Shop handmade Armenian Duduks. We are the official dealer of Master Galstyan’s and Karen Hakobyan’s Duduks, crafted by local makers in Armenia, where craftsmanship is a carefully kept art for over 1500 years. Read more…
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What Is the Duduk Instrument?
The Duduk is an old and mysterious instrument from the secluded mountains of the Caucasus, the national instrument of Armenia, people there have played it for more than a thousand years, and today UNESCO protects it as world heritage. It is a short pipe of apricot wood with a wide double reed, but when a good player breathes into it you don't hear a pipe of wood, you hear a human voice. This instrument has soul, the more you listen to it the deeper it goes into your heart, it is one of the most expressive instruments we know. A
Djivan Gasparyan is the one who introduced the Duduk to the West. Peter Gabriel discovered it while he was researching the score for Martin Scorsese's "The Last Temptation of Christ", he heard Gasparyan and put his playing into the soundtrack, and that was the first time the West really heard the Duduk. Later Gasparyan played on Gladiator with Hans Zimmer, and that score carried the sound everywhere, millions heard it without any idea what instrument was playing.
That is how the Duduk went from a niche instrument to one that wind players all over the world play today. If that is you, you heard that sound once and went searching what it is, welcome, you are in the right place. Every Duduk we sell is a real instrument from a real luthier, tested and tuned before it ships.
Buy a Duduk
- Just starting: our beginner Duduk in plum wood, $89. Fully playable, made by a real luthier, with a reed imported from Armenia. Most beginners take this one.
- Serious about it: a Master Galstyan concert Duduk in apricot wood, from $245.
- Professional: a Karen Hakobyan Duduk, $339, from the maker whose instruments Djivan Gasparyan himself plays.
- The best we have: Galstyan's wild apricot Duduk, $490, made from the root of the apricot tree.
- Spare reed: the Galstyan ghamish, $59, in Soft, Medium or Hard. This is the mouthpiece only, and every Duduk player needs a spare.
Duduk Price: What a Good Duduk Costs
The ladder is short and honest. $89 gets you our beginner Duduk in plum wood, a working instrument you can learn on for years. From $245 you get a Master Galstyan concert Duduk in apricot wood, and this is where the famous mellow tone really starts. $339 gets you Karen Hakobyan, and $490 gets you the wild apricot flagship. Galstyan also makes bass Duduks, $369 for the F bass and $389 for the A bass, for players who want the deep low voice. One thing to know, the $59 item in this category is a reed, not a Duduk. And our Duduks are made to order, the luthier starts working when you order, they are not sitting on a shelf.
Armenian Duduks for Sale: Our Makers
Master Galstyan
We are the official dealer of Master Galstyan, the GGA workshop near Yerevan, working since 1991. The story started when the founder found a fallen apricot tree and heard the music hiding in it, so he went and learned the craft from a master Duduk maker, and today it is a family workshop, the son studied music and brought the 432Hz tuning and the wild apricot instruments.
His concert Duduks come in three colors, Natural which is yellowish, Classic which is Burgundy, and Black, and in keys A, B, C and G, plus the F bass and A bass. Before any Galstyan Duduk ships, it is tested for tuning, and we match the Duduk to its reed so the two play in harmony. This is not a small detail, a mismatched reed can make a good Duduk sound wrong. The top of the line is the wild apricot Duduk at $490, carved from the root of the apricot tree, rare old wood you don't see often.
Karen Hakobyan
Karen Hakobyan is one of the most experienced Duduk luthiers working today, a humble master, we met him at his home in Yerevan. Djivan Gasparyan himself plays some of his instruments, and we don't know a better recommendation than that. His professional Duduks are $339, in key A or any other key you need, and like the Galstyan Duduks, each one is tested for tuning and matched with its reed before it ships. He also makes some rare Armenian wind instruments that are hard to find anywhere else.
Which Duduk Key to Choose
Start with A. It is the standard key of the Duduk, the finger stretch is comfortable, and almost all the online lessons are for a Duduk in A, which matters, because most players don't have a teacher in their city and learn from videos. The keys G, B and C are for players who already know what repertoire they want. The F bass and A bass are specialist instruments, beautiful deep voice, but not for a first Duduk. Galstyan also makes a 432Hz version, it is for musicians who work in the 432Hz resonance and want their Duduk tuned to it
Apricot or Plum Duduk Wood
For hundreds of years Armenians have chosen apricot as the perfect wood for the Duduk. It grows wild in Armenia and it gives the soft, mellow tone this instrument is famous for, so our finest instruments are made of apricot. Our $89 beginner Duduk is made of plum, which is also a solid choice, it plays well and tunes well. Many players begin on plum and add a Galstyan apricot Duduk after a year or two, and the plum stays as the travel instrument.
The Duduk Reed (Ghamish)
The reed, called ghamish, is the hard part of the Duduk. It is a wide flattened double reed, and a Duduk is only as good as the reed sitting in it. This is why we test every Duduk for tuning before it ships, and match the reed to that specific instrument, we make sure you have an easy start and can play it straight out of the box. This is the difference between a real instrument and a souvenir, there are plenty of cheap duduks online that look fine in photos and arrive unplayable. Reeds come in Soft, Medium and Hard, Soft is easier to blow and good for beginners. A spare Galstyan reed is $59, and it is smart to have one, reeds are natural cane and they don't live forever.
Is the Duduk Hard to Learn?
The honest answer, the beginning takes patience, and after that it is not so hard. The first phase is the breathing. There is a ring on the reed that narrows the opening, and you have to find your embouchure, the posture of the mouth on the reed. Once the sound is steady, the fingering is quite simple.
What takes a lifetime is the emotion. The vibrato comes from thickening the mouth, the closest we can describe is the "boo" you do to a baby to make him laugh, that movement of the cheeks. And the glissando, the sliding between the notes, is what makes the Duduk cry the way it does. These two are the real study of this instrument.
Other Armenian Wind Instruments
The Duduk has family, and we carry them in this category too. The Shvi is the Kaval of the Armenian winds, a long carved flute with seven holes plus one at the back and two fixed tuning holes at the bottom, close to the Ney and the Kaval. The Pku is its own creature, a double reed like a zurna but with six holes and easier to blow, ending in an animal horn that throws the sound far with an extra texture, like a zurna going through a pillow. And the Blul, an Armenian shepherd's flute.
Armenian Duduk FAQ
Which key should I start with?
Key A. The finger stretch is comfortable, and almost all the online tutorials are for a Duduk in A, so you will always find material to learn from. The other keys and the bass Duduks come later, when you know what you want to play.
Should I start with the $89 Duduk or go straight to a master instrument?
Both ways work. The $89 plum Duduk is a real instrument, most beginners take it and learn on it for years. If you already know the Duduk is your instrument, start with a Galstyan from $245, the apricot wood gives you the tone you heard in the recordings, and you won't need to upgrade.
Apricot or plum wood?
For hundreds of years Armenians choose apricot as the perfect wood for the Duduk, it gives the famous mellow tone, so our finest instruments are made of apricot. Our $89 beginner Duduk is made of plum, also a solid choice, it plays well and tunes well.
Is the Duduk hard to learn?
The breathing phase takes time, you need to find the embouchure and get a steady sound, give it patience. After that the fingering is simple, and the real long work is the expression, the vibrato and the glissando.
How do you handle the reed and the tuning?
Every Duduk is tested for tuning before it ships, and we match the reed to the specific instrument, so they play in harmony from day one. The reed needs a little care from you too, we wrote a short guide on how to care for your Duduk mouthpiece, and a spare reed is $59.
Do you ship worldwide?
Yes, we ship everywhere, free of charge. The Duduks are made to order, so the luthier finishes and tests your instrument first, then it goes out to you well packed.
Duduk music is on the UNESCO heritage list, people played this instrument for more than a thousand years, and it fits in your bag. Explore the category, and if you are not sure which Duduk to take, write to us, we answer ourselves. Free Worldwide Shipping.