Turkish ney

Before the tone naming convention do-re-mi-etc.. was adopted in Turkey, the notes had full long names which still partially are in use in ney circles, for example as names of fingering for a given perde (the set of pitches used in the performance). • Perde Name — Fingering — Note (Lowest register of a Mansur Ney) • Neva — ● ○ ● ○ ○ ● ○ — D • Nim hicaz — ● ● ○ ○ ○ ● ○ — C# • Çargah — ● ● ● ○ ○ ● ○ — C • Segah — ● ● ● ● ○ ● ○ — B • Kürdi — ● ● ● ● ● ○ ○ — B♭ • Dügah — ● ● ● ● ● ● ○ — A • Rast — ● ● ● ● ● ● ● — G Neys come in many lengths, each producing a different key. Professional players usually possess a range of ney in different keys so they match other instruments in an ensemble. • In some Turkish musical circles, the "pitch" (akord) of a ney is determined by the tone produced by its rast perde. For example, some refer to the note generated with all holes closed, meaning Davud would be in E, Bolahenk nısfiye would be in D, and Ṣah would be in F. • In others, the pitch is determined using the note (perde) which matches A=440 Hz (diyapazon). This pitch is one note higher, e.g., Mansur being A/La rather than G/Sol. The lengths below are approximate, as it can vary somewhat due to the natural characteristics of the individual reed. • Ney name — Length (average) — Dügah tone (old name) — Dügah tone (Turkish) — Dügah tone (piano) • Bolahenk Nısfiye — 520 mm — Hüseyni — La — E / Mi • Bolahenk-Süpürde Mabeyni — 550 mm — Hisar — Sol diyez — Eflat / Mi bemol • Süpürde Ney — 580 mm — Neva — Sol — D / Re • Müstahsen — 620 mm — Nim Hicaz — Fa diyez — Csharp / Do diyez • Yıldız Ney — 665 mm — Çargah — Fa — C / Do • Kız Ney — 710 mm — Buselik — Mi — H / Si • Kız-Mansur Mabeyni — 745 mm — Dik Kürdi — Mi bemol — Bflat / Si bemol • Mansur Ney — 780 mm — Dügah — Re — A / La • Mansur-Şah Mabeyni — 820 mm — Zirgüle — Do diyez — Gsharp / Sol diyez • Şah Ney — 860 mm — Rast — Do — G / Sol • Davud Ney — 910 mm — Irak — Si — Fsharp / Fa diyez • Davud-Bolahenk Mabeyni — 970 mm — Acem Aşiran — Si bemol — F / Fa • Bolahenk Ney — 1 m 40 mm — Hüseyni Aşiran — La — E / Mi

A Turkish ney player is referred to as a neyzen. A curious distinction in the Turkish language is that playing the ney is described using the verb üflemek ("blow") whereas for all other instrumentalists, one uses the verb çalmak ("play/brush"). It is speculated that the ney's close identification with the Mevlevi Sufis might be the origin of this usage (God made Adam out of mud, and then "blew" life into it). Noted modern ney players include Niyazi Sayın, Akagündüz Kutbay, Sadreddin Özçimi, Kudsi Erguner, Süleyman Erguner (torun).

The following is a description of how fingering, blow angle and blow intensity (roughly represented with symbols for wind speed and direction borrowed from USNWS) are combined to create the tones in a popular scale ("Hüseyni") on a common Turkish ney type (Bolahenk). Note that some pitches can be produced two different ways. Hüseyni scale on a Bolahenk ney • Blow — Fingering — Hertz — Note • — ● ● ● ● ● ● ● — 587 — A • — ● ● ● ● ● ● ○ — 660 — B • — ● ● ● ● ○ ● ○ — 739 — C • — ● ● ● ○ ○ ● ○ — 783 — D • — ● ○ ● ○ ○ ● ○ — 880 — E • — ○ ● ○ ● ○ ● ○ — 927 — F • — ○ ○ ○ ● ○ ● ○ — 1043 — G • — ● ● ● ● ● ● ● — 1174 — A • — ● ● ● ● ● ● ○ — 1321 — B • — ● ● ● ● ○ ● ○ — - — C • — ● ● ● ○ ○ ● ○ — 1566 — D • — ● ● ● ● ● ● ● — 1761 — E • — ● ○ ● ○ ○ ● ○ — 1761 — E • — ● ● ● ● ● ● ○ — - — F • — ● ● ● ● ○ ● ○ — - — G • — ● ● ● ○ ○ ● ○ — 2348 — A • — ● ● ● ● ● ● ● — 2348 — A • — ● ● ● ● ● ● ○ — - — B • — ● ○ ● ○ ○ ● ○ — - — B • — ● ● ● ● ○ ● ○ — - — C • — ● ● ● ○ ○ ● ○ — 3132 — D • — ● ○ ● ○ ○ ● ○ — 3522 — E • — ● ● ● ● ○ ● ○ — - — F • — ● ● ● ○ ○ ● ○ — - — G • — ● ○ ● ○ ○ ● ○ — 4696 — A • — ● ● ● ○ ○ ● ○ — - — B There are hundreds of similar scales in use in classical Turkish music. Hüseyni is probably the most frequently used. A dozen of the most common scales account for an important majority of all Turkish classical music, while many are seldom used.

Ney Taksimi/Aziz İstanbul a composition by Münip Utandı is the most sampled Turkish ney song on the Internet, being sampled by several media. Ney Taksimi means improvisation at the ney instrument. The following is a table showing the songs that used the original sample (the first 2 min. of the recording are linked at the top row). Münip Utandı's Ney Taksimi used in various media • Artist — Track — Year — Genre — Album — Link • Münip Utandı — Ney Taksimi Aziz İstanbul — 1998 — Traditional Turkish Folk — N/A — YouTube • Muslimgauze — Turkish Sword Swallower — 2000 — Tribal, Experimental — Sufique EP — YouTube • Sergio Marques — Morningside — 2007 — Trance — Special Collector's Edition 2 — beatport • King Mokka — Léïli — 2007 — Electro House — Léïli — YouTube • YOJI — Sandwich (Nhato Remix) — 2011 — House, Techno, Hard Trance — Sandwich EP — YouTube • BluSkay & KeyPlayer — Giza — 2014 — Progressive Trance — N/A — YouTube • Alexandre Bergheau & Geert Huinink — Desert Wings (Original Mix) — 2015 — Trance — Desert Wings — YouTube • Kelly Bailey — Nepal Monastery — 1998 — Soundtrack — Half-Life — YouTube

The classical Turkish ney's closest relatives in other countries, the Arab nay and the Persian ney, do not use a mouthpiece, but rather blow against the sharpened edge of the tube. In Turkish folk music, one type of ney (dilli kaval) has a fipple; the other type (dilsiz) is a rim-blown oblique flute, as is the Turkish classical ney. The Bulgarian kaval, a folk instrument, resembles the Turkish dilsiz folk ney. The Romanian nai is a panpipe rather than a flute but may be related etymologically and morphologically.