There are six sizes - piccolo, descant, prima, secondary, alto, bass, and contrabass. With the help of master instrument makers, Vassily Andreyev created a family of balalaikas, like in a string quartet. In this way balalaika again spread all around Russia and became a popular instrument. On his initiative all the soldiers serving the army were given balalaikas which they took with them after retiring from the army. Andreyev’s vision was to bring the balalaika back to the folk and popularize it. It was long, hard work but eventually they created an improved balalaika. Petersburg to ask the violin master Ivanov for advice.Īt first Ivanov refused to make a balalaika, but after listening to Andreyev’s masterful performance, he could not resist. He set to work perfecting and standardizing the balalaika and even went to St. He began to learn how to play it and realized how much potential the instrument held. He was astonished at the unusual sounds of the instrument as he considered himself a connoisseur of Russian folk instruments. One day as Vassily Andreyev, a young nobleman, was walking in his estate he heard his house-serf playing the balalaika. Although the repressions ended with the Tzar’s death, balalaikas did not achieve their former popularity until the mid 19th century, with Vassily Andreyev, a violinist, composer and arranger. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich issued an order to burn all balalaikas, domras, horns and guslis, or punish those who would not yield. Skomorokhi performed at fairs, using their ballads to poke fun at church and state. Gradually the instrument spread among peasants and skomorokhi (wandering minstrels and jesters) who traveled all around the vast expanses of Russia. The balalaika was supposed to be invented by peasant serfs to relieve their hard living under cruel landlords. In any case, the first written record was in 1688. There are many theories about the origins of balalaika and how it developed into it’s triangular shape. An important part of balalaika technique is the use of the left thumb to fret notes on the bottom string, where it is often used to form chords. The balalaika is played by strumming and plucking with the fingers of the right hand. The balalaika is a wooden, three-stringed instrument of Russian origin, with a characteristic triangular body.
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