The arghul is a double-pipe, single-reed woodwind instrument that consists of two tubes: a melody pipe with between five and seven holes and a longer drone (Arabic "ardiyya", "ground") pipe. Its tone is similar to that of a clarinet, although a bit more reed-like. Unlike the similar mijwiz, the arghul has fingering holes on only one of the instrument's pipes (the melody pipe), and the drone pipe has a detachable length that allows the player to alter the pitch of the drone.