hne

This is an instrument that I brought back from my trip. It's for Husband, who likes to collect and play various wind instruments.

It's most closely related to the oboe, in that it's got a detachable reed that vibrates against itself inside the player's mouth, but that's where the similarity ends.

The oboe reed is in two parts ("double reed"): two thin pieces of cane tied together and vibrating against each other to create the sound. You can approximate this by putting your palms together, fingertips pointing up, and tapping your fingers together very quickly and lightly. Some Eastern instruments have quadruple reeds: two layers of reeds vibrating against each other. (Like having two left hands, one covering the other, and two right hands, one covering the other).

The hne isn't satisfied with two reeds. It sneers at four. The hne has TEN reeds! Five layers of cane on each side, all vibrating together. Before playing, you've got to soak the reed in hot water to make it pliable, then poke it down the center with a special tool to create a gap for the air to come through.

Also, the metal part isn't a stand for the instrument. It's attached by a cord to the wooden part, and it acts like the bell of a clarinet. I've never seen a bell attached in this way, nor one that's so different in diameter from the rest of the instrument.

The sound of the hne is quite loud and reedy. It's nasal and buzzy, and it's quite easy to slide the pitches by moving the embouchure. Apparently it's most often used as a contrast to the mellow, soft, airy-sounding bamboo flute.