The Zurna

The Zurna

The Zurna is a conical shaped instrument traditionally made out of hard woods, predominately Apricot or Mullberry. It produces a fairly high pitched and piercing sound which has made it popular to be played at weddings, baptisms and other celebrations.

The player blows through a double reed which vibrates to make the sound which is then pushed into the body of the instrument.

It is possible to play quarter tones as well as traditional scales on the Zurna. 

How To Play The Zurna

(Phaniinvestors, 2025)

Here is a fingering chart for an "A" tuned Zurna 

Reed Setup

"The goal of the player is to get the reed just moist enough so that it stays open and does not pinch up on you when you are playing, but not to let it become too open, as this will make the instrument very difficult to both blow and keep in tune. If for some reason the reed opens too much, just place the closing cap on it and wait a few minutes; it will then start to close back up and will be easier to play. It is important to remember that a reed is an organic, changing element and will need to be constantly monitored and compensated for."

(Armenian Zurna Instructions Information, 2025)

Reed Care

I quickly noticed that reed care is extremely important to playing the Zurna. The reed should be soaked in warm water for around 20 minutes before playing. The reed changing process is fairly complicated for a novice, and it's important to ensure that each new reed is configured the same as the old one (length, width, etc.); otherwise, the player will have to change their blowing technique.

The following clip shows an experienced Zurna player in action at an outdoor event. I was particularly impressed by his one-handed skills and his ability to smoke a cigarette while playing.

Day 1 Practice

Online resources regarding lessons, fingering, and scales seem to be fairly limited, so I've ordered a book, which will hopefully help me.

Edrem, L. (2025). How To Play Zurna: A Complete Guide To Mastering Technique, Tradition, And Expression On The Zurna [Paperback]. Independent.

Day 4

I am undertaking further practice sessions in the University studios due to the rather anti-social aspect of practicing the Zurna at home. 

In the following video I am improvising along to my song "Bayati". I'm recording 3 takes of my improvisations with the aim of being able to use some of the recorded material to introduce into my mix.

Plastic Reeds

I've continued my research into reed alternatives and happened to stumble upon a set of plastic reeds for a Suona which is a Chinese double-reeded instrument. The reeds are a perfect fit for the Zurna and more consistent than the natural reed, making it a lot easier to play.

Since introducing the plastic reeds, I've found the Zurna a lot easier to play and have make a 

good amount of progress in my standard of playing.

Here is an update on my progress using the plastic reeds fitted to the Zurna.

Once I had got used to the plastic reeds, I found that the Zurna was fairly easy to play. After many years, the school recorder lessons have been of some use.

I was able to play scales fairly easily and also able to produce some quarter tones. I re-recorded some of the Zurna parts in my songs.

Learning to play the Zurna was a fascinating experience. It's a raw, loud, earthy-sounding instrument and I felt that it was effective in a number of my compositions for this module.