Make your own Bulgarian kaval

by Daniel W. Papuga

Good musical instruments don't have to cost you a fortune! Your nearest building
supply store or electrical installation shop has plastic tubing which can be used to
make excellent kavals.

In order to make a Bulgarian kaval in "D", you need a piece of plastic tubing which is
635mm long, and 16mm inner diameter. You also need a drill with an 8mm drill bit,
some sandpaper, and a small knife.

Drill out the eight finger holes and four "tuning holes". They are all 8mm in diameter.
The dimensions below show the MIDDLE of the holes. Any remaining bits of plastic
in the holes can be removed with the knife. The outer edge at the top of the flute (at
the 0 mark) is sanded down to about a 45% angle all the way around. This makes a
sharp edge which you blow over while playing.

Dimensions for Bulgarian kaval in "D"

top thumb 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 tuning tuning tuning bottom

(on (double)
back)
0 278 296 322 348 374 402 426 452 523 553 582 635

History and playing style

Kaval is the name of a type of end-blown flute found in Turkey and the Balkans. The
word comes from Turkish, and means a hollow, cylidrical object. Similar instruments
are played all over the Middle East and North Africa under the name "ney". The
following is a description of how to play the most usual type of Bulgarian kaval:

The instrument is a long, open tube with eight finger holes and four "tuning holes".
There is no fixed windway, as in a recorder or tin whistle. Instead, you blow across
the sharp top edge of the flute while the flute is held slightly at an angle. Your lips
should be formed in about the same way as when you whistle or play jews harp. If
you try to say "rööööör" with your tounge towards the front of your mouth, it will be
correct.

The lowest octave (from D to H) is called the "kaba" register. It is difficult to play
loudly, but in the hands of a good musician, it can give a very warm, full sound. There
is no C or C# in the lowest octave, and Eb has to be made by half-holing the lowest
hole.
The second octave (from d to b-flat) is easier to get, and gives a more powerful sound.
You reach it by blowing slightly harder while you make the air stream a little more
narrow.

In order to reach the third and fourth octaves, you need to blow slightly stronger
again.

The fingers should be placed flat over the finger holes, with the meaty part of the mid-
finger covering the holes. By bending fingers, then straightening them out again, you
can make a kind of vibrato, which forms a pulse in time with the music. Bulgarian
folk musicians keep an eight-note or sixteenth-note pulse going the whole time.

There are many recordings of Bulgarian kaval music, but they aren't always that easy
to get ahold of. If you have access to older Bulgarian "Balkanton" recordings, you can
look for the names of Cvjatko Blagojev, Stojan Velickov and Nikola Gancev. These
are the most famous soloists from the 1960's and 70's. One of today's most prolific
young Bulgarian performers is Theodosii Spassov.

Fingering chart for Bulgarian kaval in "D"

("o" = covered, "/" = half-covered)

D Eb E F F# G G# A B H d eb e f f# g g# a b h' c' c#' d' eb' e' f' f#

thumb o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
1 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
2 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
3 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
4 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
5 o o o o o o o o o o
6 o o o o o o o
7 o / o / o

Some kaval links:

x Kavals and Dzamares: End-blown Flutes of Greece and Macedonia, by

Anthony Tammer
x Bulgarsk Folkemusikk. Musikktradisjon og feltarbeid, by Staale Tvete Vollan
x Kavals, by Bob Snider
x Kavals, by Aleksandr Eppler
 Daniel W. Papuga
http://papuga.brinkster.net
papuga@brinkster.net

Updated 11.08.06