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{{Short description|Musical instrument}}
{{About|the flute|the city in Iran|Kavar|the professional wrestler formerly known as Kaval|Low Ki}}
{{More citations needed|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox instrument
| name           = Kaval
| background     = woodwind
| image          = Bulgarian kaval in key of D, African blackwood.jpg
| image_capt     = [[Bulgaria]]n kaval in key of D (Re), African blackwood, made in 2012 by master craftsman Radoslav Paskalev
| classification = [[Woodwind]], [[Wind instrument|Wind]], [[Aerophone]]
| related        = [[Çığırtma]], [[Dilli Kaval]], [[Duduk]], [[Flute]], [[Frula]], [[Kawala]], [[Jedinka]], [[Ney]], [[Shvi]], [[Sring]]
}}

[[File:Bulgarian kaval in D, Mopane.JPG|thumb|Bulgarian kaval in key of D (Re), Mopane wood, Pewter inlay - Wedding style kaval, made in 2012 by master craftsman Radoslav Paskalev, Virginia, USA]]
The '''kaval''' is a [[Diatonic and chromatic|chromatic]] [[end-blown flute|end-blown]] oblique flute traditionally played throughout the [[Balkans]] (in [[Albania]], [[Romania]], [[Bulgaria]], Southern [[Serbia]], [[Kosovo]], [[North Macedonia]], Northern [[Greece]], and elsewhere)<ref name="balkania">{{cite book |last1=Rechberger |first1=Herman |title=Balkania: Rhythms in Songs and Dances From Albania, Bulgaria, The Republic of Macedonia, Romania and Serbia |date=2018 |publisher=Fennica Gehrman Ltd. |isbn=9789525489279 |page=136 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1QBNDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA136 |access-date=3 August 2019}}</ref> and [[Anatolia]] (including [[Turkey]] and [[Armenia]]).<ref name="ic">{{cite web |last1=Courroy |first1=Isabelle |title=La famille des flûtes kaval |url=https://kaval.org/les-flutes-kaval/ |website=kaval.org |access-date=3 August 2019}}</ref><ref name="Montagu2007">{{cite book|author=Jeremy Montagu|title=Origins and Development of Musical Instruments|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l1ztKVmMbSsC&pg=PA47|date=29 October 2007|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-7770-2|pages=47–}}</ref> The kaval is primarily associated with mountain [[Shepherd|shepherds]].<ref name="balkania" />

Unlike the [[transverse flute]], the kaval is fully open at both ends, and is played by blowing on the sharpened edge of one end.  The kaval has eight playing holes (seven in front and one in the back for the thumb) and usually four more unfingered [[Intonation (music)|intonation]] holes near the bottom of the kaval. As a wooden rim-blown flute, kaval is similar to the ''[[kawala]]'' of the Arab world and ''[[ney]]'' of the [[Middle East]].

==Construction==
[[File:Kaval.gif|thumb|right|A 1919 Kaval. Bone ferrules decorated on the lathe with turned grooves and bird's eye decorations are applied with a preshaped cutting tool.]]

While typically made of wood ([[European Cornel|cornel cherry]], [[apricot]], [[plum]], [[boxwood (genus)|boxwood]], [[mountain ash]], etc.), kavals are also made from [[water buffalo]] horn, ''[[Arundo donax]]'' <span style="font-variant:small-caps">Linnaeus</span> 1753 (Persian reed), metal and plastic.

A kaval made without joints is usually mounted on a wooden holder, which protects it from warping and helps keep the interior walls oiled. According to the key, the kaval can be in the high register (C, C#)???, middle (D, H) or low (A, B). The kaval plays two [[octave]]s and a fifth, in the [[chromatic scale]]. Its sound is warm, melancholic and pleasant.

==History==
The kaval is primarily associated with mountain shepherds throughout the [[Balkans]] and [[Anatolia]]. Musician Pat MacSwyney suggests{{Unreliable source inline|date=March 2023|reason=The source in question (Kaval: Traditional Folk Melodies for Balkan and Anatolian Flute) is a limited-print source that the author admits as containing several mistakes. A more reliable source is recommended.}} that the kaval spread with the [[Yoruks]] from the [[Taurus mountains]] of southern Anatolia into the southern Balkans of southeast Europe.

While in the past it was almost entirely a shepherd's instrument, today it is widely used in [[Folk music|folk songs]] and dances as part of ensembles or solo.

==Playing==
Unlike the [[transverse flute]], the kaval is fully open at both ends, and is played by blowing on the sharpened edge of one end.  The kaval has eight playing holes (seven in front and one in the back for the thumb) and usually four more near the bottom of the kaval. These holes are not used for playing the instrument, but determine the lowest tone's pitch and timbre and are supposed to improve [[Timbre|tone]] and [[Intonation (music)|intonation]].  In Bulgaria they are known as "devil's holes", based on a [[Folklore|folk tale]] in which the devil tries to out-play a shepherd in a musical duel.  While the shepherd is sleeping, the devil drilled holes in the shepherd's kaval but instead of ruining the kaval, this only served to enhance the shepherd's kaval playing thus thwarting the devil. In [[North Macedonia]] they are known as "glasnici" (гласници) meaning "giving voice to/of".

When played, the kaval is held with both hands, at an angle of approximately 45° to the side, with the four fingers of the one hand covering the lower holes; the upper three holes and the thumbhole are covered with the other hand. The mouth covers approximately three quarters of the end. Change of the breath [[air pressure]] also changes the [[Pitch (music)|pitch]].

==Types==
===Bulgaria===
[[File:Theodosii Spasov.jpg|thumb|Bulgarian kaval player [[Theodosii Spassov]] performing on kaval]]
The kaval that is most common in Bulgaria is the one in middle (D) register. The kaval in lower (C) register is also not uncommon for this country. What is characteristic for the Bulgarian style of kaval performance is the diversity of sound shades and techniques. According to the pitch there are four different registers that can be achieved with the Bulgarian kaval. What controls which register the performer works in is mostly the air flow and to some extent the position of the mouth and the lips on the end of the kaval. A very characteristic sound of kaval is achieved in the lowest register. It could sound very mild and gentle if blown lightly while by changing the air stream a deeper (flageolet like) sound is achieved. This sound is so outstanding that some consider it another register that they call - ''kaba''. It is also very interesting to notice that the technique of [[circular breathing]] is successfully utilized while playing the kaval. This technique lets the performer play without interrupting the air flow, while taking a breath through the nose. In the past it has been considered an extraordinary skill while nowadays it is used by more and more young performers.<ref name="balkania" />

The Bulgarian kaval, once made of a single piece of wood, is now constructed of three separate sections (of cornel, walnut, plum or boxwood), with a total length of 60 to 90&nbsp;cm. Bone rings cover the joints, to prevent the wood from cracking. Metal decoration is also found. The finger-holes are located in the central section, while the lower (shorter) section has four additional holes called ''dushnitsi'' or ''dyavolski dupki'' (‘devil’s holes’); these are not covered in performance.<ref name="balkania" />

In the south-west [[Rhodope mountains]], two kavals in the same tuning (called ''chifte kavali'') are played together, one performing the melody, the other a drone. This type of kaval is made from one piece of wood. A similar use of the kaval is also known in [[Macedonia (region)|Macedonia]] and [[Kosovo]], where one kaval of the pair (usually a lower one of a same key) is ‘male’, the other ‘female’.

===Romania And Moldova===
In Romania and Moldova there are three types of cavals: cavals from Moldova (with 6 holes), cavals from Oltenia (with 5 holes) and cavals from Dobrogea (similar with Bulgarian cavals). Their fundamental sound may be A, but for some instruments the lowest sound they can perform may vary between G and C. The Romanian cavals are ethnic instruments built by artisans (usually using two pieces, but there are older models made from a single piece) and therefore each instrument is unique in its own way. The Romanian caval in A has a playing range of two octaves (which lacks certain sounds).

The first five sounds belong to a minor scale with stage IV ascending chromatically. Grouped in this way they represent the low register of the instrument. These five sounds reappear one octave higher, complemented with the sounds F#, G and A, which complete the upper side of a mode of minor-melodic origin on A. The low pitched sounds between E and A cannot be obtained on the Romanian caval in A, which confers the instrument the special individualization of an “elliptic ambitus”. The last and most used octave is obtained without using the lip to cover the orifice by the head. The upper part of the playing range requires an increase in the pressure of the air column. The last four sounds also require more pressure. In the middle of the higher octave, the E2 sound can be obtained by two different pressure techniques, resulting in specific timbral effects.

===Turkey===
[[File:BatuhanAydinKaval.jpg|thumb|Turkish kaval player [[Batuhan Aydın]] performing on kaval]]
In [[Turkey]] the term 'kaval' is used generally to refer to all shepherd's pipes and more particularly (though not invariably) to ''ductless flutes''. The presence or absence of a duct is sometimes specified by the addition of a qualification: ''dilsiz kaval'' ('kaval without a tongue'), ''dilli kaval'' ('kaval with a tongue'). Other qualifications may be added to describe materials, size or constructional features: ''kamiş kavalı'' ('reed kaval'), ''çam kavalı'' ('pine kaval'), ''madenı kavalı'' ('[[metal]] kaval'); ''cura kavalı'' ('small kaval'), ''çoban kavalı'' ('shepherd's kaval', i.e. long kaval); ''üç parçalı kavalı'' ('kaval with three parts'). The Turkish kaval can be made of wood, [[cane (grass)|cane]], [[bone]] or metal (usually [[brass]]) and has five or more finger-holes, one thumb-hole and sometimes additional unfingered holes like the Bulgarian instrument.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rowland Picken |first1=Laurence Ernest |title=Folk Musical Instruments of Turkey |date=1975 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=[[London]] |isbn=0193181029 |pages=394–425 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MYAIAQAAMAAJ |access-date=3 August 2019}}</ref>

===Greece===
In [[Thrace]] and some of the [[Aegean Islands]] the term 'kavali' refers to an end-blown flute of the ''flogera'' family. It has seven finger-holes and sometimes an additional thumb-hole. In Greece's [[Macedonia (Greece)|Macedonia]] the term ''kavali'' is also used to denote the ''souravli''.  In [[Epirus]] the end-blown kaval is known as ''dzhamara''.<ref name="balkania" />

===North Macedonia===
There are five types of kavals in [[North Macedonia]],<ref name=jpf>{{cite web |title=Macedonian Music: A Beautiful Synthesis of Present and Past DD Synthesis |url=https://www.jpf.go.jp/e/project/culture/archive/information/old/9903/03_13.html |website=[[Japan Foundation|The Japan Foundation]] |access-date=3 August 2019 |archive-date=3 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190803101123/https://www.jpf.go.jp/e/project/culture/archive/information/old/9903/03_13.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> according to their length and register:
*  ''najmal kaval'' (smallest kaval) - length: 630&nbsp;mm, basic tone: dis1;
*  ''mal kaval'' (small kaval) - length: 672&nbsp;mm, basic tone: d 1;
*  ''kaval koj nema posebno ime'' ("no-special-name", nondescript kaval) - length: 700&nbsp;mm, basic tone: cis 1;
*  ''sreden kaval'' (middle kaval) - length: 752&nbsp;mm, basic tone: c 1;
*  ''golem kaval'' (big kaval) - length: 785&nbsp;mm, basic tone: h.

The most used in North Macedonia's musical traditions are the smallest and nondescript kavals.<ref name=jpf />

The North Macedonia's ''šupelka'' is similar to the kaval (open on both ends), except that it is shorter (240–350&nbsp;mm). It can be made of either walnut, barberry, ash wood, maple or other wood. The šupelka plays the chromatic scale (two octaves), except the first note of the lower octave. In the low register, its sound is soft and pleasant, while in the upper register it is sharp and shrill.

===Serbia===
The kaval (''cevara'') is widely used in the musical traditions of Southern, Southeastern and Eastern Serbia.

Presentations of musicians on frescoes of medieval monasteries and churches of this side of the Balkans say that the kaval dates back to the medieval ages. On the side where it is being played, there is a sharp bird which enables the easier obtaining of the tone. The tone is obtained just when the kaval is being stuck to the lips semi-horizontally, or under the angle of 45 degrees, as the player blows straight.

===Moldova===
The Moldovan caval has five and sometimes six holes and it is frequently used in traditional folk music both in Romania and Moldova.

===Albania and Kosovo===
The Albanian kavall is typically used by the Gheg Albanians of northern Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, and North Macedonia and by Tosks south of Albania, especially in region of Gramsh. A kavall is traditionally made of wood. Lately, copper or even bronze has been employed. In Albania, it is called a "Fyell". Most of the melodies are called "Kaba" and "Vaj" which are melancholy, but considered beautiful. It has been said that shepherds sent messages with a kavall when threatened by thieves or in order to send romantic signals to their beloved.

==Related flutes==
===Svirka===
The ''svirka'' (or ''tsafara'', ''svorche'', or ''little kaval'') is a Bulgarian shepherd's flute, consisting of one wooden tube 25 to 50&nbsp;cm long with six or seven holes for fingers, and a bone lip where it is endblown. It is played much like the kaval.{{citation needed|date=November 2014}}

===Armenia===
The ''{{ill|blul|hy|բլուլ}}'' ({{langx|hy|բլուլ}}) is an open end-blown shepherd's flute traditionally played in [[Armenia]] and similar in structure to the kaval.<ref name=ic /> It is made of either reed or apricot wood and has eight playing holes, including seven finger holes and one thumb hole. The resulting sound is diatonic, the timbre is described as soft and velvety.<ref>{{cite web |title=About Armenian Folk Musical Instruments |url=https://gardentomb.com/event/the-dilijan-ensemble-traditional-rhythmic-armenian-music |website=Dance Ensemble Bert |date=17 September 2018 |access-date=3 August 2019}}</ref> The ''blul'' is associated with the ''[[sring]]'' flute and occasionally equated with it,<ref>{{cite book |last1=McCollum |first1=Jonathan |chapter=Sring |chapter-url=https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-4002214963 |website=[[The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians|Grove Music]] |year=2011 |publisher=[[The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians|Oxford Music Online]] |doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.L2214963 |isbn=978-1-56159-263-0 |access-date=3 August 2019}}</ref> which is also a common term for Armenian end-blown flutes in general.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ճանաչե՛նք մեր գործիքները |url=https://musicofarmenia.com/hy/chanachenk-mer-gortsiknere |website=Music of Armenia |access-date=3 August 2019 |archive-date=3 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190803085959/https://musicofarmenia.com/hy/chanachenk-mer-gortsiknere |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Bashkirs and Caucasus===
An open end-blown flute similar to the kaval is used by the [[Bashkirs]] and the [[Caucasus|Caucasians]]; it is called by such terms as ''khobyrakh'', ''[[Quray (flute)|Quray]]'' and ''[[choor]]'' or ''shoor''.

A typical khobyrakh is a 70&nbsp;cm-wide, smooth, hollow pipe made of an umbel (hollow stem of a big, parasol-like umbellifer) or wood, with 3 or sometimes 6 finger-holes. Nowadays, it is also made of plastic.{{citation needed|date=May 2012}}

==See also==
* [[Dilli Kaval]]
* [[Frula]]
* [[Kawala]]
* [[Salamuri]]
* [[Shvi]]
* [[Sring]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Kaval}}
* [http://www.robertsnider.com/Kavals/ Bob Snider's kaval page]
* [http://outchakaval.blogspot.fr/p/technique.html ''Jouer du kaval Bulgare: approche pratique à usage des débutants''] at blogspot {{in lang|fr}}

{{Flutes}}
{{Armenian musical instruments}}
{{Macedonian musical instruments}}
{{Iranian musical instruments}}
{{Turkish musical instruments}}
{{Azerbaijani musical instruments}}
{{List of intangible cultural heritage of Serbia}}
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[[Category:End-blown flutes]]
[[Category:Romanian musical instruments]]
[[Category:Turkish musical instruments]]
[[Category:Uzbekistani musical instruments]]
[[Category:Albanian musical instruments]]
[[Category:Serbian musical instruments]]
[[Category:Bulgarian musical instruments]]
[[Category:Bosnian musical instruments]]
[[Category:Moldovan musical instruments]]
[[Category:Macedonian musical instruments]]
[[Category:Turkmen musical instruments]]