Shankobyz. The shankobyz is an ancient reed instrument. This instrument under various names (vargan, temir komuz, shankobyz, etc.) is seen in different nations. It was popular among Yakuts, Tuvins, Khakassians, Kyrgyz, Turkmen, Uzbeks, Karakalpak, Dungans, Bashkirs, Kalmyks, Ukrainians, Russians and others. The shankobyz had a very simple arrangement. It was a little metal instrument, consisting of fillet with a stretched and increasingly narrow at the end thin metal bar attached to the fillet. The shankobyz was put to lips. Sounds were derived with the help of vibration of the bar. The mouth cavity served as an instrument resonator. The shankobyz could be found in Kazakhstan through the forties of the First Century CE. There were competitions of performers in auls quite often. Tender sounds of shankobyz could reproduce exactly the moods of melancholy and sorrow. At present the performers at this instrument can be met only in the south regions of the republic.