KURAY

KURAY, a Bashkir wind instrument. It is made from the stem of the Ural rib­bearing plant. It is a tube 570–810 mm long and about 20 mm in diameter with 5 holes (4 holes on the front, 1 on the back). The main scale is diatonic; the range is about 3 octaves. The sound occurs when one blows air into the instrument with the tip of the performer’s tongue and simultaneously presses the holes with fingertips. The timbre of the sound is soft, gentle, close to the timbre of the human voice (often the performance is accompanied by a throat bass sound; see Uzlyau). Regional variations of the instrument: kyjyk kuray (K. with an oblique cut), sor kuray (short K.; mostly female instrument), khybyzgy (pipe); the Bashkirs of the Kurgan region have a K. with 2 holes. In 1976, V.Sh. Shugayupov invented the technology for making K. out of wood veneers. K. is a solo, ensemble, and orchestral instrument; it is used to perform dance tunes, marches, onomatopoeic melodies, instrumental variations of uzun-kyuy, kyska-kyuy,