the.com/pan flute
Rows of tuned tubes that make every mall food court sound like the Andes.
means A wind instrument made of several tubes of different lengths bound together in a row, each tube tuned to its own note when you blow across the top.
from Named for the Greek god Pan, half-man, half-goat, who legend says fell for a nymph named Syrinx. Fleeing his advances, she was turned into river reeds; Pan, unable to tell which reed had been her, cut several and bound them together, so he'd always have her voice near him. The Greek name for the instrument is actually 'syrinx'; 'panpipes' is the popular tribute to its mythic owner, who gets the romantic credit rather than the reeds themselves.
- origin myth
- named for Pan, god who chased a nymph into reeds
- no fingering
- each note is a separate tube, not holes
- peru link
- predates Incas by over 3000 years
- stock music staple
- shorthand for mystery or wilderness in film scores