Aulos

Aulos

Classification	Double reed
Related instruments
Launeddas · Sorna · Rhaita · Suona Sopila · Shawm · Zampogna · Tsampouna · Tulum · Zurna

Look up aulos in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

An aulos (Ancient Greek: αὐλός, plural αὐλοί, auloi^[1]) or tibia (Latin) was a wind instrument in ancient Greece, often depicted in art and also attested by archaeology.

Though the word aulos is often translated as "flute" or as "double flute", the instrument was usually double-reeded, and its sound—described as "penetrating, insisting and exciting"^[2]—was more akin to that of the bagpipes, with a chanter and (modulated) drone.

An aulete (αὐλητής, aulētēs) was the musician who performed on an aulos. The ancient Roman equivalent was the tibicen (plural tibicines), from the Latin tibia, "pipe, aulos." The neologism aulode is sometimes used by analogy with rhapsode and citharode (citharede) to refer to an aulos-player, who may also be called an aulist; however, aulode more commonly refers to a singer who sang the accompaniment to a piece played on the aulos.