Did you know that…
Records, the silver screen, birds' voice organs and a flute made of glass. Little things about the pan flute you'll hear almost nowhere else - and that are wonderful to pass on.
Did you know that…
The oldest flute is made of bird bone
The oldest surviving pan flute has seven pipes of bird bone and is over seven thousand years old. It was found in a grave at a Neolithic burial ground in Mariupol, Ukraine.
ArchaeologyIt sounds in Kill Bill
The melody The Lonely Shepherd, which Gheorghe Zamfir recorded in 1977 with the James Last Orchestra, became the musical signature of Tarantino's Kill Bill.
Film musicMorricone entrusted America to it
For the film Once Upon a Time in America, Zamfir recorded the flute parts Cockeye's Song and Childhood Memories - among the loveliest melodies by Ennio Morricone.
Film musicClosed bottom = a free octave
The pipes of the pan flute are closed at the bottom - and a closed tube sounds a whole octave lower than an open tube of the same length. That's why the instrument is so compact.
AcousticsEl Cóndor Pasa is an old Andean melody
The 1970 Simon & Garfunkel world hit is built on a melody by the Peruvian composer Daniel Alomía Robles from 1913 - today it's among the most-played pieces on the pan flute, and Peru has declared it national cultural heritage.
Music historyThe record flute is two metres long
The world's largest playable pan flute, according to the World Record Academy, is 2 metres long, has 53 pipes and was built by the Romanian Ştefan Popescu from bamboo and acacia wood.
World Record AcademyBirds' voice organ is named after the flute
In anatomy, the vocal organ of birds bears the name syrinx - the same as the ancient pan flute, named after the nymph from the Greek myth. The circle closes: a flute of bird bone, a bird's voice with the flute's name.
AnatomyThe master's nai has up to 30 pipes
The standard Romanian nai has 20 pipes. But Gheorghe Zamfir also plays extended concert versions with 22 to 30 pipes - for a wider repertoire range.
The Romanian schoolIn Czechia a glass flute sounds too
Petr Tomeček plays an exclusive glass pan flute by a Swiss maker - the only one of its kind in Czechia and Slovakia. Its tone recalls a glass harp.
petrtomecek.czThe pan flute in film and popular music
Film music fell in love with the ethereal tone of the pan flute in the 20th century and never let it go. Gheorghe Zamfir brought it into Once Upon a Time in America, Picnic at Hanging Rock and The Karate Kid, and his The Lonely Shepherd sounds in Kill Bill.
Among the favourites in Petr's concert repertoire are precisely the film and melodic pieces: Once Upon a Time in the West, Song from a Secret Garden, Adagio and Panna a netvor. You can hear how they sound on the pan flute on the sister site.
The glass flute up close
Precise Swiss craftsmanship, a crystal-clear tone and the look of an art object. Petr introduced the glass pan flute in 2026 - and it is currently the only one of its kind in Czechia and Slovakia.
The glass pan flute - the only one of its kind in Czechia and Slovakia. Photo: archive of Petr Tomeček.
Frequently asked questions from the world of the pan flute
The pan flute has sounded in film music since the 20th century. Gheorghe Zamfir brought it into Once Upon a Time in America, Picnic at Hanging Rock and The Karate Kid; his piece The Lonely Shepherd was heard in Tarantino's Kill Bill.
The world's largest playable pan flute, according to the World Record Academy, is two metres long and has 53 pipes. It was built by the Romanian Ştefan Popescu from bamboo and acacia wood.
In anatomy, the vocal organ of birds bears the name syrinx - the same as the ancient pan flute, named after the nymph from the Greek myth. The oldest surviving pan flute, meanwhile, is made of bird bone.
Content verified from trustworthy sources; last reviewed July 24, 2026.
From reading to your own notes
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