Armenian national music has an ancient history and takes its unique place in Armenian culture being the inseparable and important part of it.

Duduk is considered to be the oldest Armenian instruments and it has a history of 1900 years. Besides, it’s also the most beloved instrument, as it expresses Armenians’ emotions and sences. Although it is used in many Caucasian countries, it has an Armenian origin. Duduk as an Armenian intangiblecultural heritage was registered in the international cultural list of UNESCO. Duduk is a spiritual instrument which is made from apricot wood. Literally it’s also called tsiranapogh (apricot pipe) in Armenia. The musical peculiarity of duduk is its lyrical soundness. Duduk has a warm and soft sound which is arisen from the vibration of wooden plates caused by the influence of the entering air. There are seven vocal holes on the outer upper side of the instrument and one vocal hole on the lower part.

In general, duduk is played in a duet. The first one is the soloist and the other one is ‘damqash’ (the person who holds “dam”). Dam is a respiration, joined playing and harmony of the melody in the eastern music. The damqash, using a special method of the continual playing sound, creates a specific colourful background sound for the soloist or the singer. Duduk is also accompanied with dhol (two sided drum) for acting dance music. The magic sound of duduk is in such harmony with the Armenian nature, history and spirit of the people that it’s difficult to imagine Armenia without duduk. In Kotayk Marz another national instrument, parkapzuk, is also widely used.

Rubik Rushanyan is an instrument maker. He not only repairs old instruments, but also creates new ones.

 

You can buy folk instruments, by calling 098/091/584258 telephone numbers.