Every country and every nation has its own folk musical instruments. In Russia, it is an accordion and balalaika. Today there are five types of balalaikas: prima, second, alto, bass and balalaika-double bass. The last of the above - the largest of its kind and plays a very important role in the orchestra - plays the bass part.
What is balalaika
Balalaika is a Russian folk triangular three-string
Traditionally, the balalaika is played by striking all three strings simultaneously with your fingers. However, after it turned from a folk instrument into a concert instrument at the end of the nineteenth century, a variety of styles of playing on it appeared.
The sizes of balalaikas range from sixty centimeters to more than one and a half meters. Number of frets different types instruments of this type are different. So the smallest balalaika - prima has from nineteen to twenty-four frets (depending on the specific model). This is due to the fact that she is the only balalaika who is a solo instrument. But the largest balalaika usually has sixteen to seventeen frets.
As a rule, they put on a balalaika, although in some cases nylon is also used. In the old days, only one string of this entire instrument was metal, while the other two were made from animal veins.
The development of this instrument is associated with the name of the famous Russian musician and composer who drew attention to folk musical instruments, finalized them and created the first orchestra of them. In addition, he himself wrote the musical program for his orchestra. Also, it was Andreev who made serious adjustments to the appearance of the instrument. So, with his light hand, balalaikas began to be made from a combination of several tree species - most often spruce and beech.
Features of the double bass balalaika
Of the whole "family" of balalaikas, the contrabass is not only the largest, but also the most powerful musical instrument in its sounding. Also, the large balalaika has the lowest tone. In fact, in the orchestra, it plays the role of a bass (not to be confused with a balalaika bass).
As a rule, a large balalaika musical instrument reaches 1.6-1.7 m in length. There are sixteen, more often seventeen frets on its neck. In all other respects, the contrabass balalaika does not differ in any way in appearance from other instruments of its group.
It is believed that the large balalaika was created by analogy with the domra-contrabass, which is why these instruments even have almost the same musical structure.
How this bulky musical instrument is played
Most types of balalaikas are held in their hands while playing on them. But to keep such a colossus as a double bass balalaika will not work. Therefore, in order to be able to play on it, the corner of the instrument is placed on a special iron spire. This device not only serves as a support, but also helps to lengthen the sound and add volume to it.
This instrument is most often played with a plectrum (gigantic, compared to the usual, leather pick - 0.6x0.6 cm).
However, in some cases, in order to extract more soft sounds, can play with your thumb.
Compared to the bass balalaika, this one is much more difficult to play. Not only because of the size, but also because of the very thick strings. After all, in order to get the desired sound, during the game they need to be well pressed on the frets.
Sound features
The three strings of the balalaika-double bass (in the open position) have a different system from the others - E major, A major and D major. A similar formation among musical instruments it has only a domra contrabass, it allows you to expand the range of the instrument's sounding - from the E note of the controctave to the G of a small octave. In other words, the full range of a large balalaika is two octaves and three semitones.
An interesting fact for the convenience of reading the notes: in the score for the double bass balalaika, they are written an octave higher than they sound in reality.
The principles of playing this musical instrument
The gigantic size of the balalaika allows the performer to play it either standing or sitting. Soloing, the performer usually plays standing, but always sits in the orchestra.
Another important detail is that when playing the big balalaika, the performer should not touch the musical instrument with his clothes or body. This is important because the instrument resonates better and is clearer and louder.
Today, seeing a person carrying an instrument called the balalaika-contrabass, it is difficult to refrain from smiling. Indeed, despite the "solid" age, many are not yet accustomed to this musical instrument. Meanwhile, all over the world, they are already beginning to show remarkable interest in this folk Russian instrument, because of its unusual deep sound, with which you can convey the sound of rain, sea storm and much more.
The message about the balalaika will briefly help you to find out a lot of useful information about this musical instrument.
Balalaika message
Balalaika- Russian, Belarusian folk three-stringed plucked musical instrument with a triangular body.
Balalaika story for children
The history of this musical instrument goes back far into the depths of the centuries. Regarding the place of its origin, there is a lot of documentary evidence on this topic. Some believe that it was invented in Russia, others that the balalaika originated from the dombra (a folk instrument of the Kirghiz-Kaisaks), and still others, that it was borrowed from the Tatars. The date of the appearance of the instrument is also ambiguous. Most musicologists and historians adhere to the conditional date - 1715, although it is mentioned in the information of 1688.
It is assumed that the serfs invented the balalaika to brighten up their service with the landowner. Gradually, it spread among the buffoons and peasants who traveled throughout the territory of Russia. Skomorokhs performed with balalaikas at fairs, making people laugh, and thus earning their living. Once the Grand Duke of Russia Alexei Mikhailovich issues a decree, which ordered to collect all musical instruments and burn them at the stake, because there is nothing to spread fun instead of work. And those who refused to give up balalaikas and other instruments were ordered to be discouraged and sent to Little Russia in exile. The repressions continued until the death of the king. The musical instrument fell into oblivion until the middle of the 19th century. Rarely in which courtyards his melody sounded.
Once Vasily Vasilyevich Andreev, a young nobleman, traveling around his estate, heard a balalaika from his courtyard Antip. He was amazed at the sound of the instrument and decided to make it the most popular instrument. First, Vasily Vasilyevich himself learned to play the balalaika, and then decided to improve the sound a little and took him to St. Petersburg to violin maker Ivanov. The work was hard and long. The new balalaika surpassed all Andreev's expectations: the appearance, sound and melody were mesmerizing. The nobleman decided to return the instrument to its former national glory. So it spread across Russia again.
Vasily Vasilyevich did not stop there. He created a family of balalaikas of various sizes, modeled on the string quartet. For this, the famous masters Nalimov and Paserbsky were invited. Together they made: treble, prima, piccolo, second, alto, bass, double bass. The created Great Russian Orchestra, which traveled not only to Russia, but also to other countries, was based on these instruments. At first, Andreyev played in the orchestra, and then conducted it. In parallel, he gave solo concerts, which were called "balalaika evening." Today, the instrument is again experiencing hard times, even in the villages they forgot about it.
How does the instrument work?
After the modernization of Vasily Vasilyevich Andreev, the balalaika was shortened to 600 - 700 mm, one round resonator hole was replaced by several (star-shaped). The deck was made of spruce and the back was made of beech. This gave the cabinet improved resonance properties. The balalaika consists of the following parts:
- Housing. It consists of a front part and a back part, which is glued from wooden segments.
- Vulture. Frets are located on it.
- Head. This is the top of the instrument, where the tuners and mechanics for tuning the balalaika are located.
What sound does a balalaika make?
The instrument has rich performance, acoustic and artistic qualities. Produces a low sound, but soft and sonorous. The timbre is gentle, chamber. The source of the sound is strongly stretched strings, which are clamped by the fingers of the left hand at the frets. The balalaika has only 3 strings. The bottom two sound the same: the sound "mi" of the first octave. String 1: A sound one fourth higher.
- Balalaika for foreigners is a fashionable souvenir from Russia.
- The oldest balalaika is 120 years old. It can be seen in the Ulyanovsk Museum.
- The craftsman who makes this instrument is called a balayker.
- It is played in orchestras of Russian folk instruments in Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway.
- In the 19th century, all soldiers were given a balalaika to raise morale. After the end of the service, they could keep it for themselves.
- The Russian imperial family initiated the trip of the ensemble of Vasily Vasilyevich Andreev to the Paris exhibition, where Europe first heard and saw the balalaika. They were a huge success.
We hope that the report on the balalaika helped you prepare for the lesson, and you learned a lot of useful information about this Russian musical instrument. And your short story about balalaika you can leave through the comments form below.
Balalaika is a Russian folk three-stringed plucked musical instrument, from 600-700 mm (balalaika prima) to 1.7 meters (balalaika-contrabass) in length, with a slightly curved triangular (also oval in the 18th-19th centuries) wooden case. The balalaika is one of the instruments that, along with the accordion, have become a symbol of the Russian people.
The first written mention of the balalaika is contained in the document dated June 13, 1688 "Memory from the Streletsky Prikaz to the Little Russian Prikaz", which, among other things, states that in Moscow the Arzamas Posad man Savka Fedorov son Seleznev da Shenkursky Uyezd Vazheskaya volosts peasant Ivashko Dmitriev, and with them a balalaika was brought so that they rode a horse in a cart to the Yau gate, sang songs and played the balalaika, and the guard archers, who stood at the Yau gate on guard, scolded
Another mention of the balalaika dates back to October 1700 in connection with a fight that took place in the Verkhotursky district. According to the testimony of the coachmen Pronka and Alexei Bayanov, the courtyard of the steward of the governor KP Kozlov I. Pashkov chased them and "beat them with a balalaika."
The next mention of the name "balalaika" is found in written monuments from the time of Peter the Great. In 1715, when celebrating a comic wedding arranged by order of the tsar, balalaikas were mentioned among the instruments that appeared in the hands of the costumed participants in the ceremony. Moreover, these instruments were given into the hands of a group of dressed up Kalmyks.
During the XVIII century. The balalaika spread widely among the Great Russian people, becoming so popular that it was recognized as the most ancient instrument, and even attributed to it of Slavic origin.
The Russian origin can be attributed only to the triangular outline of the body or body of the balalaika, which replaced the round shape of the domra. The shape of the 18th century balalaika was different from the modern one. The neck of the balalaika was very long, about 4 times longer than the body. The body of the instrument was narrower.
In addition, the balalaikas found in old popular prints have only 2 strings. The third string was a rare exception. The strings of the balalaika are metal, which gives the sound a specific shade - the sonority of the timbre.
In the middle of the XX century. a new hypothesis was put forward that the balalaika existed long before it was mentioned in written sources, i.e. existed next to domra. Some researchers believe that domra was a professional instrument of buffoons and, with their disappearance, lost widespread musical practice. The balalaika is a purely folk instrument and, therefore, more resilient.
At first, the balalaika spread mainly in the northern and eastern provinces of Russia, usually accompanying folk dance songs. But already in the middle of the 19th century, the balalaika was very popular in many places in Russia. It was played not only by village guys, but also by serious court musicians, such as Ivan Khandoshkin, I.F. Yablochkin, N.V. Lavrov. However, by the middle of the 19th century, harmonica was found almost everywhere near it, which gradually replaced the balalaika.
The balalaika received its rebirth at the end of the 19th century thanks to the efforts of Vasily Andreev, who was called the “young father of the balalaika”. VV Andreev, together with instrumental masters VV Ivanov, and then FS Paserbsky and SI Nalimov, improved the folk instrument and constructed a family of balalaikas of different sizes based on the model of the bow quartet. The first performance of the ensemble, which was called the "Circle of lovers of joint balalaika", took place in St. Petersburg in 1888.
Andreev and his associates - N. Privalov, F. Niemann, V. Nasonov, N.P. Fomin did not stop at the revival of just one balalaika. They also worked on improving other instruments of the Russian people, such as domra, gusli, zhaleika, Vladimir horns, etc. The result of this work was the formation of the Great Russian Orchestra, the first performance of which took place under the direction of Andreev on January 11, 1897 in the hall of the Noble Assembly. Since then, the orchestras folk instruments began to spread with extraordinary rapidity throughout Russia.
Thanks to the performing art of Vasily Andreev and his talented followers, such masters as Boris Troyanovsky, Alexander Dobrokhotov, and a little later - Nikolai Osipov, venerable composers drew attention to the balalaika. Now not only Russians sound great on the balalaika folk songs, but also transcriptions of works of Russian and Western classics, in addition, composers created an original repertoire for the balalaika, including more than 100 suites, sonatas, concerts and other large-scale works.
Since 1886, the balalaika has appeared on the stage: the first to perform with it was the young Russian nobleman Vasily Andreev. Before Andreev, no one paid attention to the fact that such musical people, like Russian, does not have folk musical instruments in use. Andreev creates the “Circle of fans of balalaika playing”. After a successful performance, from 1888 begins creative activity this group, a little later transformed into a balalaika orchestra. In 1889, Andrew's balalaika players appear at the World Exhibition in Paris. Their triumph was extraordinary. “Before the first performances were over, new fashionable perfumes“ Shining the Month ”and ladies' toilet soap“ Under an Apple Tree ”appeared in the fashionable shops of Paris. Even the pointed-nosed St. Andrew's galoshes became the subject of Parisian fashion ... ”After one of the concerts, A. Glazunov wrote a large work dedicated to V. Andreev's orchestra, thereby dispelling prejudices about the limited possibilities of his program. Fyodor Ivanovich Chaliapin loved to perform songs accompanied by an orchestra. His first acquaintance with Vasily Vasilyevich, held in Nizhny Novgorod, eventually grew into a close friendship. A tireless propagandist of the wonderful Russian folk instrument balalaika, Vasily Andreev is constantly improving it. He meets the music master S. I. Nalimov, and for many years they have been working together. In 1902, at the Paris exhibition and at the St. Petersburg exhibition "Musical World" in 1906-1907, instruments made by S. I. Nalimov according to Andreev's drawings and sketches were awarded Large gold medals. With the formation of the Great Russian Orchestra, perceived as a purely Russian phenomenon, touring trips in 1892 to France, Germany, England, America were associated. The trips have resulted in dozens of new orchestras created in these countries. In the United States, a Joint Stock Company for the Exploitation of Balalaikas and Gusli even appeared. On the day of the 25th anniversary of the orchestra in welcome speech F. I. Shalyapin, addressing Andreev, said: “You have warmed up an orphan - balalaika in your kind, warm heart. From your care and love, she grew into a wonderful Russian beauty, who conquered the whole world with her beauty ... ". The balalaika penetrated the very thick of the masses. In addition to Andreev, many excellent balalaika performers appeared, orchestras of folk instruments were created. In the fall of 1918, he undertook a major trip with his collective, renamed the First People's Orchestra, along the Northern and Eastern fronts of the Civil War. He also spoke to the legendary Chzpayevites. But this trip was the last for Andreev: he caught a bad cold and died on the night of December 26, 1918. The case started by Andreev was supported and gained nationwide significance. Many factories, special workshops, craftsmen produce folk musical instruments improved by Andreev and Nalimov, composers write works for balalaika, domra, numerous ensembles and orchestras have been created ...
Balalaika - the most famous and widespread Russian folk instrument, which is classified as plucked; has 3 strings (in rare cases 4, for bass variations), using different tuning methods. The body is triangular or rounded, less often of a different shape. It is made from solid wood or from separate fragments.Balalaika is considered a symbol of Russian folk art, is now present even in foreign music stores. IN music schools, schools, conservatories have a balalaika class, the instrument is used in folk ensembles... It is possible to install pickups, so you can turn the instrument into an electronic one, which is in great demand.
Origin story
There are several versions of the origin of the balalaika. It can be said unambiguously that for the first time the instrument began to be mentioned from the end of the 17th century. The most popular hypothesis is the origin of the dombra, which came to European countries from Asia; had only two strings and is still used in small oriental ensembles of national music. At the end of the 19th century, a number famous musicians and the designers decided to rework the balalaika and improve it. The first sentence (made by V. Andreev) was to use composite wood species in the manufacture, that is, to make the front deck of spruce, and the back of the body from beech, he also suggested making a shortened version, which should have looked more compact and practical.
Later F. Paserbsky started designing a whole family of balalaikas with different ranges and specifics of sound, as a result, all these models entered the Russian orchestra and became its basis. The designer received a patent for an invention in Germany and started producing balalaikas, which were called folk or Andreevs. According to other sources, the balalaika in different types and modifications have been encountered since the days of "buffoonery", when mummers went into huts and staged small performances for the amusement of the audience. It is interesting that in Ukraine and Belarus the balalaika is also considered a folk instrument and is widespread to varying degrees.
Types of balalaikas
Balalaika family in full force included in the orchestra of Russian folk instruments, while the prima performs the solo function, and the other varieties - the accompanying one, the second and the alto play with consonances, and the bass and "work out" the bass. Balalaikas bass and contrabass sound one octave lower than what is written in the notes. You can see these balalaikas in various combinations - with each other, as well as with other instruments, for example, such duets as the bayan-balalaika, piano-balalaika, etc. are popular.
We list all the varieties of balalaikas:
- Prima
- Second
- Contrabass
Design
The length of the modern balalaika (prima) ranges from 55-75 cm, but there are also models with a lowered action, which can be up to 2 meters in size. At the same time, their design is similar: a body with a neck fixed to it. The back of the body is composite, consists of segments, and the front, soundboard, is flat, made of coniferous wood and serves as a resonator, a hole is made in it, where sound enters. A neck is attached to the body, which has 16 or more frets - these are stuffed strips of steel or other strong material (for example, bone), pegs are placed in the upper part of the neck to tension the strings, a worm gear is used - as for many string instruments.
The headstock is bent back, this specificity has come to us from ancient times. The strings are metal, and can be made of plastic, nylon, vein, etc. In each case, the sound of the instrument changes significantly. Some researchers report that the shape of the balalaika used to be round, that is, in general, the instrument resembled a domra, but now such varieties are extremely rare. The height of the strings is regulated by a special stand, which can be moved if necessary.
Sound
Balalaikas have an excellent and unique sound: sonorous, but at the same time soft (if we talk about prima). On bass balalaikas, techniques are used similar to the contrabass, bass guitar and other low instruments (plucking, "slap", etc.), and on the "high" balalaikas the following:
- rattling;
- tremolo;
- pizzicato;
- double pizzicato;
- vibrato;
- fractions, etc.
The uniqueness of the balalaika lies in the fact that it - ideal accompaniment, yet easy to solo: The upper strings are clamped with the left thumb, while the rest of the left fingers play the melody, solo. That is why balalaika ensembles are so popular and in demand.
The following tuning options are possible:
- academic (la-mi-mi);
- folk (sol-mi-do);
- quart (re-la-mi). You can