Technique 1-
With this technique, I am influenced by the performance of Turkish - ney player Sinan Arat in the 04.23 - 05.47 minutes of his YouTube video.(Arat 2024)
This technique brings a polyphonic sound. I am making this sound by blowing very softly and gently in a whistle position in my mouth.
Technique 2 - Kaval
I have been playing kaval in the past, which is a traditional wind instrument in Turkey and neighboring countries. When I took off the reed of the duduk and tried to play the body of the duduk with a kaval technique, I gained some sounds. Since the duduk is not made for this technique, it always sounds wrong as a pitch. It is possible to play with a good intonation but it requires much more effort than playing a kaval.
Technique 3 - Whisper
This technique is basically like blowing into a tube. After I started to use this expression, I noticed that Arve Henriksen was already using this expression in one of the records. When I played this sound during one of my lectures with him, he told me that this was whispering for him. Therefore I called this technique whisper. (Henriksen, 2001)
Technique 4 - Knocking the wood
In the duduk-making process, my duduk teacher Özcan Gül was choosing the woods to make a duduk by knocking on the wood. And later I tried this technique with a body of the duduk. I am knocking the body with the second knuckle of my middle finger.
In this video, I first play it without any effects, then I add delay and reverb effects. After that, I knock on the wood gently and softly to have another color of sound and add reverb and delay effect. In the end, I use the loop pedal and record the sounds as I did at the end of the track "A New Beginning".
Technique 5 - Only reed
I am playing only the reed part of the duduk in this technique. I am using my hands instead of the wooden part (body) of the duduk. This technique allows me to have one, sometimes two upper semitones.
On the key of A duduk, the highest note is A but it is possible to have 2, sometimes 3 semitones (B and C) by squeezing the lips. How many high notes we can have depends on the flexibility of the reed, construction of the body and skill of the player.
With this technique without a body, it is possible to have even higher one or two semitones (C or C#).
Blowing and Singing
While I play the duduk with the usual technique, I also sing from the throat and create a polyphony. This is a technique that is used by other wind players.
It is possible to create interference with this technique as well. I am doing it in the video, from 01.23 to 01.40 and from 02.52 to end.
Double Duduk
I am using two duduks for this technique. In the video, I used a key of A and a key of Bb duduks but it is possible to use different variations of different key duduks.
From the beginning to 01.17 in the video, I am creating an interference and then showing some possible variations.
As another double reed instrument, "aulos" has been played in a double form. (Brumberg, 2024) But playing two duduks at the same time is not something I have seen before. I used this technique commonly in a track titled "Outside Selfland".
Duduk and Piano
This is a way of playing; piano on the right hand, duduk on the left hand. One day I was practicing the duduk while I played some basic accompaniment on the piano with my right hand. Playing two instruments at the same time brought a limitation besides a new opportunity because I am only able to use the half range of the duduk since I play it with one hand.
The video is made during my performance at the Minga Festival in Gothenburg, Sweden. You can listen to the piece I made with this way of playing in the album; it is titled "Broken".
Harmony Effect adjusted to lower register + with Reverb Effect
In this video, I am using the Harmony effect on TC Helicon Voicelive II. I turned off the natural sound of the duduk in the settings. We only hear 1 octave low 1. and 3. degrees of the note I play. I first play it dry, without any reverb then add a reverb effect on Immerse MKII.
I always keep these pedals on my right side because then I can play some of the notes on the duduk on my left hand while I change one of the set degrees of harmony effect on my right hand.
I am using a volume pedal, especially for the harmony effect. It allows me to have a softer fade-in and fade-out for each note.
You can hear this sound in the track "Ritual".
Harmony Effect adjusted to upper register + with Reverb Effect
In this video, I am usgin the Harmony effect on TC Helicon Voicelive II. I turned off the natural sound of the duduk in the settings. We only hear the 1., 2. in the octave higher range and the 3. in the 2 octave higher range of the played note. I first play it dry, without any reverb then add a reverb effect on Immerse MKII.
As I do in the low rage harmony (in the previous video) I use my right hand to change the set notes of the harmony effect in this setting as well.
You can hear this sound in the track "Pattern in Heritage".