Shvi

{{Short description|Musical instrument}}

{{Infobox instrument

| name = Shvi

| background = woodwind

| image = Shvi.jpg

| names = Tav shvi

| classification = *Woodwind

• Wind{{cite web|url=http://www.volkangucer.com/winds.html |title=Volkan Gücer - Üflemeli Çalgılar |publisher=Volkangucer.com |access-date=2014-03-04}}
• Aerophone

| related = *Dilli Kaval

}}

The shvi ({{langx|hy|շվի}}, "whistle", pronounced sh-vee) is an Armenian fipple flute with a labium mouth piece.{{Cite book|title="Shvi." New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments. Second Edition.|last=McCollum|first=Jonathan|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2014|isbn=9780199743391}} Commonly made of wood (apricot, boxwood, or ebony) or bamboo and up to {{convert|18|in}} in length, it typically has a range of an octave and a-half.{{cite web|url=http://armenianinstruments.am/instr_shvi.html |title=Description of Armenian shvi, photo, audio preview |publisher=Armenianinstruments.am |access-date=2014-03-04}} The tav shvi is made from apricot wood, it is up to {{convert|18|in}} long, and is tuned 1/4 lower producing a more lyrical and intimate sound.

The shvi is up to 12 inches in length and is made of reed, bark of willows, or walnut wood. It has 8 holes on the front, 7 of which are used while playing, and one thumbhole. One octave is obtained by blowing normally into the shvi and a second octave is attained by blowing with slightly more force (i.e., overblowing). The lower octave has a timbre similar to a recorder whereas the higher octave sounds similar to a piccolo or flute. 8-hole traditional flute. The shvi is played with the mouth. Typically, most Armenian duduk or zurna players learn the shvi before moving on to either instrument.