When I first heard the duduk, years ago, the sound went straight to my heart! So warm, so melancholic, almost like a human voice. I dreamt of playing it myself one day…
First, I bought a second hand duduk (for a small price). I managed to get a more or less duduk-like sound out of it, but the quality of the reeds (and the instrument itself) was rather bad.
Last year, I was happy to discover some duduks at Thomann’s. So I purchased the Sevada duduk in G. It’s clear that the quality of this instrument and of the (soft) reed that’s included is realy very good. (I found out that Sevada is an Armenian master maker…)
Sure, it takes some practise to get the right sound and intonation – and I still have a lot to learn – but I love to hold this piece of Armenian tradition in my hands and discovering the possibilities step by step…
(More recently, I also discovered the ‘duclar’(Duduk-Rocks); a duduk with clarinet mouthpiece. Although it’s not the real-real duduk, it sure is a wonderful alternative if you’re used to playing other single reed instruments like clarinet or sax… The sound is very close to the original duduk!)
