Greek wooden traditional Flute D tone

Traditional Greek flute reed

Six holes, D tone

Smooth and warm sound

Thiaboli or Souravli is an open end instrument similar to flute. Its upper end is diagonally cut and sealed with a lid that leaves only a thin slit open. The lid , souro or peiro, as called in Crete, is followed by a rectangular hole were the air passes and generates sound. It is often met in the Aegean islands and Crete and occasionally in Macedonia and Thrace. We find it under various names pithkiauli in Cyprus or sfirohabiolo in Crete. Most of the times is made of cane and in rare occasions is made of wood or metal. Souravli belongs to those instruments that are fabricated by the performer himself and played solo or accompanied by a leather percussion instrument such as toumpi (Naxos and Crete).