Siku (panpipe)

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Design

Sikus are typically made from bamboo shoots, but have also been made from Condor feathers, bone, and many other materials. Additionally, different types of bamboo are employed to change the quality of the sound. Songo, or thin-walled bamboo, gives a louder, more resonant sound than regular thick-walled bamboo, but is less common due to its fragility.

Siku is split across two rows of pipes. One must alternate rows with every note in order to play a complete scale. Traditionally, two musicians were required to play the siku - each one taking one row of the instrument. One part of instrument is called "ira", another - "arka". It is considered that spiritually "ira" corresponds to male principle and "arka" to female. When many musicians divide in two parts, first playing "ira" and second playing "arka", this gives Andean music a distinctive stereophonic sound. Hear (MIDI, not a real sound).

Now it is more common to see one musician playing both rows of the instrument together, but real rustic ensembles retain traditional playing.

Varieties

The most widespread variety of siku, "siku ch'alla", contains 13 pipes (7 in "ira" and 6 in "arka"), but less common varieties may have more and less pipes. Some of them employ extra open-ended reeds attached to the front of the instrument to change the sound quality. The Tabla Siku has all of the pipes cut to the same length, so the instrument is rectangular in shape, but has stoppers inside the tubes to adjust the actual resonant length of the chambers.

Scale and tuning

The Siku uses a diatonic scale. "Siku ch'alla" is tuned in E minor / G major, "arca": D-F^#-A-C-E-G-B and "ira":E-G-B-D-F^#-A.

There are a contemporary varieties of siku with chromatic scale having 3 rows, with pitch distribution similar to chromatic button accordion.

Sizes

There are multiple different sizes of Siku, typically tuned an octave apart. The smallest of the family is called "Ika" or "Chulli" ( _qu. ch'ulli). The next larger size, the most common, is called "Malta" ( _qu. malta). An octave lower than the "Malta" is the "Sanka" or "Zanka" ( _qu. sanka). The largest of the family is the "Toyo" ( _qu. t'uyu) or "jach'a" ( _ay. jach'a). The longest pipe of the Toyo is typically around 4 feet (120 centimeters) long.

Arrangement

Since it only requires one hand to hold a Siku, it is traditional in the Andes for musicians who play the siku to also play a drum, such as the Bombo legüero simultaneously. Marching bands of 40 or more musicians in this arrangement occur in the Andes during celebrations like the harvest festival.

See also

* Andean music
* Antara