Zampoñas are made in a variety of sizes and scales, the most common being a range of four sizes of 15cm to 1.5cm in length. They are made from "Chialla" or "Tonkoro" bamboos of different thicknesses which grow in the Bolivian jungles. Listen first to the sound of zampoñas (RealAudio 14.4 and 28.8), then to a discussion between Bill and Juan Carlos about the mechanics of playing zampoñas (RealAudio 14.4 and 28.8).

These instruments typically consist of one row of 25 pipes in pentatonic scale. They originally come from the lakeside region and come in various sizes and scales.

These are typical of Ecuador. They vary in size and scale using a complex arrangement of alternating pipes.

Instrument illustrations and descriptions copyright Rumillajta. Photo by Steve Wunrow.