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The duduk (pronounced [duˈduk]) is a traditional woodwind instrument of Armenian origins.^[1][2] This English word is often used generically for a family of ethnic instruments including the դուդուկ or doudouk (previously ծիրանափող or dziranapogh, literally "apricot horn") in Armenia, the duduk or düdük in Turkey, the duduki in Georgia, the balaban in Iran and Azerbaijan, the duduka or dudka in Russia and Ukraine, duduk in Serbia, and the daduk in Bulgaria. The English word has been asserted as derived from the Russian word "dudka",^[3] or from the Turkish word "düdük".^[4]

Contents 1 Overview 2 History 3 Balkan Duduk 4 Use in popular media 5 Notes 6 See also 7 External links

The duduk is a double reed instrument which has ancient origins, said to be from 1500 to 3000 years old. The earliest instruments similar to the duduk's present form are made of bone or entirely of cane. Today the duduk is exclusively made of wood with a large double reed. Armenian duduks are mainly made from aged apricot wood, although other regional varieties use other materials (mulberry, etc.) The particular tuning depends heavily on the region which it is played. In the 20th Century the Armenian duduk began to be standardized diatonic in scale and single-octave in range. Accidentals, or chromatics are achieved using fingering techniques. The instrument's body also has different lengths depanding upon the range of the instrument and region. The reed, (Armenian: ramish or ghamish), is made from one or two pieces of cane in a duck-bill type assembly. Unlike other double-reed instruments, the reed is quite wide, helping to give the duduk both its unique, mournful sound, as well as its remarkable breath requirements.

The duduk is one of the oldest double reed instruments in the world. Variants of the duduk can be found in Armenia and the Caucasus. The roots of Armenian duduk music go back to the times of the Armenian king Tigran the Great (95-55 BC). The instrument is depicted in numerous Armenian manuscripts of the Middle Ages.^[1]

While the term duduk mostly refers to a double reed instrument, it sometimes also refers to a kind of blocked-end flute, which in some part of Macedonia is also called kaval or kavalce. Made of maple or other wood, it comes in two sizes: 700-780mm and 240-400mm (duduce). The blocked end is flat. Playing the duduk is fairly straightforward and easy, thus it is widely used throughout Macedonia. Its sound is clean and pleasant.

The duduk was introduced to western popular music through Peter Gabriel's soundtrack album Passion for the controversial film The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), which featured virtuoso duduk player Vatche Hovsepian. Duduk performances, with its haunting exotic sound, have since become a commonplace in film and television scores, such as The Hulk, The Siege, Ararat, Dead Man Walking, Syriana, Alexander, The Crow, and many more. The current trend for using it in film and television was started by the world-renowned duduk player Djivan Gasparyan who collaborated with composer Hans Zimmer for the film Gladiator (2000).

In 2002, System of a Down released their album "Toxicity," which featured the bonus track named "Arto," which features an intro played on a duduk.

The opening song for the anime Yu-Gi-Oh! starts out with a duduk being played.^{[citation needed]}

More recently, a duduk solo played by Pedro Eustache [5] is featured on the soundtrack of The Passion of the Christ and on the track "Jenny Wren" on Paul McCartney's 2005 album Chaos and Creation in the Back Yard. In the film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), "A Narnia Lullaby" (performed onscreen by the beloved character Tumnus the Faun) was played on duduk by Chris Bleth. Composer Bear McCreary has used the instrument frequently in the soundtrack for the "re-imagined" Battlestar Galactica series.

The instrument is played whenever Zuko, an antagonist on the Asian-influenced Avatar the Last Airbender, switches to his Blue Spirit alter ego. It is also the basis for the Tsungi horn, a fictional instrument used on the show.

The Duduk can also be heard in several cues from the soundtracks of the popular computer games:

• Riven: The Sequel to Myst
• Myst III: Exile
• Myst IV: Revelation by Jack Wall
• Uru: Ages Beyond Myst
• Myst V: End of Ages by Tim Larkin.

It is especially prominent in a haunting solo heard at the beginning of Exile's main theme, and also features in the main theme of Revelation.

The duduk is also the national musical symbol of Armenia.^[2]

• Ney
• Persian music
• Music of Armenia
• Djivan Gasparyan
• Music of Dagestan

• Audio World MP3
• Ararat Music Online
• Balkan Duduk
• Duduk practical page - Information and tips on playing and caring for a duduk.
• Pro music instruments master, duduk, zurna, bagpipe and much more, listen online demo