“Gaïda”, “gayda” or “gajde” is the most common name given to bagpipes found in the Balkans. This type of instrument is composed of a pocket made of turned goat or sheepskin, serving as an air reservoir, as well as a drone and a melody pipe, both fitted with a simple reed. The origin of the word could come from the ancient Greek Αιγίδα (aiguida) meaning “goat skin”.

We find in other languages ​​words resembling “gaida” to designate a goat or a kid: goat in English, guedi in Hebrew, gadya in Aramaic. Furthermore, in the Iberian Peninsula the “gaïta” is the local bagpipe, and in the Maghreb the “raita” or “ghaita” is a traditional oboe close to the zurna. The fact that the gaida player cannot articulate melodies as a flautist would do with his tongue or a violinist with his bow strokes, forces him to ornament his phrases, especially when it comes to separating several identical notes to the following.

This constraint implies a very ornamented game which is the basis of the styles found in the Balkans. This is why the term “gaïda” can also designate a piece, a dance imitating the typical game of the gaïda but interpreted by another instrument (a clarinet, a violin or a synthesizer for example).