Shuvyr

Shuvyr 

(also shyabur), a Mari folk wind instrument in which the sound is produced by a reed. A type of bagpipe, the shuvyr consists of an air reservoir (an animal bladder) and three pipes: one to blow the air and two chanters, which are cradled in a wooden gutter and terminate in a common bell of cow’s horn. The chanters have a range of a third and a fifth, respectively. One has two finger holes, and the other four; it is possible to perform two-part melodies. The shuvyr, which is tuned to the diatonic scale, produces a loud tone with a shrill, buzzing timbre. Known since antiquity, the instrument was used to accompany folk songs and dance melodies; it is rarely heard today.

REFERENCES

Eshpai, Ia. A. Natsional’nye muzykal’nye instrumenty mariitsev. Ioshkar-Ola, 1940. Pages 23–28.
Nikiforov, P. N. Mariiskie narodnye muzykal’nye instrumenty. Ioshkar-Ola, 1959. Pages 48–58.

S. IA. LEVIN