balalaika
| balalaika | |
|---|---|
| russian балалайка | |
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| balalaika | |
| classification |
Chordophone plucked instrument |
| range |
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| Musician | |
| Alexei Archipowski, Bibbs Ekkel, Michail Ignátieff , Katzenjammer , Cosmonautix | |
The balalaika ( Russian балалайка , Pl. Balalaiken or balalaikas ) is a long-necked lute that is played mainly in Russia . The plucked instrument has three strings , more rarely three double strings, and a triangular resonance body with a very small sound hole. In the West, the balalaika is best known as a characteristic instrument of Russian folk music. In Russia, it is also considered a fully-fledged instrument of electric music , which, like the guitar, can also be studied at universities.
Variants and architectural styles
Like all lute instruments, the balalaika consists of a body and a neck connected to it. The neck ends at a peg box with lateral vertebrae. There are two construction methods for the triangular body with a flat arched base:
- The Passierbsky style , in which the body consists of seven segments. This is how the first chromatic balalaikas were built.
- The Nalimoff style : Here the body consists of six segments. This is how most of today's balalaikas are built.
In addition, there are a number of variants, especially with the Prim-Balalaika:
- Concert instruments have up to 30 frets, but the top six only for the A string. The fingerboard is then pulled to the middle of the sound hole.
- Folk instruments are constructed more simply: There are only 16 frets and therefore a correspondingly smaller range. The pickguard is also missing.
Prim-balalaikas are also available in a double-choir form. These then have six strings and a fuller sound, but the mood is the same. Because of their size, the double bass and sub-double bass of the balalaika have a spike on which they stand.
In the Soviet Union, the majority of balalaikas were built in two factories: Lunacharsky in St. Petersburg placed emphasis on brighter timbres, while instruments from Experimentalnaja in Moscow have a darker, fuller sound. Lavish decorations such as painting are an indication of a souvenir instrument for which little value was placed on a good sound.
Voices and range
The modern balalaika is available in six voices: piccolo, prim, second, alto, bass and one for double bass and sub- double bass . They are used in the balalaika orchestra, the piccolo only in pure balalaika ensembles.
Overview of balalaics
| balalaika | Tuning of the strings | range | Style of play |
|---|---|---|---|
| Piccolo | h 1 , e 2 , a 2 | h 1 to a 4 | index finger |
| Prim (folk instrument) | e 1 , e 1 , a 1 | e 1 to c sharp 3 | index finger |
| Prim (concert balalaika) | e 1 , e 1 , a 1 | e 1 to e 4 | index finger |
| Second | a, a, d 1 | a to f 2 | Thumb, index finger |
| Old | e, e, a | e to c 2 | Thumb, index finger |
| bass | E, A, d | E to g sharp | Plectrum |
| Double bass, sub double bass |
E 1 , A 1 , D | E 1 to b | Plectrum |
The sub-double bass balalaika has the same tuning as the double bass, but with a larger body it achieves a fuller sound.
The strings of the three smallest forms are made of gut (mostly nylon today) and steel, while the larger ones are made of steel and wrapped steel.
Style of play
The balalaika is struck like a ukulele and can play chords and melodies. The little balalaikas usually play the melody. Because they cannot hold long notes, the player creates them by quickly striking the string several times. A characteristic technique of playing balalaika is to use your left thumb to grab the lower strings from above (especially when playing chords). This makes it possible to play both the melody part and a harmonizing part that follows the melody at a third interval with the same fingering. Whenever the thumb grips the two lower strings, the four remaining fingers can play the melody without any impairment. So you can harmonize every single melody tone with slower passages, every second or fourth with faster passages.
Fine
The most important playing techniques on the Balalaika Prima are:
- The line style : The tip of the right index finger is used to strike up and down evenly across all strings
- The tremolo is performed in the same way, only faster
- Pizzicato is performed downwards with the thumb and upwards with the index finger
The vibrato , which is performed with the edge of the right hand below the bridge, the pizzicato of the left hand as well as glissando and flageolets result in a rich repertoire of expressive possibilities.
Secunda and Alt
Here the thumb is used for single notes, the index finger or a pick for chords. These sizes are only used in the balalaikorchester for accompanying functions.
Bass and double bass
The largest instruments in the balalaika family are played with a plectrum made of shoe leather. In the orchestra they form the sound basis, but they are also used in small ensembles such as a trio of prim and bass as well as bayan , the Russian accordion. In the folk-pop band Katzenjammer , a bass balalaika is an integral part of the sound.
origin
It is possible that lute instruments were brought to Russia by the Mongols from Central Asia . Early depictions show the balalaika with two to six strings. The early balalaikas were provided with sliding frets, as is customary with the Saz to this day. Over the centuries, the balalaika developed its characteristic triangular body and got a shorter neck. The first mention by name comes from 1688, when, according to a protocol, two people were arrested for "playing and singing balalaika on the street".
The balalaika was a popular instrument in the Russian countryside for centuries, particularly among the skomorochi , a type of juggler who targeted the tsar , the Russian church and society. For this reason, the game of balalaika has been repeatedly banned.
With balalaikas mainly folk songs or dances are accompanied. In the late 19th century, the Russian nobleman Vasily Wassiljewitsch Andrejew began to standardize the balalaika for use in the orchestra. He developed the different sizes and their moods, as they are also used today in large balalaika orchestras that play transcriptions of lighter classical works. Andrejew also brought two other old Russian instruments back into use: the domra , a three-string melody instrument, and the gusli , a board zither with a triangular or trapezoidal body.
literature
- Michael Goldstein : Michail Ignátieff and the balalaika. The balalaika as a solo concert instrument. Zimmermann, Frankfurt am Main 1978, ISBN 3-921729-01-7 .
Web links
- The History of the Balalaika. Pavlovski's Balalaika Orchestra
- Balalaika and Domra Association of America
- Washington (DC) Balalaika Society
- The Russian balalaika. russian-balalaika.de
- Chord table for the Prim-Balalaika (PDF file; 45 kB)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Michail Ignátieff : School of the artistic balalaika game. Zimmermann-Verlag, Frankfurt (no year)
- ↑ Martin Kiszko: The Balalaika - A Reappraisal: In: The Galpin Society Journal, Vol. 48, March 1995, pp. 130–155, here p. 133