Anybody here ever tried playing a Duduk? It's a double reed, flute-like finger holed, used in Armenia and other eastern Europe countries and other eastern regions.

And with such an extraordinary sound!. Also extraordinary seems to be the breath and strenght requirements for the player.

If curious, see Pedro Eustache playing one, after a short explanation.:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5856735743122012939#

Very nice, and definitely a middle east sound. The instrument is a bit like a bamboo sax, but with a mid-east twist.

http://www.xaphoon.com/

It is sometimes called an Oboe (In Turkey for example), I suppose that is because of the double reed (although these are rather huge). But I believe that popularly it is mostly called a "Flute". It is very old too, maybe between 3,000 to 4,000 years.

I am tempted to have one, they are quite cheap, but I am concerned about my flute embouchure.

Those giant reeds do not look to be much compatible with the flute embouchure, at least for a student.

Pedro Eustache is a professional player, quite famous and he plays almost everything around, so he is not a suitable example for my case. That is one reason asking in the Forum if a flutist here had any experience in playing the Duduk.

Doubling on reed instruments does require an adjustment period. Initially, you may experience some "growing pains", but once you develop the correct reed embouchure, there are few problems making the switch back and forth. Besides playing flute, I regularly double on sax and clarinet and I don't feel that my flute embouchure suffers from it. I play easily up to C4 (C7 if you prefer) with no degradation of tone or flexibility. The main thing to watch out for especially with a double reed instrument, is not to allow your teeth to squeeze or bite into the lips. The reed support should come from the lip muscles.

My advice is to take it slow. Start with only a few minutes each day on the duduk. Give your lips time to adjust and build the muscles gradually. Initially, you may find that the reed vibrations will make your lips feel slightly numb, but that should be temporary until you get used to it. Then, go right back to the flute so that you practice making the transition.

Wow...what a beautiful sound.

Very pretty sound. So dark and smooth!

Could not resist and just bought one on Internet. Will post here after I receive it...