The zholomyha is an instrument that sounds like a small ensemble. Two parallel tubes are glued or bound together; one has a full set of finger holes and carries the melody, the other has a limited set (often a single hole), producing a drone or counter-voice.
The player blows air into both bores simultaneously, while the fingers of one hand control the lead tube and the other the auxiliary. This requires virtuosic coordination. The zholomyha is one of Europe's rare polyphonic folk instruments (with parallels in the Italian flauto doppio or Sardinian launeddas). Today only a handful of living “zholomyha” masters remain, mostly in the Kosiv district of Ivano-Frankivsk region.
