What music genres around the world use panpipes (syrinx)?

Panpipes (also called pan flute, syrinx, zampoña, nai, etc.) appear in many musical traditions worldwide. Below are notable genres and regional traditions that use them — with the local name(s) where appropriate.

Andean / South American

• Andean folk music (Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, northern Chile): zampoña (siku) and quena appear in huayno, carnaval, sikuri (ensemble panpipe music), and other indigenous and mestizo genres.
• Nueva canción and Andean fusion: modern/urban arrangements that incorporate zampoñas into pop, rock and protest song contexts.

Andean-influenced world/folk

• World music and "Andean music" ensembles that blend traditional panpipe timbres with Western harmonies, new-age, and contemporary arrangements.

Eastern Europe and Balkans

• Romanian folk and classical-influenced usage: nai (Romanian pan flute) used in doina (lament), dance tunes, and folk ensembles.
• Moldovan, Bulgarian and neighboring folk traditions sometimes include panpipe-like instruments or adopt nai in modern folk revivals.

South Asia

• Indian classical and folk contexts: the venu/bansuri is a bamboo flute distinct from panpipes, but some Himalayan and northeastern folk groups use pipe bundles similar to panpipes (less common); panpipe-like instruments appear in some tribal music.

East Asia and Southeast Asia

• Chinese sheng: a mouth-blown free-reed pipe organ with vertical pipes (different mechanism but panpipe-like appearance) used in classical, folk and opera.
• Laotian and Thai traditions: khaen (Laos, northeast Thailand) is a mouth organ of bamboo pipes (free-reed) central to mor lam and folk music—similar in ensemble role to panpipes though reed-based.
• Indonesian and Philippine traditional ensembles: various bamboo-pipe instruments (e.g., suling is a transverse flute; some regions have panpipe-like instruments used in folk songs).

Melanesia and Polynesia / Oceania

• Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands: panpipe ensembles used in ritual, dance and social music.
• Vanuatu and other Pacific islands: bamboo panpipes used in traditional dance music.

Africa

• West and Central African traditions: slit flutes and multiple-pipe instruments appear in folk music; panpipe-like sets (e.g., the Cameroon mvet is different but multipipe idioms exist).
• East African (Ethiopia, Eritrea) and southern African regions: some ethnic groups use simple panpipe sets in local folk genres.

Historical European and Classical contexts

• Ancient Greek-inspired pastoral music: syrinx (Greek panpipes) reconstructed in early music ensembles and used for pastoral scenes in classical-style compositions.
• Western classical and film music: composers often use panpipes or nai to evoke pastoral, rustic, or "exotic" color in orchestral, chamber and soundtrack music.

Contemporary, popular and experimental uses

• New Age and ambient music: panpipes used for their breathy, mellow tone.
• Pop, rock, and world-fusion: artists sometimes incorporate panpipes (especially Andean zampoñas or Romanian nai) for texture or ethnic flavor.
• Experimental / electroacoustic: amplified or electronically processed panpipes in contemporary composition.

Notes and distinctions

• Many instruments that look like panpipes are actually free-reed mouth organs (sheng, khaen, hulusi) and function differently though they occupy similar timbral roles in ensembles.
• Terminology and construction vary widely: Andean zampoña (paired row construction), Romanian nai (curved set of pipes), and Pacific panpipes differ in tuning, scale systems and playing technique, which shapes the genres they suit.

If you’d like, tell me a region or sound you prefer and I can list specific recordings, traditional tunes, or modern artists that feature panpipes in that genre.