Ney (or haftband ney) is the most Isfahani musical instrument of Iran.
Its sound has survived for centuries with the efforts of Soleiman Isfahani, Ebrahim Aqabashi, Nayeb Asadollah Isfahani, and Hasan Kasaei, and now it is up to the new generation to preserve it; the generation that should promote the sound of ney all across the world and has recently registered the case “Isfahan’s ney and its playing style” on the list of the Intangible National Heritage of Iran.
The case was presented for registration on the national heritage list, together with a proposal for the immediate restoration of Nayeb Asadollah’s house, and is placed under the two categories of “Dastgahi-Radif Music” and “Navahi-Maqami Music.”
“Dental Ney-Playing Style” is the title chosen for the way in which this instrument is played since it is done by placing the ney between the central incisors.
The proper diameter for haftband ney is about two cm, and the instrument cannot be tuned.
Early March is the best time to cut and dry the smooth and hollow stems of the plant reed, out of which ney is made.
This is the first step to make a ney, which consists of six nodes, five holes in front and one hole in back as well as seven intervals or parts.
To make a ney, one should select those reed stems whose parts shorten gradually and in a balanced way and are neither too short nor too long.
Hot and dry regions like Kashan and its surrounding areas contain the most suitable reeds and reed beds for making neys.
The next step is to keep the stems for up to several months until they are completely dry. In the third step, ten or eleven parts of each stem are kept, and the rest is cut and thrown away.
Next, the curved parts of the stem are straightened over the heat of a fire. Then, from the remaining part of the stem, the section whose intervals and nodes are the most proportional is selected, and the rest is removed.
A round rasp with a sharp tip and of suitable thickness is then pushed through the reed’s hollow stem so that the sound path is opened.
Finally, it is time to drill the reed according to the patterns. Using a rasp and a soft piece of sandpaper, the tip of the ney becomes so thin and smooth that it can be easily placed between the two central incisors of the upper jaw, reaching the gum.
To protect the ney against damages and cracks, musicians lubricate their instruments with odourless olive oil at least once a year.
Soleiman Isfahani is the first ney player whose name is mentioned in the history of music. The second one is Ebrahim Aqabashi who played for Zell-e Soltan.
In the late Qajar era, Nayeb Asadollah Isfahani was known as the most famous and skilled ney player. Following the style of the old musicians of Isfahan, he played ney with his teeth and tried to promote this style of ney playing. Some recordings of his playing have remained until today.
Yadollah Mirza, known as Shah Yadi, who was a music student of Monsieur Lumière at Dar ul-Funun and the head of the Army’s music band, also mastered playing ney.
Qoli Khan Shahi, who was an actor of Ta’zieh performances, was a master of ney playing too and had the role of a shepherd, who played ney, in a Ta’zieh performance named “Moslem’s Children.”
Sarmasti was also one of the musicians of old Isfahan, contemporaneous with Nayeb Asadollah Isfahani, and played ney pretty well. Safdar Khan was also one of the famous ney players in the period of Mozaffar al-Din Shah and some discs of his works have remained.
