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. 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 balalaika looks a little like the front of a boat, if held horizontally.
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When Peter allowed them, only the boat builders knew how to work with wood. Another theory is: Before Tsar Peter The Great, instruments were not allowed in Russia. If you quarter a pumpkin, you are left with a balalaika shape. A likelier reason for the triangular shape is given by the writer and historian Nikolai Gogol in his unfinished novel "Dead Souls." He states that a balalaika was made by peasants out of a pumpkin. Musical instruments are not allowed in Russian Orthodox liturgy. 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 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 Fact|date=January 2008.Ī popular notion is that the three sides and strings of the balalaika are supposed to represent the Holy Trinity. 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. In the 19th century the balalaika evolved into a triangular instrument with a neck substantially shorter than its Asian counterparts. 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). The bass and contrabass balalaika rest on the ground on a wooden or metal pin drilled into one of its corners.Įarly representations of the balalaika show it with anywhere from two to six strings, which resembles certain Central Asian instruments. One can play the prima with a plectrum, but it is considered rather heterodox to do so.ĭue 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. The side of the index finger of the right hand is used to sound notes on the prima, while a plectrum is used on the larger sizes.
Today, nylon strings are usually used in place of gut.Īn 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. The piccolo, prima, and secunda balalaikas used to be strung with gut Fact|date=January 2008 strings on the lower pegs and a wire string on the top peg. Four string alto balalaikas are also to be found and are used in the orchestra of the Piatnistky Folk Choir.
These have three courses (two strings for each one on a regular, three-stringed instrument tuned EE-EE-AA), similar to the stringing of the mandolin, and are popular in Ukraine. 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 most common solo instrument is the prima, tuned E-E-A (the two lower strings being tuned to the same pitch). The modern balalaika is found in the following sizes: балала́йка, IPA-ru|bəlɐˈlajkə) (also Balabaika, балаба́йка) - is a stringed instrument of Russian origin, with a characteristic triangular body and 3 strings (or sometimes 6, in 3 courses).
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