Yamudi


Yamudi, is the native guan of Taiwanese music. The instrument, which translated means "mother duck flute" is very simple, as it primarily uses a large partially flattened tube reed connected to a thin cylindrical pipe A similar to the southern Chinese Luguan and Houguan, it is made of bamboo, instead of hardwood and uses a softer reed, giving it a more nasal buzzing sound than that of the northern Chinese guanzi which is hardwood with are harder reed. This design also limits the instrument to a little more than an octave in range, since it cannot overblow like the guanzi. It is primarily used in Taiwanese Folk opera for its somber sound. Although native of Taiwan, it is becoming an increasingly popular instrument in China as well.
The Yamudi is also a close relative of the Korean piri, the Japanese hichiriki and a more distant relative of the Armenian duduk, and the Turkish mey.