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Pan flute
The pan flute or pan pipe is an ancient folk instrument. You often see it being played by something mythical, a nymph, unicorn, or minotaur.
This flute is played in a vertical position. Several tubes of graduated lengths are laced together. The varying sizes of the tubes provide different pitches.
Each tube gives one pitch, but by over blowing, the player achieves more pitches. This is the same principle that brass instruments use.
A pan-type flute has no keys, just holes in the tubes.
Debussy immortalized the Syrinx in his piece for solo flute, Syrinx, La Flute de Pan, the first unaccompanied solo work of the 20th century.
Music for the panpipe can be purchased, but any sheet music for simple tunes works well, too.
Syrinx was a nymph from Greek mythology, loved by the god, Pan.
In pursuing Syrinx, Pan forced her into a watery death and then grieved his loss through the mournful melody he played on his flute.
That grief is conveyed in Debussy's famous piece, loved by flutists everywhere.
Instructional video...
A lovely ethereal sound, isn't it? An amazing number of styles can be achieved, too... 1) Asian 2) Celtic 3) Blues
Popularity...
The pan-style flute, like other folk flutes, is popularity for its ease of playing. You don't need to study for decades to express yourself musically. There is definitely something to be said for that.
