Yu (wind instrument)

The Yu (竽; pinyin: yú) is a free reed wind instrument used in ancient China. It is similar to the sheng, with multiple bamboo pipes fixed in a wind chest which may be made out of bamboo, wood, or a gourd. Each pipe contains a free reed, which is also made of bamboo. Whereas the sheng is used to provide simultaneous tones in harmony (in fourths and fifths), the yu is played in single lines melodically. The instrument was used, often in large numbers, in court orchestras of ancient China (and was also exported to Korea and Japan) but is no longer used.