Russian folk instruments: symbolism, classification, history in names. Varieties of ancient musical instruments Ancient Russian musical instruments drawings

At first it was just a passion, a hobby. Today, people passing by Voronezh specifically stop by the city to visit the “Museum of Forgotten Music”, created by Sergei Plotnikov. Once he was a member of an ensemble that performed ethnographic songs using outdated folk musical instruments - now he plays only for the soul, and devotes all his time to recreating and restoring musical instruments in order to tell as many people as possible about the hurdy-gurdy, gusli, whistle, kalyuka, zhaleika and other unique masterpieces from the history of Russian music. IN exclusive interview Sergei Plotnikov spoke to the Kultura.RF portal about the most interesting forgotten musical instruments.

Gusli

Sergey Plotnikov:“I have two favorite instruments - the harp and the hurdy-gurdy. Gusli is an instrument on which almost anything can be played. You can sing spiritual poems, compose epics, perform dance tunes, drawn-out tunes, or simply play music. Not all modern songs are suitable for the gusli, but the songs of Viktor Tsoi sound good.

There were three types of folk harp: lyre-shaped, wing-shaped and helmet-shaped. The oldest option is the lyre-shaped harp, which fell out of use in the 14th century. They have a small number of strings - 5-6 pieces and not a very large sound range. Sadko, Stavr Godinovich, Dobrynya Nikitich - all the epic heroes, in theory, were supposed to play the lyre-shaped harp. Then came winged harp, which people used until the 1980s. Helmet-shaped harps were very popular in paintings and films. But they belonged to the folk tradition of the Mari and Chuvash. In the Russian folk tradition, they have wing-shaped gusli, and helmet-shaped ones were considered an instrument of noble society, so they were not used by peasants.

Previously, when they did not yet know how to produce wire, intestinal and vein strings were used for gusli, or twisted horsehair served as a string. Then the strings became metal, they sound much louder. By the way, in the Middle Ages, when playing at dances, volume was one of the main advantages of the instrument.

hurdy-gurdy

The hurdy-gurdy is a very specific and interesting musical instrument. It most likely appeared in Central Europe in the 10th–11th centuries. Either in France or in Spain. Initially, the instrument was played by two people; the keys were located not from below, as now, but from above; one turned the handle, and the second played music.

In Russia, the first information about a hurdy-gurdy dates back to the 17th century.

Peak of popularity - XIX century. Lyre singers are a kind of philosophers, they performed exclusively spiritual poems and gospel stories, biblical parables, poems about the separation of the soul from the body, afterlife. A recording from the 19th century has been preserved, where the lyre player is asked: “All the songs are sad, do you know anything more cheerful?” He says: “I know, but I won’t play because it’s all empty.”

Harmonic

At the “Living Antiquity” festival in Rostov the Great

This original folk musical instrument appeared in the middle of the 19th century.

There are 50 species of accordion in Russia. Outwardly, they are all similar, but have different systems and different sounds. Each province tried to come up with its own version of the accordion or remake an existing instrument to suit its performing tradition. They were mainly bought to play at weddings. The accordion was the most expensive instrument. There was even such a concept as “the price of an accordion.” In Yelets they asked: “How much does an accordion cost?” The seller replied: “30 weddings.” The wedding accompaniment of an accordionist cost 10 rubles. I worked for 30 weddings and paid off the price of the accordion.

Horn

Horns, as well as harps and domras, were often called “demonic vessels” by clergy in written medieval sources. There is a mention of the German traveler Adam Olearius, who writes that in Moscow during the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich, five carts of musical instruments were collected and taken to Bolotnaya Square and burned. Written sources quite often contain angry reviews of clergy about the musical instruments that accompanied the actions condemned by the church. The main thing is that all the instruments have survived to this day. An interesting story is told by Jacob von Stehlin, a German who lived in St. Petersburg in the 18th century. He writes that the whistle is a tool of the mob. In the 17th century in St. Petersburg, the whistle was popular among sailors and soldiers. Peasants actively used the whistle in the 18th century. This instrument was also used by buffoons.

The buffoons, by the way, were very enterprising guys. They went in groups of 60–100 people to a boyar or a rich peasant’s yard, gave a performance without asking and asked for money for it. Whether someone booked their concert, they didn’t care, the performance was given.

Domra

All musical instruments have reached our days, only one has not been physically preserved - the ancient Russian domra.

Domra was widely used by buffoons in Rus' in the 16th–17th centuries as a solo and ensemble (“bass” domra) instrument, but starting from the 15th century, after a number of church and state decrees were issued (one of them - in 1648, by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, “On correction of morals and destruction of superstitions"), buffoonery was persecuted, and domras were destroyed and forgotten.

Now the domrists play a “newly made” instrument.

Balalaika

After the domra fell out of use, the balalaika appeared in Rus'. We are used to seeing the modern (Andreevsky) balalaika and cannot imagine that it was once completely different. The ancestor of our balalaika is most likely the Kalmyk dombra, a two-string balalaika with a very long neck, where one of the playing strings. It sounded more Asian.

Over time, the Russians shortened the neck and added a third string. The folk version of the balalaika appeared at the end of the 17th century. Jacob von Staehlin writes that it is rare that you will not meet a peasant in some courtyard who plays his little things to the courtyard girls on this anti-artistic musical instrument. The tool was easily accessible; you could buy it in any shop or make it yourself.

Horn

The Vladimir horn is a very complex musical instrument from which the sound is produced by the lips. A long pipe produces a low sound. Holes raise notes. The structure of the instrument is very simple - a pipe with five holes, and a great many variations can be played, it depends on the abilities of the performer. It was not for nothing that shepherds who played the horn were paid more than those who did not know how to play it. So there was a big financial incentive.

Zhaleika

“Museum of Forgotten Music” at the “Times and Epochs” festival in 2014

Remember, Valentina Tolkunova sang: “somewhere a pitiful woman is crying...”? This instrument is also in the cartoon “Prince Vladimir”. But in general, only those who study folklore have heard about the pity.

Some say that the name of the instrument was given because it sounds pitiful. Others add that they played pity in cemeteries, so she is a pity. The central part of the instrument, the barrel with playing holes, was called the zhuleyka. This musical instrument has many names. In the Kursk and Tver regions, the instrument was called a horn (a horn was made at the end to amplify the sound), in the Voronezh and Belgorod regions - a pishik.

Kalyuka

Kalyuka is a grass pipe or overtone flute. We all whistled into these tubes when we were kids. Kalyuka is made from any hollow grass - angelica, kokorysh. A thin stream of air, hitting a sharp edge, is cut - and a whistle is produced. We blow weakly - the sound is low, we blow strongly - the sound is high. There are holes at the bottom. Such a simple tool was taken on night duty to herd horses. They went to mowing to the sound of it. It’s a long walk to the field, and to avoid getting bored, they cut the tubes: they played, mowed them, returned home and threw them away. Seasonal tool. Grass is a popular option, but now plastic ones are made. The principle is the same, but it's easier to play.

Kugikly

The most ancient whistled wind instrument, a type of multi-barrel flute. It is unique in its simplicity and performing abilities. It consists of five fastened tubes, which are made of reeds or reeds, as well as wood, metal or plastic. In the Russian tradition, each tube on kugikl has its own name: “guden”, “podguden”, “medium”, “podpyatushka” and “pyatushka”. It is believed to be a female musical instrument, played by an ensemble of three to four performers. When playing the kugikl, they make sounds with their voices similar to the sound of pipes. The instrument was especially popular in the Bryansk, Kursk and Kaluga regions.

Bagpipes

Everyone is sure that this is a traditional Scottish instrument. And in Scotland and Ireland it is called a “bagpipe”. Every nation has some kind of bagpipe. The French have a musette, the Spaniards have a gaita, the Ukrainians have a goat, and the Belarusians have a duda. Descriptions of Russian bagpipes have been found in villages since the 19th century, but Russian bagpipes have not survived to this day.

Vargan

Because of television and movies, most people have a stereotype that only the peoples of the North play the harp. And there were times when there was not a single person in Rus' who would not play a jew’s harp.

Even in boyar houses, girls were taught to play the harp. This is our Russian instrument, but we mistakenly attributed it to the Eskimos.

I am often asked: “Do you share the secrets of your craft? Suddenly a competitor will appear.” I say: the more competitors appear, the more orders there will be. How more tools done, the more people appear who want to have them. There is a department of ethnomusicology in Russia, but there is no department of folk instrument studies yet. There are very few enthusiasts like me.”

We thank the “Museum of Forgotten Music” for the photos and video materials provided..

The first Russian folk musical instruments arose a long time ago, back in time. You can learn about what our ancestors played from paintings, handwritten brochures and popular prints.

A certain number of tools were found during excavations, and now no one can doubt that they were indeed widespread in Rus'. Our ancestors could not live without music. Many of them knew how to independently make the simplest instruments, which were then passed on by inheritance. In the evenings, people gathered and played, resting from a hard day.

Let's take a closer look at musical instruments. At least general idea Every resident of our country should know about them.

Gusli

This is an instrument with strings. It first appeared in Rus'.

The gusli is the oldest of all that have come down to us. They are helmet-shaped and wing-shaped. The latter were made in the shape of a triangle, the minimum number of strings was 5, and the maximum was 14. On wing-shaped (ringed) harp, such a thing is that a person touches all the strings with his right hand at once. And at this time, the left one neutralizes unnecessary sounds. As for the helmet-shaped ones (they are also called psalter-shaped ones), a person plays them with both hands at once. These folk instruments They are quite difficult to master, but they are worth it.

Clavier-shaped harp

Let's consider them too. They were common not only in antiquity, but also in the twentieth century, often played by representatives of the clergy.

These harps were similar to psalter-shaped ones, but an order of magnitude better. The basis of this tool was a rectangular box equipped with a lid. Several voice boxes (special oval holes) were cut out on one side of it, then a pair of wooden chips were attached to it. Metal pegs were screwed into one of them, and strings of the same material were wound on them. Another sliver served as a snare. No special explanation is required here, the name speaks for itself. The strings were fixed on it. This instrument had a piano tuning. It is interesting that the strings similar to the dark keys were located lower than the corresponding white ones. To play the keyboard-shaped harp, you had to know the notes. Otherwise, a normal melody would not have turned out. The folk instruments, pictures of which you see in front of you, captivate everyone who hears them.

Kantele's relative

It is impossible not to mention the harp, which in appearance resembled a kantele - an instrument originally from Finland. Most likely, the Russians were inspired to create them by the traditions of this country. Unfortunately, in the twentieth century such harps were completely forgotten.

Now you know the most famous ancient folk string instruments.

Balalaika

Many folk musicians still play it today. Balalaika is plucked instrument, equipped with three strings.

Its sizes vary greatly: there are models whose size reaches 600 mm, but there are also types with a length of 1.7 meters. In the first case we're talking about about the so-called prima, and in the second - about the balalaika-double bass. This instrument has a slightly curved wooden body, but in the XVIII— XIX century x there were also oval ones. If you ask any foreigner what Russia is associated with, he will certainly think of the balalaika. The accordion and the pity are also symbols of our country, but less popular.

Sound features

The sound of the balalaika is loud, but gentle. The most common playing techniques are single and double pizzicato. Not last place Rattling, fractions, vibrato, and tremolo are also used. Folk instruments, including the balalaika, sound quite soft, although loud. The melodies are very soulful and often sad.

Balalaika-double bass

Previously, this instrument did not have an established, universally used tuning.

Each musician tuned it according to his preferences, the mood of the melodies played and local customs. However, in the 19th century he radically changed this situation, after which the balalaika became an indispensable attribute of many concerts. The folk instruments, photos of which you see, are still used by many musicians today in their performances.

Academic and popular system

The system created by Andreev has gained enormous popularity among performers traveling around the country. It began to be called academic. In addition to it, there is also the so-called popular system. IN in this case It’s easier to play triads, but the difficulty is that it’s quite difficult to use open strings. In addition to all of the above, there are also local ways to tune the balalaika. There are twenty of them.

We can say that the balalaika is a fairly popular folk instrument. Many people learn to play it music schools our country, as well as Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Belarus. Folk instruments today attract many young people, and this is encouraging.

Ancient balalaika

There is no clear answer to the question of when the balalaika appeared - there are many versions. And she gained popularity in XVII century. It is possible that its ancestor is Kazakh dombra. The ancient balalaika was a fairly long instrument, the body length of which was approximately 27 cm. And its width reached 18 cm. The instrument was also notable for its very elongated neck.

Modification of the instrument

The balalaikas played today differ in appearance from the ancient ones. The instrument was modified by musician V. Andreev together with S. Nalimov, F. Paserbsky, and also V. Ivanov. These people decided that the soundboard should be made from spruce and the back from beech. In addition, Andreev proposed making the tool a little shorter, up to 700 mm. Wonderful man F. Paserbsky invented a whole group of balalaikas: primu, tenor, double bass, piccolo, alto, bass. Today it is impossible to imagine a traditional Russian orchestra without them. After some time, this man, who made many Russian folk instruments, received a patent for them.

The balalaika can be used not only in orchestras, it is also often played solo.

Harmonic

This reed instrument, belonging to the family of keyboard-pneumatic ones.

The accordion should not be confused with the accordion and button accordion.

This instrument consists of two semi-cases on which panels with keys and buttons are located. The left side is necessary for accompaniment: if you hold down one key, you will hear a bass or an entire chord, and the right side is intended for playing. In the middle there is a fur compartment for pumping oxygen to the sound bars of the accordion.

How does this instrument differ from an accordion or accordion:

On a standard harmonica, the musician usually produces exclusively diatonic sounds, in some cases chromatic ones are also added;

Fewer octaves;

Compactness.

Who invented this instrument?

There is no exact information about where the first accordion was made. According to one version, it was created in Germany in the 19th century. Its inventor is considered to be F.K. Bushman. But there are other versions. In Germany, there is an opinion that the accordion was created in Russia, and if you believe the scientist Mirek, the first such instrument was made in the northern capital in 1783, it was created by Frantisek Kirshnik, an organ master originally from the Czech Republic. This man came up with original way producing sound - through an iron tongue, which is set in motion by exposure to oxygen. Since the end of the 19th century, the accordion has been considered a Tatar folk instrument. There are other, no less interesting versions.

Classification of accordions

These folk instruments, common in Russia, are divided into two types according to the method of producing sound. The first category includes harmonicas in which, when the bellows move, all keys, when pressed, produce sounds of the same pitch. Such tools are quite popular. And the second category includes harmonicas, in which the pitch of the sound depends on which direction the bellows move. The first type includes the instruments “khromka” (the most popular today), “Russian wreath”, and also “livenka”. And “talyanka”, “Tula”, “cherepanka” and “Vyatskaya” belong to the second category. You can classify harmonicas by the type of right keyboard, and more specifically, by the number of keys. Today, the “khromka”, which has two rows of buttons, has become widely known, but there are tools with three, and some even have only one row. Now you understand that there are many accordions and they are all different.

• Tools with one row of buttons: “Tula”, “Vyatka”, “Livenskaya”, “Talyanka”. The last name is derived from “Italian”, there are 12/15 keys on the right, and 3 on the left.
• Tools with two rows of buttons: “chrome”, “Russian wreath”.
• The accordion is automatic.

Spoons

Our ancestors played them too. The minimum number of spoons per musician is three, the maximum is five.

These Russian folk instruments can come in different sizes. When the spoons hit each other with the convex part, a characteristic sound is produced. Its height may vary depending on the method of its production.

Playing technique

A musician, as a rule, plays on three spoons: he holds one in right hand, and places the remaining two between the phalanges of the left. It's not hard to imagine. Most performers hit the leg or arm. This is explained by the fact that it is much more convenient. The blows are made with one spoon against two spoons held in the left hand. In some cases, the scoops are supplemented with small bells.

Belarusian musicians prefer to play with only two spoons.

It should be noted that scoops are widespread among folk performers from the USA and Britain. Jeff Richardson, a member of the English art-rock band Caravan, plays electric spoons during concerts.

Ukrainian folk instruments

A few words should be said about them.

In ancient times, cymbals, bagpipes, torban, violins, harp and other wind, percussion, and string instruments were common in Ukraine. In most cases, they were made from various available materials (animal bones, leather, wood).

The most popular is the kobza-bandura, without which it is impossible to imagine the Ukrainian epic.

The harp also gained wide popularity. This is with strings, there could be many of them, up to thirty or forty. In addition to Ukrainians and Russians, they were played by Czechs, Belarusians and many other nationalities. This suggests that the harp is truly magnificent, and even today it should not be forgotten.

Be sure to listen to folk instruments whose names you now know. Beautiful melodies will definitely not leave you indifferent.

Description of the presentation Russian folk musical instruments Strings on slides

The name “balalaika”, sometimes found in the form “balabaika”, is a folk name, probably given to the instrument in imitation of the strumming, “balakan” of the strings during playing. “To chatter”, “to joke” in the popular dialect means to chatter, to make idle calls. Russian origin can only be attributed to the triangular outline of the body or body of the balalaika, which replaced the round shape of the domra.

From the beginning, 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 boys, but also by serious court musicians such as Ivan Khandoshkin, I.F. Yablochkin, N.V. Lavrov. However, by the middle of the 19th century, the harmonica was found almost everywhere next to it, which gradually replaced the balalaika.

Domra is an ancient Russian musical instrument. Scientists suggest that the ancient ancestor of our Russian domra was an Egyptian instrument, which received the name “pandura” from Greek historians, and was in use several thousand years before our time. This instrument, called “tanbur,” may have come to us through Persia, which traded with Transcaucasia.

Due to their performing capabilities, domras in the orchestra constitute the main melodic group. In addition, the domra finds its use as a solo instrument. Concert plays and works are written for her. Unfortunately, the domra is not particularly popular as a folk instrument in Russia; it is almost never found in villages.

Gusli, Russian plucked instrument. Known in two varieties. The first has a wing-shaped (triangular in later samples) shape, from 5 to 14 strings tuned in steps of the diatonic scale, the second has a helmet-shaped shape and 10-30 strings of the same tuning.

The winged (ringed) harp is played, as a rule, by rattling all the strings and muffling unnecessary sounds with the fingers of the left hand.

They accompanied their own singing on the harp and performed folk songs and dancing, played solo and in ensemble with other instruments

The harmonica comes from an Asian instrument called the shen. Shen in Russia was known a very long time ago in the 10th-13th centuries during the period of Tatar-Mongol rule. Some researchers claim that the shen traveled from Asia to Russia, and then to Europe, where it was improved and became a widespread, truly popular musical instrument throughout Europe - the harmonica.

Contrary to the opinion that the accordion is an invention of German masters, Academician A. M. Mirek managed to prove its Russian origin. Harmonic in modern form— with sliding bellows (pneuma) and with big amount notched metal tongues inside two side strips - appeared in St. Petersburg. Her father, the Czech engineer Frantisek Kirshnik, lived in Russia at that time, and his new tool, with much greater sound power than sheng, was demonstrated to St. Petersburg residents in 1783. He also gave his brainchild a Czech name: harmonica. But now this name, like “accordion,” has become colloquial in Russian. Official name This musical instrument is the accordion.

Garmon quickly became Russian national instrument. I was captivated by the harmonica both because of its sonorous voice and the ease of learning to play. The sound is more interesting and stronger than that of any pipe, and it itself is tens of times more compact than the master’s favorite - the “grand piano”.

The button accordion is also a Russian invention. In 1907 it was made by Pyotr Sterligov. The master himself did not boast that he had invented a new instrument. And the new four-row chromatic harmony gave the name of the famous storyteller-musician Ancient Rus' Bayana. This name is inherited by all instruments of this type. The keyboard, invented by the master and located on the right side of the instrument, was called the Sterligov system.

Nowadays, composers write original works for the button accordion, including compositions of large forms of sonatas and concertos. In musical educational institutions There are accordion playing classes that train qualified accordion players. The button accordion remains a folk instrument on which folk music was played and continues to be played.

The first written evidence about the horn appears in the second half of the 18th century. In them, the horn appears as a widespread, native Russian instrument: “This instrument was almost invented by the Russians themselves.” The horn is a conical straight tube with five playing holes on top and one on the bottom. There is a small bell at the lower end, and a glued mouthpiece at the upper end. The total length of the horn ranges from 320 to 830 mm

The word “zhaleika” is not found in any ancient Russian written monument. The first mention of pity is in the notes of A. Tuchkov, dating back to the end of the 18th century. There is reason to assume that the zhaleika was present before this in Zhaleika is a small tube made of willow or elderberry, 10 to 20 cm long, into the upper end of which a squeak with a single tongue made of reeds or goose feather is inserted, and at the lower end there is a bell made of cow horn or from birch bark. The tongue is sometimes cut on the tube itself. There are from 3 to 7 playing holes on the barrel, thanks to which you can change the pitch of the sound. appearance of another instrument.

The timbre of the pitiful woman is shrill and nasal, sad and pitiful. The instrument was used as a shepherd's instrument; tunes of different genres were played on it alone, in duets, and in ensembles.

Svirel is a Russian instrument of the longitudinal flute type. Mention of flutes is found in ancient greek myths and legends. This type of instrument existed different nations from ancient times. In Europe, in court music-making (18th century), its name was strengthened - “ longitudinal flute". The flute is a simple wooden (sometimes metal) pipe. At one end there is a whistle device in the form of a “beak”, and in the middle of the front side there are cut out a different number of playing holes (usually six). The instrument is made from buckthorn, hazel, maple, ash or bird cherry.

Kug kly (kuv kly) ii ii or tsevn tsa ii is a wind musical instrument, a Russian type of multi-barrel flute. As a rule, it consists of three to five hollow tubes of the same diameter, but different lengths- from 100 to 160 mm. The upper ends of the tubes are open and the lower ends are closed. Kuvikly are not distributed throughout Russia, but only in the Kursk, Bryansk and Kaluga regions. The sound is produced by blowing on the cut edges of the open ends located on the same line. Usually the flute tubes are firmly fastened together, but the quvikles have a distinctive feature - the pipes in them are not fastened together, but are held freely in the hand. Use from 2 to 5 tubes. A set of five pipes is called a "pair". The performer playing the “pair” must not only be able to blow the pipes, but also reproduce the missing notes with his voice

The time of the emergence of spoons as a musical instrument in Rus' has not yet been established. The first fairly detailed information about them appears in late XVIII centuries and indicate their widespread distribution among peasants. Musical spoons appearance They are not much different from ordinary wooden table spoons, only they are made from harder wood.

Benui is a percussion musical instrument of indefinite pitch, consisting of a leather membrane stretched over a wooden rim. Some types of tambourines have metal bells attached to them, which begin to ring when the performer strikes the membrane of the tambourine, rubs it, or shakes the entire instrument.

The ratchet is a folk musical instrument, an idiophone that replaces clapping of hands. Ratchets consist of a set of 18 -20 thin planks (usually oak) 16 -18 cm long. They are connected to each other by a thick rope threaded through the holes in the upper part of the planks. To separate the planks, small wooden plates approximately 2 cm wide are inserted between them at the top. There is no written evidence of whether this instrument was used in Ancient Rus' as a musical instrument. At archaeological excavations in Novgorod in 1992, 2 tablets were found, which, according to V.I. Povetkin, were part of a set of ancient Novgorod rattles in the 12th century.

Bushkova Daria, 6th grade student of secondary school No. 32, Rybinsk

Objective of the project: get acquainted with the history of the emergence of Russian folk musical instruments.

Project objectives:

1. Describe the types of Russian folk musical instruments.
2. Get acquainted with the history of the creation of the orchestra of Russian folk instruments.
3. Find out which Russian folk musical instruments are reflected in the fine arts.

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Slide captions:

Folk musical instruments of Rus' The project was completed by a student of the 6th grade Bushkova Daria Scientific supervisor Ellina Yuryevna Shcherbak © Municipal educational institution secondary school No. 32, Rybinsk, 2013

Project goal: To get acquainted with the history of the emergence of Russian folk musical instruments. Project objectives: Describe the types of Russian folk musical instruments. Get acquainted with the history of the creation of the orchestra of Russian folk instruments. Find out which Russian folk musical instruments are reflected in the fine arts.

According to the source of sound, it is customary to divide folk instruments into the following groups: Winds Percussion Pneumatic reed Strings

String instruments Bowed plucked plucked whistle balalaika gusli domra

V. Vasnetsov “Guslars” N. Bogdanov-Belsky “Children. Playing the balalaika"

Wind instruments shepherd's horn zhaleika flute kuvikly harp

K. Korovin “Northern Idyll” G. Semiradsky “Shepherd Playing the Pipe”

Percussion instruments spoons rattles tambourine rubel

Pneumatic reed instrument accordion Fedot Sychkov. "At the Outskirts"

Conclusions: The appearance of various musical instruments is explained by the connection between the creativity of Russian people and various aspects of social life. Vintage folk customs, rituals and accompanying songs give an idea of ​​the worldview of the people. Many years passed, during which new instruments appeared. Now other musical styles are in fashion, but I would like to believe that interest in native Russian music will not fade away.

Sources: Konenko Y. Russian instruments [Electronic resource] // http://folkinst.narod.ru/vargan.html Osovitskaya Z., Kazarinova A. In the world of music: Tutorial By musical literature. – M.; Music, 1999. encyclopedic Dictionary young musician. – M.; Pedagogy, 1985. Vasiliev Yu. Stories about Russian folk instruments [Electronic resource] // http://esoserver.narod.ru/Pagan/Muz_ins

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Project “Folk musical instruments of Rus'”

performed

6th grade student

Secondary school No. 32, Rybinsk

Bushkova Daria

Scientific director

Shcherbak Ellina Yurievna

In chronicles and legends and in many works of foreign writers of the Middle Ages there are many indications of the passionate devotion of the Slavs to music. Karamzin in “History” Russian state” writes: “The northern Wends in the 6th century told the Greek emperor that the main pleasure of their life was music, and that they usually took with them on the road not weapons, but citharas or harps invented by them.”

There are a number of very original percussion instruments of the Russian people, born everyday life and closely related to everyday life. Some of them, such as spoons, rattles, bells, have legitimized their place not only in home ensembles and amateur orchestras, but also on the professional stage. Others appear here and there sporadically. But they all have in common the originality of both appearance and sound, simplicity and fun.

Objective of the project : Get acquainted with the history of the emergence of Russian folk musical instruments.

Project objectives:

1. Describe the types of Russian folk musical instruments.
2. Get acquainted with the history of the creation of the orchestra of Russian folk instruments.
3. Find out which Russian folk musical instruments are reflected in the fine arts.

1. Stringed folk musical instruments

“Gusl” (harp) in the sense of “string” comes from the Old Slavonic “to hum.” In the old days, the sound of strings was called buzzing or humming. In the old days, the name gusli meant stringed instruments, as opposed to wind and percussion instruments.

In the old days, the body of the gusli was built from sycamore wood, which is why they were called “yavorchatye” or more often “yarovchatye”. The epithet of gusli “yarochnye” predominates in epics. In folk songs, “ringing” harps are more common, probably because they had metal strings and the instrument had a ringing timbre. The strings were played exclusively with the fingers. “The prophetic boyar, if he wanted to sing a song to someone... he placed his prophetic fingers on the living strings, and they themselves rumbled glory to the princes” (“The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”). The harp sounded in everyday life, and at ceremonies. The heroes Dobrynya Nikitich, Solovey Budimirovich and the Novgorod guest Sadko play the gusli. Currently, interest in the gusli has grown significantly. Modern guslars appeared - storytellers who set out to recreate ancient tradition games and singing to the harp.

Domra is an ancient Russian musical instrument. Scientists suggest that the ancestor of our Russian domra was the Egyptian instrument “pandura”, which was in use several thousand years before our time. The main performers at the domra were buffoons. With their fun and “humour” they not only entertained the people, but also forced them to imitate themselves. Therefore, during the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich, persecution of singers and buffoons began. In Moscow, they collected all the instruments, loaded 5 carts with them, took them across the Moscow River and burned them there. Now domras in the orchestra constitute the main melodic group.

The name “balalaika” is popular. “To chatter”, “to joke” in the popular dialect means to chatter, to make idle calls. Some attribute the word Tatar origin. The word "bala" means "child". Perhaps it served as the source of the origin of the words “babble”, “babble”, containing the concept of unreasonable, childish chatter.

The name “balalaika” first appears in written monuments the time of Peter the Great. At first, the balalaika accompanied folk dance songs. But already in the middle of the 19th century, it was played not only by village boys, but also by serious court musicians. By the middle of the 19th century, the harmonica was found almost everywhere next to it, which gradually replaced the balalaika. The balalaika received its second birth in late XIX century thanks to the efforts of Vasily Andreev, who was called “the young father of the balalaika.” He improved the folk instrument and designed a family of balalaikas different sizes. The result of this work was the creation of the Great Russian Orchestra, whose first performance took place in 1897. From then on, folk instrument orchestras began to spread with extraordinary speed throughout Russia. Now not only Russian folk songs, but also works of Russian and Western classics sound wonderful on the balalaika.

1. Wind folk musical instruments

The first written evidence of the horn appears only in the second half of the 18th century. The horn is made from birch, maple or juniper. According to musicians, juniper horns have the best sound qualities. The sound of the horn is strong, but soft. Producing sound on an instrument is quite difficult. The horn has different names - “shepherd”, “Russian”, “song”. In the second half of the XIX - early XX centuries. ensemble playing of horns became widespread. Nowadays, horns are sometimes included in Russian folk instrument orchestras.

The origin of the word "pity" is unknown. Some researchers associate it with "pity" - a funeral rite that includes playing the pity. The timbre of the pitiful woman is sad and pitiful. The instrument was used as a shepherd's instrument; tunes of different genres were played on it alone, in duets, and in ensembles. Nowadays it can only be seen in orchestras of Russian folk instruments.

The flute in Rus' was an instrument made either from a piece of hollow reed or from a cylindrical piece of wood. According to legend, the son of the Slavic goddess of love Lada, Lel, played the flute. Two pipes were discovered at excavations in Ancient Novgorod. One of them was made at the end of the 11th century, the second dates back to the beginning of the 15th century. The flute is a simple wooden pipe. It has a whistle device at one end, and a different number of playing holes (usually six) are cut out in the middle of the front side. The instrument is made from buckthorn, hazel, maple, ash or bird cherry.

Kuvikly is a Russian type of multi-barrel flute, known science called "Pan's flute". Cuvikles are a set of 3-5 hollow tubes of various lengths and diameters with an open upper end and a closed lower end. The instrument tubes are not fastened together. This instrument was usually made from the stems of kugi reeds or reeds. Nowadays, plastic and even metal cubes are used.

The Jew's harp is one of the oldest musical instruments that has passed through centuries and has practically not changed its appearance. In ancient times, it was believed that playing the jew's harp clears the mind, strengthens a person's vitality, and harmonizes the functions of all organs; This is confirmed by modern scientists. The ancestor of the jew's harp was the bow, which appeared approximately IX-XII thousand years ago. Vargan was an integral participant in shamanic rituals along with the tambourine, and sometimes even replaced it. The simplicity, even primitiveness of the structure of the jew's harp and at the same time the complexity of playing it, its rich, not yet fully explored capabilities allow us to call it an instrument of the 21st century.

1. Percussion folk musical instruments

Since ancient times, the Eastern Slavs have used percussion instruments in military affairs, hunting, in rituals, in shepherding and as a musical instrument to accompany singing or dancing. It is known that at feasts, in the heat of dance excitement, not only spoons were used, but also frying pans, basins, stove valves, samovar pipes, pots, forks, in short, everything that could make a sound. Among household utensils, sustainable musical function We bought a scythe and a saw.

In appearance, musical spoons are not much different from ordinary wooden table spoons, only they are made from harder wood. In addition, musical spoons have elongated handles and polished impact surfaces. Sometimes bells are hung along the handle. Nowadays, spoons have legitimized their place not only in orchestras, but also on the professional stage.

The tambourine is famous Eastern Slavs since ancient times. They were especially widely used in military affairs and among buffoons. In earlier times, a tambourine was a percussion instrument with skin stretched over it. One of the descriptions of a tambourine together with trumpets as a military musical instrument dates back to the 10th century. and included in the description of the campaign of Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich. Military tambourines were used by both infantry and cavalry. This instrument is occasionally found in the hands of folk musicians even today, but it has found its main application in orchestras of Russian folk instruments.

Rattles are a percussion instrument that replaces hand clapping. Rattles were used in wedding ceremonies when singing songs of praise with dancing. The choral performance of the song of honor is often accompanied by the playing of an entire ensemble, sometimes numbering more than 10 people. During a wedding, the rattles are decorated with ribbons, flowers, and sometimes bells. The ratchet is usually held at the level of the head or chest, and sometimes higher; After all, this instrument attracts attention not only with its sound, but also with its appearance.

The ruble, like spoons, is an everyday item for the Russian people. In the old days, when there was no iron yet, clothes were ironed by rolling it while wet onto a rolling pin and then rolling it for a long time, compacting it with a ruble. It is possible that someone once accidentally passed another elastic object along its teeth and a sparkling cascade of sounds was created. The difference between a musical ruble and a household ruble is that the first is hollow, the second is solid. The hollow one naturally sounds louder and echoing.

1. Pneumatic reed musical instruments

The impetus for the spread of the harmonica was the acquisition by Ivan Sizov of a hand-made harmonica at the Nizhny Novgorod fair in 1830, after which he decided to open a harmonica workshop. By the forties of the 19th century, the first factory of Timofey Vorontsov appeared in Tula, which produced 10,000 harmonicas and accordions per year. By the middle of the 19th century. The harmonica becomes a symbol of a new folk musical instrument. She is an obligatory participant in all folk festivals and festivities. Saratov craftsmen were able to find an unusual sound timbre by adding bells to the design. The accordion owes its appearance to the talented Russian master - designer Pyotr Sterligov. Nowadays, composers write original works for the button accordion, including compositions of large forms of sonatas and concertos.

The orchestra of Russian folk instruments includes instruments from the domra and balalaika families, as well as gusli, button accordions, zhaleikas and other Russian folk instruments. The first such group was created in 1888 in St. Petersburg by balalaika player Vasily Vasilyevich Andreev as the “Circle of Balalaika Lovers,” which after successful concerts in Russia and abroad received the name “Great Russian Orchestra.” Russian repertoire folk orchestras usually includes Russian processing folk songs, as well as works written specifically for them.

Modern orchestras of Russian folk instruments are serious creative groups performing at the largest concert venues in Russia and abroad.

Thus, the appearance of diverse musical instruments is explained by the connection between the creativity of Russian people and various aspects of social life. Ancient folk customs, rituals and songs accompanying them give an idea of ​​the worldview of the people.

Many years passed, during which new instruments appeared. Now other musical styles are in fashion, but I would like to believe that interest in native Russian music will not fade away.

Russian folk instruments.
Classification of instruments by sound source and method of sound production.

According to modern data, in instrument science, musical instruments are classified according to the defining characteristic - the source of sound and are divided according to the method of its extraction. This systematization is based on the classification of K.A. Vertkov, based on the developments of German scientists E. Hornbostel and K. Sachs. According to the source of sound, Russian folk instruments are divided into:

Brass (aerophones),
strings (chordophones),
membrane (membranophones),
self-sounding (idiophones).

Let's look at each of the groups in more detail.

Russian folk instruments: wind instruments.

The source of sound here is the air flow. According to the method of sound production, the group is divided into whistle, reed and mouthpiece.

TO whistle Russian folk instruments(the sound in them arises as a result of the cutting of the air stream blown by the performer against the sharp edge of the tube or a special cutout in it) include various longitudinal pipes.

Single barrel pipe- a longitudinal tube, usually with six playing holes, giving a diatonic scale.

Double-barreled pipe(it is also called a double, double or flute - each tube usually has three holes, giving scales that are in a quart ratio; together they correspond to the range of a single pipe.

Kugikly, or kuvikly, kuvichki- multi-pipes are several pipes, usually from two to five playing holes, with a diatonic scale and a small range within fifths.

Ocarinas- hollow ceramic figurines, usually in the form of a bird or animal, with two or three playing holes, in some instruments - up to ten, with a diatonic scale in the volume of a nona.

Reed wind instruments.

Reed wind instruments (sound occurs as a result of vibration of a reed - a metal plate) can be of two types. One of them uses the so-called beating tongues. Made from reeds, birch bark, sometimes the flattened base of a goose feather, etc., they are located at openings and slits, covering them. When air is supplied, the tongue strikes the edges of these slots. Another group of reeds - with slipping through, usually metal reeds. The tongues here are slightly smaller than the openings of the metal frames, to which they are precisely fitted. One end of them is firmly attached to the frame, the other swings freely in the opening. If reeds of the first type (beating) can produce several sounds depending on the force and method of blowing (interrupting the air stream, they form vibrations of the air column in the tube in which they are located), then reeds of the second type (slipping) produce one sound corresponding to the frequency of oscillations the metal plate itself. Slip-through reeds are the basis harmonics- from the simplest designs of accordions to modern concert accordions and accordions. Beating reeds include pathetic- a pipe with a small number of playing holes (from three to seven), with a squeak and a bell, usually made of cow horn; it has a diatonic scale and an octave range. On a paired zhaleika - two fastened zhaleiki - the melody, within the same scale and range, is performed on a tube that has a larger number of playing holes. On the second tube a burdon or echo sound sounds.

Bagpipes- is a bag that is inflated by the performer through a special tube and two or three playing tubes. The bag serves as an air reservoir. One of the pipes is melodic, with voice holes, similar to a pity, the rest are invariably sounding, bourdon.

Mouthpiece wind instruments.

Mouthpiece (embouchure) wind Russian folk instruments (the sound here is caused by the vibration of the performer's tense lips applied to the narrow end of the tube or to the mouthpiece) includes shepherd's horn- a wooden tube with a mouthpiece, a bell and a small number of playing holes (most often 5-6), giving a diatonic scale. Horns are often used in ensembles and can come in a variety of sizes and tessitura.

Among the mouthpieces also - shepherd's trumpet And horn; Unlike wooden horns, they do not have playing holes. The shepherd's trumpet produces a natural scale, but the horn (made of metal, usually copper) produces only two sounds: the main one and an octave higher.

Russian folk instruments: Strings.

Their sound source is stretched string. Russian string instruments are divided into plucked and bowed.

Russian string instruments: plucked.

Plucked instruments (sound produced by plucking a string) include vulture, or tanbur-shaped - domra and balalaika And neckless (psalter-shaped) - different kinds gusli. In the former, the pitch of the sound changes mainly by shortening the strings on the fingerboard with the fingers of the left hand when they are plucked or tremulously along them with the right, and in the latter, as a result of plucking the strings and quickly running the fingers or a special plate along them with a mediator (plectrum).

Russian string instruments: bowed.

Bowed Russian folk instruments include the gudok and the violin. Horn(was common in Russia until the end of the 19th century) had an oval or pear-shaped body, most often with three strings, the two lower ones tuned to an octave, and the third a fifth higher. They played the whistle with a short bow-shaped bow. The performer held the instrument in an upright position, resting it on his knee or pinching it with his knees when playing while sitting; the buzzer could also be in a bent hand when playing while standing.

Nowadays, as a Russian folk instrument in a number of regions, mainly in Smolensk, Bryansk, Kursk, violin. Performance on it has characteristic features: an insignificant role of vibrato, an abundance of hard quarto-second consonances, a bourdon, continuously sounding background of the organ point to the presentation of the melodic line, etc.

Russian folk instruments: membrane.

Here the source of sound is an elastic membrane that vibrates as a result of a blow to it. Among Russian membranes the most famous tambourine- in the form of a wooden hoop, one side of which is covered with a leather membrane. Small metal plates are usually inserted into the holes in the walls of the hoop, complementing the sound of the tambourine with ringing overtones. The performer hits the membrane, makes a tremolo, shakes the tambourine, etc. Popular in past centuries cover- small clay timpani, the leather membrane of which was struck with two sticks. Since ancient times, a drum was also known in Rus', which had a cylindrical or barrel-shaped shape; leather membranes were stretched on both sides of the wooden shells, which were struck with a mallet.

Russian folk instruments: self-sounding.

Usually these are also percussion instruments, but the source of sound in them is the very material from which they are made. In the Russian ethnic environment, the most popular were spoons- in the form of wooden tablespoons with slightly elongated handles, to which bells are sometimes tied. They play spoons in a variety of ways - by hitting a spoon in the right hand on two or three held in the left hand, on a spoon located in the top of a boot, by sharply shaking spoons held in both hands, etc.

Also very popular ratchets- most often, in the form of wooden planks strung on a cord or strap and separated from each other by narrow wooden strips. When shaken, the boards, hitting one another, produce a dry, crackling sound.

They are widely known as the original national Russian musical instrument. bells. Over the course of many centuries, the most diverse types of bell ringing were formed in Rus', characterized by great melodic and rhythmic originality - festive, alarm, counter, counter, wire, funeral, etc.

In past centuries, it was also used as a Russian instrument Jew's harp, in the form of a metal horseshoe, in the center of which there was a tongue - a thin metal plate with a hook at the end. When playing, the jew's harp is clamped with the teeth, pinching the hook with the fingers. By vibrating, the tongue produces a bourdoning fundamental tone, and by changing the volume of the oral cavity, the performer selects a certain overtone - usually a range of a fourth or fifth. Currently, it is not used as a Russian instrument, but varieties of this instrument are very common among many other peoples of Russia (Bashkir kubyz, Yakut khomus, etc.).

For academic instruments, it is important that all membrane and self-sounding instruments (with the exception of the Jew's harp) make up the group of percussion instruments of the orchestra, in particular the Russian folk one. The method of sound production on them - impact - practically turns out to be more significant than the source of sound. Therefore, in the music of the musical notation tradition, it seems much more important to classify percussion instruments not into membrane and self-sounding ones, but into instruments with a certain pitch (timpani, bells, bells, vibraphone, etc.) and with an indefinite pitch (tambourine, large and snare drum, triangle, plates, spoons, rattles, etc.).

There are other criteria for systematizing musical instruments. But in order to understand the reasons why some Russian folk instruments were academized and became part of the folk instrument orchestra, while others remained only in the practice of the auditory tradition - folklore, it is important to identify the intonational essence of Russian instrumentation, systematizing it on this basis.