Duduk Sound With Orchestral Instruments

Hello there,

I am writing a film score for a large orchestra (80 players) and there is a short melodic line that should have the sound of a duduk.

However, I am only allowed to use standard orchestral instruments. Since the duduk sound is basically the chalumeau clarinet register with a very wide, vocal vibrato I thought of a very wet, soft clarinet reed.

Will a clarinet player do this? Do you know a better solution?

- Keman

well it won't get very close to the duduk timbre, but yes a 1 1/2 Reed can help, also a high bafle mouthpiece just these mouthpieces are not built for clarinet just for sax, I once modified a clarinet mouthpiece inner walls with wax, just the overall pitch of the clarinet changes too, gets higher, you have to take off the mouthpiece a little to fix the tuning, also an exaggerated vibrato would help, if the clarinetist is also saxophonist will understand all this, if not, forget it, you can't indicate a mess like this in the score, is just not professional, if you can talk with clarinets maybe, if not, I'd say just mark the score with something like "Edgy Tone, try to emulate a Duduk" :D .... ? :veryunsure:

you could also copy paste each note bend and toss them between the clarinet players to compensate for performance issues.

like 1 clarinet will bend up slow-the other one will give that fast half tone bend-and then the first one will complete the bend down.

in any case you'd need bending, and maybe a layer to make the clarinet more of duduk timbre.

you could also copy paste each note bend and toss them between the clarinet players to compensate for performance issues.

like 1 clarinet will bend up slow-the other one will give that fast half tone bend-and then the first one will complete the bend down.

in any case you'd need bending, and maybe a layer to make the clarinet more of duduk timbre.

Uhm, I don't think it's possible to coordinate both at a vibrato speed, is it?

I've never heard a Duduk before but I youtubed it and listened to a song Yanni wrote that uses it.

Sounds like an english horn mixed with the breathiness of a bass flute, so those'd be my two suggestions to start with.

I also would say the defining characteristic is breathiness, even more than reediness. I'd use bass flute if there's access to one in the group, otherwise alto flute, with an indication such as "very wide, free vibrato, like a duduk."