Sopilka / Сопілка

The sopilka is a traditional Ukrainian folk wind music instrument made of wood. Sopilka is one of the oldest music instruments, and Ukraine is considered to be the birthplace of this musical instrument. Sopilka is a part of Ukrainian cultural heritage, there are references to this musical instrument in the ancient chronicles of the Eastern Slavs of the eleventh century, Ukrainian folk songs, legends, and tales. In the works of many Ukrainian writers, the sopilka is mentioned as a traditional musical instrument of shepherds, trinity musicians, and wedding musicians. For example, Sopilka is mentioned in Lesia Ukrainka's poetic play “The Forrest Song”.

Made of wood, sopilka has three main parts, such as the mouthpiece, barrel, and whistle. Sopilka can be used for solos and as part of an orchestra of folk instruments. As a professional, academic musical instrument, sopilka began to be used only in the second half of the last century.

Sopilka has a whistle device and up to 10 finger holes on its body. The sound system is diatonic. If it is necessary to extract the chromatic scale, a combined application is used; so-called forks and octave sounds are extracted by the method of progression. It is made from elderberry or viburnum twig. Modern sopilka might be made of maple, walnut, beech, or plastic. The instrument has undergone significant improvement. Craftsmen such as I. Skliarr, V. Zuliak, B. Bobrovnykov, O. Shlionchyk, N. Matveev, D. Deminchuk, and others have significantly contributed to it.

Sopilka enriches Ukrainian music and culture and is well-known for its mesmerizing and melodious features, gifting its listeners with a feeling of calmness and harmony. Sopilka has significantly contributed to the development of modern Ukrainian folk music. This quite popular instrument is well-used among Ukrainian bands such as ONUKA, KAZKA, Go_A, and Kalush Orchestra.