The Duduk

The duduk is a short cylindrical pipe with a very wide double reed, made only from apricot wood, which is what gives it a tone unlike any other reed instrument: soft, warm, slightly nasal, and unmistakably sad even in fast music. UNESCO recognises the duduk and its music as intangible cultural heritage. Traditionally it is played in pairs, with one musician holding a continuous drone while the other carries the melody, circular breathing keeping both unbroken, and it belongs to weddings and funerals equally. Its sound reached a global audience through film scores, which is why many visitors recognise it before they can name it. In Yerevan it can be heard at concert halls and small clubs, and workshops still make instruments and reeds by hand.

What you actually see

• A live duduk pair - drone and melody together, the traditional format.
• The apricot wood - the material that gives the instrument its tone.
• Instrument makers - workshops cutting bodies and shaping the wide reeds.
• Yerevan concerts - halls and small clubs where it is played regularly.

When to go

Year-round; Yerevan has regular performances and the summer festival season brings more. Some restaurants provide duduk with dinner, which varies in quality. Concert halls list programmes online and tickets are inexpensive by European standards.

Honest expectations

Restaurant performances are often a single player with a backing track and bear little relation to a proper duduk pair. Instruments sold in souvenir shops are frequently decorative and unplayable, so buy from a maker if you want a real one. The music is genuinely melancholy, and a full evening of it is heavier going than a few tracks suggest.

Nearby

Yerevan's Cascade and Opera are the main venues; Gyumri also has a strong music scene.