The hne (; also spelled hnè) is a conical shawm of double reed used in the music of Myanmar.
Etymology
The earliest extant written occurrence of the word
hne dates to 1491 AD and is likely a
Mon language loan word, derived from
sanoy.
This sanoy derived from Persian loan word "Shanai".
Description
The hne ()has a sextuple reed (called
hnegan), made from the young leaf of the
Borassus, which is soaked for six months.
The body of the
hne is made of wood, with a conical bore and seven finger holes at the front, set in a straight line, with a bell (ချူ,
chu) hung at the top.
It has a flaring metal bell and has a loud tone, and is used in an ensemble together with
xylophone, tuned gongs, and tuned drums. There are two distinct forms: the smaller form is called the
hne galay (နှဲကလေး), while the larger is called the
hne gyi (နှဲကြီး). The former is used for songs in the ordinary key of the diatonic major scale, while the latter is used for grand style songs in the subdominant mode.
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