Der Sackpfeyffer zu Linden

Hier geht's zur deutschsprachigen Version
Go here to the German version

The mijwiz (midwiz, minjayrah) is a single-reed wood-wind instrument with two cylindrical bored tubes of same length. The tubes are bound together with threads. The 5-8 (sometimes more) large fingerholes of each tube are placed in pairs. Both tubes are tuned in unison. The instruments are manufactured out of hollow plantstalks (mostly bamboo). The sound is mostly softer than the sound of the sipsi. The instrument was already known in the antique Egypt. It's manufactured nearly unchanged to date. This construction corresponds to two bound sipsis and it was possibly the prototype for the antique aulos (Grece) and tibia (Roman empire).

Two playing techniques exists:

1.It's played unison. This causes a chorus effect. Each finger covers a pair of fingerholes.

2.It's played two-part. Each hand operates one tube. Another difficult fingering especially exists for the highest pair of fingerholes. The left forefinger operate both fingerholes. If the highest tone should be played on the left tube only, the middle finger limb must be lift of the fingerhole and the outer finger limb must completely cover the fingerhole of the right tube. It's more difficult to play the highest tone on the right tube only. The outer finger limb must be lift of the fingerhole and the middle finger limb must completely cover the fingerhole of the left tube to do this. This fingering enables to operate an additional lower fingerhole with the right hand.

If more fingerholes are available than fingers to cover them either the lower tones won't be used or some fingerholes will be covered temporary with stoppers or wax. Both playing techniques can be alternately used. The tuning of this instrument is critical by playing because each try to slide the tones affects both tubes at the same time. The large fingerholes don't allow to use crossfingerings. It's mostly played with circular breathing.

The instrument used in the sound example comes from Egypt. The scale differs from any European scale!

Download here the sound example ("improvisation", own work):

The arghoul (argul, arroul) looks like the mijwiz in sound and construction, but it has one tube with 5-8 (sometimes more) large fingerholes and one drone without fingerholes that often consists of several segments. That enables to tune the drone. The instrument was already known in the antique Egypt too. It's manufactured nearly unchanged to date. The arghoul played with circular breathing may be the oldest predecessor of the bagpipes. Sometimes the mijwiz is called arghoul too.

The launedda that's played till today in Sicilia corresponds to a combination of an arghoul and an additional sipsi.

Sipsi

Recorder

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