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This article is about the musical instrument. For other uses, see Balalaika (disambiguation).
Balalaika
Balalaika
Classification

The balalaika (Russian: балала́йка, Russian pronunciation: [bəlɐˈlajkə]) (also Balabaika, балаба́йка) - is a stringed instrument of Russian origin, with a characteristic triangular body and 3 strings (or sometimes 6, in 3 pairs). A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. Plucked string instruments are a subcategory of String instruments that are played by plucking the strings Plucking is a way of pulling and releasing the string in Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending A triangle is one of the basic Shapes of Geometry: a Polygon with three corners or vertices and three sides or edges which are Line

Contents

Types

The modern balalaika is found in the following sizes:

The most common solo instrument is the prima, tuned E-E-A (the two lower strings being tuned to the same pitch). In Music, a solo (from the Italian solo, meaning alone) is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer A string is the vibrating element that is the source of vibration in String instruments such as the Guitar, Harp, Piano, and members Sometimes the balalaika is tuned "guitar style" to G-B-D (mimicking the three highest strings of the Russian guitar), making it easier to play for Russian guitar players, although balalaika purists frown on this tuning. The Russian guitar is a seven-string acoustic Guitar that arrived in Russia toward the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century most probably

Six string balalaikas are also in use. These have double courses (two strings for each one on a regular, three-stringed instrument), similar to the stringing of the mandolin, and are popular in Ukraine. A mandolin is a musical instrument in the Lute family (plucked or strummed Four string alto balalaikas are also to be found and are used in the orchestra of the Piatnistky Folk Choir. Mitrofan Yefimovich Pyatnitsky (Митрофан Ефимович Пятницкий was a Russian and Soviet Musician, gatherer of Russian Folk songs He

The piccolo, prima, and secunda balalaikas used to be strung with gut strings on the lower pegs and a wire string on the top peg. A string is the vibrating element that is the source of vibration in String instruments such as the Guitar, Harp, Piano, and members Today, nylon strings are usually used in place of gut. Overview Nylon is a Thermoplastic silky material first used commercially in a nylon- Bristled Toothbrush (1938 followed more famously by

Technique

An important part of balalaika technique is the use of the left thumb to fret notes on the lower string, particularly on the prima, where it is used to form chords. This article describes musical chords in traditional Western styles The side of the index finger is used to sound notes on the prima, while a plectrum is used on the larger sizes. The second Digit of a human Hand is also referred to as the index finger, pointer finger, forefinger, trigger finger, digitus Often called a pick or plec, a plectrum is a small flat tool used to pluck or strum a stringed instrument. One can play the prima with a plectrum, but it is considered rather heterodox to do so. Heterodoxy includes "any opinions or doctrines at variance with an official or orthodox position"

Due to the gigantic size of the contrabass's strings, it is not uncommon for the plectrum to be made of a leather shoe or boot heel. A heel is the projection at the back of a Shoe which rests below the heel bone. The bass and contrabass balalaika rest on the ground on a wooden or metal pin drilled into one of its corners.

History

The pre-Andreyev period

Early representations of the balalaika show it with anywhere from two to six strings, which resembles certain Central Asian instruments. Similarly, frets on earlier balalaikas were made of animal gut and tied to the neck so that they could be moved around by the player at will (as is the case with the modern saz, which allows for the microtonal playing distinctive to Turkish and Central Asian music). A fret is a raised portion on the neck of a Stringed instrument, that extends generally across the full width of the neck The saz (from Persian:) is a family of Plucked string instruments popular in Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia and the Microtonal music is Music using microtones — intervals of less than an equally spaced Semitone.

In the 19th century the balalaika evolved into a triangular instrument with a neck substantially shorter than its Asian counterparts. It was popular as a village instrument for centuries, particularly with the skomorokhs, sort of free-lance musical jesters whose tunes ridiculed the Tsar, the Russian Orthodox Church, and Russian society in general. The skomorokhs (Sing скоморох in Russian, скоморохъ in Old East Slavic, скоморaхъ in Church Slavonic) were Medieval A jester, joker, jokester, fool, wit-cracker, prankster, or buffoon is a member of a profession that came into popularity Tsar csar and tzar redirect here For other uses see Tsar (disambiguation. See also Eastern Orthodox Church Structure and organization The Slavic Orthodox Church is organized in a hierarchical structure The first written reference to a balalaika was on an arrest slip for two serfs in 1688, accused of being drunk and disorderly outside the Kremlin in Moscow, playing the balalaika. View01jpg|thumb|right|250px|Remains of the Kolomna Kremlin]] Kremlin (Кремль Kreml) is the Russian word for "fortress" "citadel" or "castle" Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of

A popular notion is that the three sides and strings of the balalaika are supposed to represent the Holy Trinity. This idea, while whimsical, is quite difficult to reconcile when one is confronted with the fact that at various times in Russian history, the playing of the balalaika was banned because of its use by the skomorokhi, who were generally highly irritating to both Church and State. The skomorokhs (Sing скоморох in Russian, скоморохъ in Old East Slavic, скоморaхъ in Church Slavonic) were Medieval Musical instruments are not allowed in Russian Orthodox liturgy. A likelier reason for the triangular shape is given by the writer and historian Nikolai Gogol in his unfinished novel Dead Souls. Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol (Никола́й Васи́льевич Го́голь Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol;; Микола Васильович Гоголь He states that a balalaika was made by peasants out of a pumpkin. If you quarter a pumpkin, you are left with a balalaika shape. Another theory is: Before Tsar Peter The Great, instruments were not allowed in Russia. When Peter allowed them, only the boat builders knew how to work with wood. The balalaika looks a little like the front of a boat, if held horizontally. Another theory comes from a Russian tale: during the Mongol invasion of Rus, a Russian man from Nizhny Novgorod was captured by Mongols, but the Mongol Khan liked him because of his musical talent, released him and gave him a guitar. The Mongol invasion of Rus' was heralded by the Battle of the Kalka River in 1223 between Subutai 's reconnaissance unit and the combined force Nizhny Novgorod (Ни́жний Но́вгород Nižnij Novgorod) colloquially shortened as Nizhny, is the fourth largest city in Russia When the Russian man returned home, he took 3 of the strings out of the guitar, so that he would be able to repair his guitar if he breaks one of the strings, and that way he was left with a 3-string guitar.

The Andreyev period

In the 1880s Vassily Vassilievich Andreyev developed a standardized balalaika made with the assistance of violin maker V. Vasily Vasilievich Andreyev (Василий Васильевич Андреев - 1918 was a Russian musician responsible for the modern development of the Balalaika and Ivanov. A few years later St. Petersburg craftsman Paserbsky made a balalika with a chromatic set of frets and also a number of balalaikas in orchestral sizes with the same tunings found in modern instruments. Andreyev arranged many traditional Russian folk songs and melodies for the orchestra and also composed many tunes of his own.

The balalaika outside of Russia

Interest in Russian folk instruments has grown outside of Russia. Orchestras of Russian folk instruments exist in many countries of western Europe, Scandinavia, USA, Canada, Australia and Japan. Some of the groups include ethnic Russians, however in recent times the growth in interest in the Balalaika by non-ethnic Russians has been considerable.

Interests in th balalaika first started after Andryevs tour of North America in the early XXth century. A number of Andreyev's students also toured the west in 1909-12. In 1957 the Scandinavian Balalaika Association was formed. In 1977 a similar organization was formed in the USA.

Rise of the balalaika orchestra

A souvenir balalaika made for tourists
A souvenir balalaika made for tourists

The end result of Andreyev's labours was the development of a strong orchestral tradition in Tsarist Russia, and, later, the Soviet Union. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The balalaika orchestra in its full form -- balalaikas, domras, gusli, bayan, kugiklas, Vladimir Shepherd's Horns, garmoshkas and several types of percussion instruments -- has a distinctive sound: strangely familiar to the ear, yet decidedly not entirely Western. Not to be confused with Dombra The domra (Russian language домра is a long-necked Russian String instrument Gusli is the oldest distinctively Russian musical instrument Its exact history is unknown but it may have derived from a Byzantine form of the Greek See also Accordion The bayan (баян is a type of Chromatic button accordion developed in Russia in The garmon (гармонь is a kind of Russian button Accordion, a free-reed wind instrument.

Russian folk music had its roots in the village. With the establishment of the Soviet system Proletarian culture - the culture of the working classes - was supported by the Soviet establishment. Folk music and folk musical instruments was considered the music of the working classes and as a result it was heavily supported by the Soviet establishment. Not surprisingly, the concept of the balalaika orchestra was adopted wholeheartedly by the Soviet government as something distinctively proletarian (that is, from the working classes). A soviet (сове́т, "council" originally was a workers' local council in late Imperial Russia. Enormous amounts of energy and time were devoted by the Soviet government to foster conservatory study of the balalaika, from which highly skilled ensemble groups such as the Osipov State Balalaika Orchestra emerged. Balalaika virtuosi such as Boris Feoktistov and Pavel Necheporenko became stars both inside and outside the Soviet Union. Pavel Necheporenko is a virtuoso performer of the Balalaika. Born Pavel Ivanovich Necheporenko (sometimes spelled Nechiporenko on August 31, 1916, The world-famous Red Army Choir used a normal orchestra, except that the violins, violas and violoncellos were replaced with orchestral balalaikas and domras.

In addition to orchestra, a cabaret style of playing existed in Soviet times, and the balalaika was also played by some Russian Gypsies. Cabaret is a form of entertainment featuring Comedy, Song, Dance, and Theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue &mdash a Restaurant The Romani people (singular Rom, plural Roma as a Noun; also known as Romanies or Roma people) are an ethnic group with origins The cabaret/gypsy tradition was brought over to the United States by Russian immigrants in the early 20th Century. Immigration refers to the movement of people among countries While the movement of people has existed throughout human history at various levels modern immigration implies long-term One notable U. S. cabaret-style player was New York's Sasha Polinoff. In Paris a notable exponent was Mark De Louchek - a former concertmaster of Ivan Rebroff's orchestral entourage. Ivan Rebroff, born as Hans-Rolf Rippert, ( 31 July 1931 - 27 February 2008) was a German Singer, allegedly

References in pop culture

The 1968 self-titled album by the Beatles, commonly referred to as the "White Album", contains the song Back in the USSR, which includes the following lyrics:

Take me to your daddy’s farm
Let me hear your balalaikas ringing out
Come and keep your comrade warm. The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960 " Back in the USSR " is a 1968 song by The Beatles (credited to the song writing partnership Lennon/McCartney but mainly written by
I’m back in the USSR. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991

Also the Song Winds of Change from the band Scorpions has a reference to the instrument:

The wind of change blows straight
Into the face of time
Like a stormwind that will ring
The freedom bell for peace of mind
Let your balalaika sing
What my guitar wants to say .

The tongue-in-cheek song gives mention to the instrument and undoubtedly showcased it to the world. (The line "Let me hear your balalaikas ringing out" was later used as the title of a sixth-season episode of Gilmore Girls). The following is a list of episodes of the Television show Gilmore Girls. Gilmore Girls was an Emmy Award -winning Golden Globe -nominated American Comedy-drama series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino


In addition, some Russian Orthodox churches in larger U. See also Eastern Orthodox Church Structure and organization The Slavic Orthodox Church is organized in a hierarchical structure S. cities sponsored smaller balalaika orchestras where village-style and Andreyev-style playing coexisted side by side.

In 1989 Kramer Guitars released an "Electric Balalaika": the Kramer Gorky Park. Kramer Guitars is an American manufacturer of Electric guitars and basses This was just before the fall of the Berlin wall and the Soviet Union. Actually was just an electric guitar with a triangular shape based on the original instrument.

References

Sources

External links

Dictionary

balalaika

-noun

  1. (music) A Russian musical instrument, similar to a guitar, with a triangular body.
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