Definición
Payuela
También conocido como: palleta · pajuela · double reed · punteru reed · pita del punteru
Double reed that vibrates inside the Asturian gaita's punteru. It's the piece that produces the melodic sound and most determines timbre and tuning.
The payuela is the double reed housed in the upper part of the Asturian gaita’s punteru. As air passes from the bag, its two blades of cane vibrate against each other and generate the sound over which the gaitero builds the melody.
It’s the most delicate piece of the instrument. Timbre, response and much of the tuning depend on it: a hard payuela demands more pressure and sounds bright; a soft one responds easily but runs short of air. It’s scraped, tied and adjusted by hand, and every gaitero ends up with their own.
“Payuela” is the most widespread form across Asturies. In the east it’s called pajuela, and palleta is the term used in western Asturies and Galicia. It shouldn’t be confused with the roncón reed, which is a single reed and sounds differently.
Its size isn’t arbitrary: I explain why it measures what it measures, with data, in the payuela, the soul of the Asturian gaita.