Kotone

嗩吶

China

Suona (double-reed shawm)

A conical wooden pipe with a small double reed and a flared brass bell, loud enough to carry across a temple square or a village. It leads weddings, funerals, processions and opera percussion, and in beiguan several suona play together over drums and gongs.

A woman in a blue robe with an embroidered red-and-gold jacket and green sash stands playing a suona, its slender wooden body and flared brass bell raised to her lips.
Watercolor of musician playing sona (suona) (detail). late 18th century, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Public domain (CC0).
  1. 洗馬科Xǐ mǎ kē — Washing the HorsesLichunyuan (梨春園), Changhua: Chen Zhulin (tonggu drum); Chen Guoliang, Chen Qingfa, Zhong Xingnan, Yang Maoji (suona); five-piece gongs and cymbals · Suǒnà, Luógǔ · 20018:40
  2. 什牌・倒旗Shípái · Dàoqí — Ten Tunes and Toppling the BannerLai Musong (beigu drum), Qiu Huorong and Zheng Rongxing (suona), with Chen Jiawen, Zhang Xinjie, Liu Yaoyuan and others · Suǒnà, Luógǔ · 199936:23