Mijwiz, Arghul – Ancient Egyptian pipes

Mijwiz

Wikipedia sez: The mijwiz consists of two pipes of equal length; each pipe has around five or six small holes for fingering. It requires a special playing technique known as “circular breathing,” which is tricky but produces a continuous tone, without pausing to take a breath. The mijwiz is played in the Levant as an accompaniment to either belly dancing or dabke, the folkloric line dance of the Levant. The mijwiz is most popular today in the Levant (Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. Many popular folk songs either include the mijwiz on recordings, or include the instrument’s name in the song’s lyrics. One example is the famous palestinian dabke and the Lebanese dabke song “Jeeb el Mijwiz ya Abboud” (Arabic: جيب المجوز يا عبّود‎) by the singer Sabah.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POn_as7IyGQ

The mijwiz is also related to the arghul (or yarghoul), which consists of one short pipe with five to six holes and a longer pipe joined to it just like the mijwiz and produces a very similar sound to it.

The mijwiz, like the argoul, is related to ancestor of some types of bagpipes. However, in the case of the mijwiz, the cheeks of the player with their circular breathing act like the bag that contains the air in a bagpipe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XRwVkD1azA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mkl8trzsbqo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2zx1KUZP6c

Arghul

Wikipedia sez: The arghul (Arabic: أرغول or يرغول), also spelled argul, arghoul, arghool, argol, or yarghul, is a musical instrument in the reed family. It has been used since ancient Egyptian times and is still used as a traditional instrument in Egypt, Palestine, Syria and Jordan.

The arghul is a double-pipe, Single-reed woodwind instrument that consists of two tubes: a melody pipe with between five and seven holes and a longer drone (Arabic ardiyya, “ground”) pipe. Its tone is similar to that of a clarinet, although a bit more reed-like. Unlike the similar mijwiz, the arghul has fingering holes on only one of the instrument’s pipes (the melody pipe), and the drone pipe has a detachable length that allows the player to alter the pitch of the drone.

In the illustration above all three lengths are shown in use. An arghul belonging to the collection of the Conservatoire Royal at Brussels, described by Victor Mahillon in his catalogue[2] (No. 113), gives the following scale: —

Short pipe, holes uncovered.
   1. Holes uncovered without additional joint.    
  2. Holes uncovered with shortest additional joint          3. With shortest and medium additional joints              4. With longest additional joint

Arghuls are used in Egypt and other Arab nations as an accompaniment to belly dancing, Dabke, and other types of Arabic musical performances. Circular breathing is an important part of the playing of the instrument.

There are three varieties of arghuls: the small arghul (arghoul alasghar), the medium arghul (arghoul alsoghayr), and the large arghul (arghoul alkebir).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDQGgtFHbss
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0wg7MmjV_E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXajEUPlFu0

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