What parts does Ney consist of? If we talk about the structural features of ney;
What parts does ney which have a cylindrical structure with two open ends and which we include under the title of "how do we manufacture" consist of? Ney consists of three main parts: reed, parazvâne and başpâre.
Parts of Ney
A reed consisting of nine knuckles of equal length, not much wall thickness, hard and durable outer wall, cut and dried at appropriate times constitutes the main material. The reed should be chosen carefully because the sound is obtained from ney is obtained as a result of the air blown into it vibrating the fibers in the natural structure of the reed.
What is Parazvâne?
This is one of the frequently asked questions and it is intriguing. Parazvâne (perazvâne or parazvana) is of Persian origin and is defined as a bracelet made of brass, silver or gold to connect the mouths of things such as sharpeners, knives, and swords. (Source: Ferit Devellioğlu, Ottoman-Turkish Encyclopedic Dictionary, Ankara, 1984; in this source the parazvâneye is called "perazvâne")
Its main duty is to protect both ends of the reed. However, its visual contribution has also come to the fore today. Parazvâne is made of metals (silver, chrome, brass, alpaca, chrome, etc.) with a wall thickness of 0.30-0.40 mm. The parasitic wall thickness and length not suitable can disrupt the timbre of the sound
What is Başpâre?
Başpâre, which emerges as a result of the combination of the words “Baş” and “Pâre” (Turkish Language Association / TDK dictionary meaning: part, piece); It is the part of ney attached to the upper end. It provides comfortable blowing and cleaner sound.
How should the Başpâre be?
It must have been manufactured using materials such as buffalo horn, ivory, ebony wood, boxwood, which do not impair sound quality. Nowadays, başpares are usually made of delrin (a type of plastic) material.
What would happen without a başpâre?
In Islamic geography, başpâre is used only by Turkish neyzens (ney players). As it can be understood from here, ney can be blown even without a başpâre. However, it is not appropriate to blow without a başpare, as the tuning may change. In addition, some types of ney with a short structure are also produced without a başpâre.
So is it difficult to blow ney?
Yes, learning ney is difficult, but never impossible. Making a sound from ney is not as difficult as it seems with a proper and stable work. The difficult one is to make a derûni and real ney sound from ney, which requires a lot of effort. You can take a look at our article titled "Making Sound From Ney and Sitting Position".
After this much knowledge, you can leave yourself with your ney and your music by blowing a few pieces from our note archive that will guide you about notes for beginners.