Quena

The quena ( Hispanicized from Quechua / Aymara: qina ), also called Andean flute, is a South American wood wind instrument made ​​of wood or bamboo tube, and is especially common in Peru and Bolivia.

Description

The quena is a notched flute, so it has no separate mouthpiece. While the recorder, the air jet is channeled to meet the column ( labium ) and to produce the sound, you have to at the Quena form the air jet to meet the sharp Vibrierkante.

Originally, the quena was played with 3 or 5 holes in major scales; today it has mostly 7 holes. By fork handles or by half- covering the holes it is also chromatically playable.

( Will be provided as the lips to produce a sound ) the approach of the quena is found in many instruments around the world, eg in the Japanese shakuhachi.

No other wind instrument that provides such technical possibilities, such as chromaticism, large dynamic range, three octaves, even timbre modulation is as cheap as a quena. In Peru and Bolivia, they cost between 50 cents ( made ​​of bamboo or plastic ) and 80 euros ( sophisticated models of hard wood, some with a mouthpiece made ​​of bone ).