Zdeněk Seidl - Hudební nástroje

About Kaval

The kaval is a folk-music instrument used mostly in Bulgaria and Macedonia. It is actually a basic flute open on both ends, with specific timbre and scale of nearly three octaves chromatically. It originates from the Balkan Peninsula and today it can be found mainly in Macedonia and Bulgaria.
The tone is created by a stream of air directed at the edge of the instrument by a special kaval embouchure. This embouchure is not intuitive, it needs to be learned and the beginnings are sometimes frustrating. Very remotely, the creation of tone can be compared to a transverse flute or a Japanese Shakuhachi flute.
The design of the instruments varies depending on the country of origin. The Bulgarian kaval is usually turned from fruit or maple wood and can be divided into three parts. It is decorated with pewter inlays, ebony or bone rings, which are now sometimes replaced by plastics. By contrast, Macedonian kaval is hand-drilled from a single piece of ash log, the outer shape is cut with a knife and the decoration is done almost exclusively by burning. The method of production shows a tendency to twist, which in practice is solved in such a way that outside of playing, the Macedonian kaval is bumped into a special stick, which forces it to maintain a straight shape.
However, the number of tone holes and the playing technique are the same for both types. The most common tuning is D, but we can also meet the C or E tuning.
Kaval is in principle similar to the Persian-Arabic whistle ney.
My Kavals are of the Bulgarian type, turned from maple, cherry, pear, walnut, or ebony wood.
You can download a pdf How to play a kaval here.

Kaval in d	145 €
Kaval in c	155 €
Kaval in e	130 €
Ebony kaval with pewter inlays	300 €

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