Korna; Persian Musical Instrument
The kornā (long trumpet with a mouthpiece) belongs to the family of aerophones and is known by names like kornā, kornāy and khornāy. This instrument is played in the areas where the Qashqāi nomads, the Ahmadi Buyers, the Bakhtiāri and other regions such as the Gilān, the Māzandarān and the Khorāsān live.
The korna of the Qashqāis, Buyer Ahmadi and Bakhtiāri has a similar structure and is part of the group of sornās or single-reed double-reed aerophones. This type of korna consists of a wooden body with 7 acoustic holes in the front and a hole in the back, a relatively long metal opening, an outer body and a reed. It is accompanied by naghāreh or dahol and is used in weddings and holidays.
The korna del Khorāsān belongs to the naghāreh khāne of Astan-e Qods-e Razavi which is considered the only active naghāreh left in Iran. This specimen has no acoustic hole and like a trumpet or a long sheipur it has a deep and powerful sound.
This tool has the ability to create three or four different sounds. The material of this type of korna is made up of different alloys such as brass, nickel silver, etc., and is considered one of the aerophones without a reed with a cup-shaped opening.
Inside it is an object called zanburak whose job is to create and double the sound. In Mashhad's naghāreh khāneh korna are played together with some naghāreh.
The use of this type of korna today is limited to Mashhad's naghāreh khāneh. The korna of the Māzandarān consists of a tube without holes in the shape of a long imperfect cylinder, it is made with the bark of a type of tree that has been separated from it in a particular way so as to take the shape of a spiral that has constituted the body of the instrument.
This type can be reed or not. The korna del Gilān consists of a hole-free acoustic tube made of long barrel from 2 to 5 meters and in the final section has a curved opening obtained from the pumpkin and an opening of cane or wood in the shape of a spoon for blowing.
Today this type is played as a group in Moharram month mourning ceremonies.