Museumofworldmusic.com

Thailand

Instrument

Name: Naw or Hulusheng

Type: Free reed > Aerophone

Region: Thailand > South East Asia

Source: Randy Raine Reusch

Description: The naw or as its called in China (Hulusheng) is an aerophone classified as a “free read instrument". The naw belongs to a family of free reed instruments in which the Japanese sho, the Chinese sheng and the Hmong gaeng belong too. All these reed instruments have the same function in which the reed is situated either in a body or in particular a “gourd” in which the read does not touch the lips during performance. The naw is found amongst the Indigenous peoples of the Golden Triangle, both in Yunnan China under the name (Hulusheng) and in Northern Thailand, Myanmar (North Eastern Burma). The Indigenous peoples who play the naw are the Yi, Lisu and the Lahu peoples. The naw was traditionally used as an instrument during courtship between young men and women. In which the music was form of expressing ones love to the female partner involved.

Playing Technique: When playing the naw the musician holds the naw with his left and right hands. Then blows into the top end of the gourd to which serves as the mouth piece. During performance the air flows the gourd although a finger does have to be placed on any one or a few of the five finger holes to produce a sound.

Anatomy of the Naw:
Most of the naw usually have five pipes and a finger hole per pipe and single read carved for each of the bamboo pipes. The pipes are grouped and then inserted into a gourd, in the finishing of the assembly process ksoot (being a pitch based substance with bamboo soot) is inserted around the edges where the pipe meets the gourd and also the center of the gourd. This helps to keep the pipes affixed to the gourd and to keep them stable. Each of the reeds are hand carved individually and then they assembled together in each pipe. As the photo shows the reeds are very delicate the reeds are carved of the same type of bamboo to which the pips are constructed of.

Citations: Asza.com / Naw