Suona
The suona in five languages: European languages use the Chinese name; a double-reed shawm, not a trumpet
Related
Five languages
| Language | Name |
|---|---|
| Chinese | 唢呐（喇叭） |
| English | suona |
| Italian | — |
| German | — |
| French | — |
The suona is China's double-reed wind instrument: a conical wooden pipe ending in a metal bell, with a short double reed at the top. It is loud and penetrating and is used at weddings and funerals, festivals, opera and folk wind bands. Soprano, alto and bass sizes exist, and in folk usage it is also called laba.
Watch out: the suona is not a brass instrument like the trumpet — it sounds through a double reed and belongs to the shawm family, closer to the West Asian zurna (the usual account). Its Chinese nickname 喇叭 can make outsiders mistake it for brass. Italian, German and French have no established native name and use suona.
Read deeper → Suona
Sources
- 名称与形制，参《中国音乐词典》与 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Suona"；译名参通行音乐术语词典；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.