Piffero

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Piffero with a cocktail feather
Street music in Bobbio , Emilia-Romagna : Ettore Losini ("Bani") plays a piffero with a cock's tail

The piffero (also piffaro ) is a double reed instrument that is played in northern Italian folk music. It is the main instrument of traditional music in the Quattro Province , a region of the Ligurian Apennines north of Genoa , consisting of the four provinces of Pavia , Alessandria , Genoa and Piacenza . The instrument tuned to g¹ is a descendant of the medieval shawm . Related to the Piffero is the larger Bifora or Pifara native to Sicily .

Traditionally, the piffero is accompanied by the müsa , the bagpipes typical of the Apennines . In the early 20th century, the muesa was largely replaced by the accordion , which musicians found more versatile. Towards the end of the 20th century, however, the bagpipes made a comeback and the piffero is often accompanied by one or both of these instruments these days.

One of the few still active instrument makers is Ettore Losini , called “Bani”, in Degara di Bobbio .

Structure of the Piffero

Double reed and pirouette form the mouthpiece
  • The mouthpiece (ital. Musotto ) consists of the pirouette , in which a conical brass tube with the sound-producing double reed is glued in with wax .
  • The body with a conical bore has eight tone holes . The eighth hole is on the back of the body and is played with the left thumb.
  • The bell (ital. Campana ) usually has a hole for a cock's tail feather.
  • A brass ring (ital. Vera ) secures and decorates the connection between the body and the bell.
  • Cocktail feather for cleaning the double reed during breaks and for decoration.

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