A Bajoran woodwind instrument
A tivara was a Bajoran woodwind instrument, not unlike an Earth clarinet or oboe.
Varani was a master of the instrument and gave a small performance in Quark's in 2370. Before the Cardassian Occupation of Bajor, Varani had played in such venues as the Jalanda Forum. He gave a holo-recording of that performance as a gift to the Skrreea woman Haneek. (DS9: "Sanctuary")
During the Gratitude Festival held aboard Deep Space 9 in 2371, a trio of Bajoran musicians gave a performance on the upper level of the Promenade. One of the musicians played the woodwind instrument. (DS9: "Fascination")
The instrument would also occasionally be played during services in the Bajoran temple aboard the station. (DS9: "Resurrection") It was also known to exist in the mirror universe. (DS9: "Crossover")
| Woodwind instruments |
|---|
| Bassoon • Clarinet • Flute • Oboe • Saxophone |
| Bagpipes • Tivara • Ressikan flute |
Background information[]
Instrument design sketch
The name of the instrument was not mentioned in dialogue in "Sanctuary", but is stated in the stage directions. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion - A Series Guide and Script Library)
William Schallert commented: "I had to play a musical instrument [in "Sanctuary"]. It happens that I’m a trained musician and I’ve played the piano all my life. I’d been a folk singer at one time, so I could play guitar. But I’d never played wind instruments. This thing they gave me had nothing on it to suggest where your fingers were supposed to go, and they were playing a specific tune. So I had to sort of imagine in my mind that these various fingers were associated with various notes. I tried my best to duplicate what the tune of the song was. I kind of got close, but I didn’t get it exact. That was actually the most difficult thing I had to do on the show. The acting part of it was fairly simple." [1]