Turkey  &  Greece
Turkish

Bamboo, wood
Mid 20th century
Length: 10 in; Diameter: 0.5 in; Mouthpiece diameter: 0.375 in
Aerophones – Wind Instruments Proper – Reedpipes

The sipsi is a single-reed aerophone used mainly to play the melody in folk music (often in 9/8 time) of the Aegean region of Greece and Turkey.  In ancient Greece, it was known as kalamavlos (καλάμαυλος), meaning cane-flute. The sipsi can be made of bone, wood, or reed, though the reed variant is most common and seen here.  Its size varies from region to region.  This Turkish sipsi has six finger holes on the front and a thumb hole on the back.  The small reed at the top, that fits into a slightly larger reed body, is split and taken into the mouth with air blown over it to vibrate. The instrument is decorated with seven dark brown wood decal stripes, one at the top and bottom of the instrument and the other five in between each of the fingerholes, for decoration and to help prevent the bamboo from splitting.