. It is technically a contrabass instrument in the
tabor pipeThe three-hole pipe, also commonly known as Tabor pipe is a wind instrument designed to be played by one hand, leaving the other hand free to play a tabor drum, bell, psalterium or tambourin à cordes, bones, triangle or other percussive instrument....
class. Typically 150 to 170 cm long, tuned in
GG major is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp, F. .Its relative minor is E minor, and its parallel minor is G minor....
(
AA major is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps.Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor...
and
FF major is a musical major scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat .Its relative minor is D minor and its parallel minor is F minor....
are other possiblities). It has three
tone holesA tone hole is an opening in the body of a wind instrument which, when covered, alters the pitch of the sound produced.The resonant frequencies of the an air column in a pipe are inversely proportional to the pipe's effective length. For a pipe with no tone holes, the effective length is the...
located on the lower part of the main body. The sound is produced by a fipple on the upper end of the main body of the fujara. The air is led to the fipple by a smaller parallel pipe, called a , meaning
air channel, mounted on the main body of the instrument. Even though on almost all fujaras the
fundamental frequencyThe fundamental tone, often referred to simply as the fundamental and abbreviated f
0 or F
0, is the lowest frequency in a harmonic series....
can be played, the normal playing technique is based on overblowing the instrument; because of its size, the
overtonesAn overtone is a natural resonance of a system. Systems described by overtones are often sound systems, for example, blown pipes or plucked strings.If such a system is excited, a number of tones may be produced along with the fundamental tone...
enable the ability to play a
diatonic scaleIn music theory, a diatonic scale is a seven note musical scale comprising five whole steps and two half steps, in which the half steps are maximally separated...
using only the three tone holes. The fujara is played standing, with the instrument held vertically, usually braced against the right thigh.
Technique and Role
The atypical design provides for a deep, meditative
timbreNot to be confused with timber.In music, timbre is the quality of a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices or musical instruments. The physical characteristics of sound that mediate the perception of timbre include spectrum and envelope...
.
OrnamentsIn music, ornaments are musical flourishes that are not necessary to carry the overall line of the melody , but serve instead to decorate or "ornament" that line. Many ornaments are performed as "fast notes" around a central note...
are traditionally added to the base melodies, which usually occur in the
mixolydian modeThe Mixolydian mode is a musical mode or diatonic scale. It has the same series of tones and semitones as the major scale, except the fifth note is taken as the tonic or starting pitch of the scale...
. Two common types of ornaments are
prefuk, the rapid overblowing of a single note, from the , to overblow; and
rozfuk, a descending cascade of overtones, from the , to scatter.
Traditionally, the fujara was played for recreation, usually by shepherds. Today, the fujara has moved from the fields to the stage at folklore festivals in
VýchodnáVýchodná is a village and municipality in Liptovský Mikuláš District in the Žilina Region of northern Slovakia.-History:In historical records the village was first mentioned in 1269, at the foot of Kriváň, Slovakia's symbolic and often considered most beautiful mountain.-Geography:The municipality...
and
DetvaDetva is a town in central Slovakia with a population of 15,000. It is situated on the mountain, Poľana.-History:Detva was created as a village of bondage in a deep-forested area belonging to Zvolenská Slatina and Očová upon instruction of the owner of the Vígľaš dominionLadislav Čáky resp....
, both towns in Slovakia. The instrument has also left Slovakia and is played all over the world, especially in Western Europe and North America, among
aficionadosFan or FAN may refer to the following:in technology,* Fan , implement held and waved by hand to move air.* Fan , machine for producing airflow, often for coolling....
of native flutes. Despite this, the fujara has yet to gain popularity or much recognition outside of Slovakia. Most often the fujara is a solo instrument, but ensembles of two or three fujaras have been known to exist, such as the Kubinec family or the Javorová Húzva trio. The fujara was included in the
UNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on 16 November 1945...
list of
Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of HumanityThe Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity was made by the Director-General of UNESCO starting in 2001 to raise awareness on intangible cultural heritage and spur the local communities to protect them and the local actors who sustain these forms of cultural...
in 2005.
See also
- Tabor pipe for other 3-hole folk flutes
- Willow flute
The willow flute, also known as sallow flute , is a Scandinavian folk flute, or whistle, consisting of a simple tube with a transverse fipple mouthpiece and no finger holes...
for another overtone-based folk flute
- Koncovka
Koncovka is a Slovak duct-blown overtone fipple flute without finger holes, traditionally played by shepherds. The koncovka flute is played by closing and opening the bottom hole of the flute. By increasing the air speed, two different harmonic series of notes can be played with the end either open...
, another Slovakian overtone flute
- Kalyuka, Russian overtone flute
External links