Quena

The quena (hispanicized spelling of Quechua qina,[1] sometimes also written kena in English) is the traditional flute of the Andes.

To produce sound, the player closes the top end of the pipe with the flesh between the chin and lower lip, and blows a stream of air downward, along the axis of the pipe, over an elliptical notch cut into the end.

It produces a very rich timbre because of the length-to-bore ratio of about 25, paradoxically brighter by comparison to the quena.

This use was in most cases for particular songs and not as a standard instrument, but some groups such as Illapu and virtuoso player Facio Santillan have used it regularly.

In the 1980s and 1990s some post-nueva canción rock groups have also incorporated the quena in some of their songs; notably Soda Stereo in Cuando Pase el Temblor and Los Enanitos Verdes in Lamento Boliviano.