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The balalaika (Russian: балала́йка; IPA [bəlʌˈlajkə]) is a stringed instrument of Russian origin, with a characteristic triangular body and 3 strings (or sometimes 6, in pairs). Balalaika ) is the second solo single of Morning Musume and Hello! Project member Koharu Kusumi, under the name of Tsukishima Kirari starring Kusumi Koharu (Morning Musume) ). Tsukishima is a character in the anime series Kirarin Revolution that Kusumi is the voice of, and Balalaika is also used as the second... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (892x1425, 100 KB) From http://runeberg. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (892x1425, 100 KB) From http://runeberg. ... Articles with similar titles include the NATO phonetic alphabet, which has also informally been called the “International Phonetic Alphabet”. For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words, see IPA chart for English. ... A triangle. ...

Structure and technique

The modern balalaika is found in six sizes:

• piccolo (rare)
• prima
• secunda
• alto
• bass
• contrabass (also a larger sub-contrabass)

The most common solo instrument is the prima, tuned E-E-A (the two lower strings being tuned to the same pitch). Sometimes the balalaika is tuned "guitar style" to G-B-D (resembling the thinnest three strings of the Russian guitar), making it easier to play for Russian guitar players, although balalaika purists frown on this tuning. In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer (solo is an Italian word literally meaning alone). ... The strings of a harp A string is the vibrating element which is the source of vibration in string instruments, such as the guitar, harp, piano, and members of the violin family. ... Tune can refer to: a melody. ... The Russian guitar, a seven-string acoustic guitar tuned to the Open G tuning, arrived in the beginning of the 19th century in Russia, most probably as a development of the kobza and the baroque lute. ...

The piccolo, prima, and secunda balalaikas are ideally strung with gut (or, today, usually nylon) strings on the lower pegs and a wire string on the top peg. For other uses of this word, see nylon (disambiguation). ... The strings of a harp A string is the vibrating element which is the source of vibration in string instruments, such as the guitar, harp, piano, and members of the violin family. ...

An important part of balalaika technique is the use of the left thumb to fret notes on the bottom string, particularly on the prima, where it is used to form chords. The index finger is used to sound notes on the prima, while a plectrum is used on the larger sizes. One can play the prima with a plectrum, but it is considered rather heterodox to do so. Typical fingering for a second inversion C major chord on a guitar. ... The Index finger The index finger, pointer finger or forefinger is the second digit of a human hand, located between the thumb and the middle finger. ... Various guitar picks A plectrum is a small flat tool used to pluck or strum a stringed instrument. ... Heterodox literally means pertaining to other doctrines or other worship. ...

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. The contrabass balalaika rests on the ground on a wooden or metal pin drilled into one of its corners. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into high-heeled shoe. ...

History

The origins of the balalaïka are not precisely known.

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). The neck of a guitar showing the first four frets. ... The Saz (from Persian: ‎ , music) is a plucked stringed instrument, popular in Turkey, Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and the Balkan countries. ... Microtonal music is music using microtones -- intervals of less than a semitone, or as Charles Ives put it, the notes between the cracks of the piano. ...

Eventually, 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 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. 18th-century lubok representing Russian skomorokhs. ... For other uses of Jester, see Jester (disambiguation). ... Tsar (Bulgarian, Serbian and Macedonian цар, Russian  , in scientific transliteration respectively car and car ), occasionally spelled Czar or Tzar and sometimes Csar or Zar in English, is a Slavonic term designating certain monarchs. ... The Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (Russian: ), also known as the Orthodox Christian Church of Russia, is a body of Christians who are united under the Patriarch of Moscow, who in turn is in communion with the other patriarchs and primates of the Eastern Orthodox Church. ... This article is about Russian citadels. ... For other uses, see Moscow (disambiguation). ...

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. 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. 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. 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. Skomorokhi is the plural for the noun skomorokh, seen in Cyrillic below: скоморох (singular) скоморохи (plural) This article is a stub. ... Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol (Russian: ; IPA: ; Ukrainian: ) (April 1, 1809 — March 4, 1852) was a Russian-language writer of Ukrainian origin. ... The Mongol Invasion of Rus was heralded by the Battle of the Kalka River (1223) between Subutais reconnaissance unit and the combined force of several princes of Rus. After fifteen years of peace, it was followed by Batu Khans full-scale invasion in 1237-40. ... Nizhny Novgorod (Russian: ), colloquially shortened as Nizhny, is the fourth largest city in Russia, ranking after Moscow, St. ...

In the late 19th century, a Russian nobleman, Vassily Vassilievich Andreyev, embarked on a project to standardize the balalaika for orchestral use. Andreyev, with the assistance of luthiers, and furniture maker Nalimov, developed the multiple balalaika sizes and tunings in use today. He arranged many traditional Russian folk songs and melodies for the orchestra and also composed many tunes of his own. For the song titled Orchestra, see The Servant (band). ... An engravers impression of Antonio Stradivari examining an instrument. ...

Andreyev simultaneously revived two other long-lost Russian instruments:

• the domra, a three-stringed long-necked melody instrument with a melon-shaped body, which he developed in prima, alto, tenor, and bass sizes;
• the gusli, an autoharp chorded with piano-type keys.

Domra Domra (домра) is a long-necked Russian string instrument with three or four steel strings and a round resonator. ... The Gusli (гусли) is an ancient Russian musical instrument, a kind of a harp, not to be confused with Balkan Gusle. ...

Rise of the balalaika orchestra

Another Balalaika

The end result of Andreyev's labours was the development of a strong orchestral tradition in Tsarist Russia, and, later, the Soviet Union. The balalaika orchestra in its full form -- balalaikas, domras, gusli, bayan, kugikles, 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. Balalaika From the german wikipedia DE:Bild:Balalaika. ... Balalaika From the german wikipedia DE:Bild:Balalaika. ... Domra Domra (домра) is a long-necked Russian string instrument with three or four steel strings and a round resonator. ... The Gusli (гусли) is an ancient Russian musical instrument, a kind of a harp, not to be confused with Balkan Gusle. ... Bayan is an accordion-like Russian musical instrument. ... Garmon The word garmon (Russian: гармонь) literally means accordion, in Russian although it usually usually refers to a specific class of Russian accordions that have two rows of buttons on the right side, which play the notes of a diatonic scale, and at least... “Percussion” redirects here. ...

Not surprisingly, the concept of the balalaika orchestra was adopted wholeheartedly by the Soviet government as something distinctively Soviet (that is, Russian). 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. The world-famous Red Army Choir used a normal orchestra, except that the violins, violas and violoncellos were replaced with various sizes of balalaika and domra. Soviet redirects here. ... Pavel Necheporenko is a virtuoso performer of the balalaika. ... The Red Army Choir (Choir Aleksandrov) is a performing ensemble that served as the official army choir of the former Soviet Unions Red Army. ...

Regrettably de-emphasized in the Soviet-encouraged rise of the professional orchestra was the vibrant folk tradition from whence the balalaika stemmed. However, a cabaret style of playing remained, and the balalaika was also played by some Russian Gypsies. The cabaret/gypsy tradition was brought over to the United States by Russian immigrants in the early 20th Century. One notable U.S. cabaret-style player was New York's Sasha Polinoff. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Cabaret is a form of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue — a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting around the tables (often dining or drinking) watching the performance. ... The Roma people (pronounced rahma, singular Rom, sometimes Rroma, and Rrom) along with the closely related Sinti people are commonly known as Gypsies in English, and as Tsigany in most of Europe. ... Immigration is the act of moving to or settling in another country or region, temporarily or permanently. ...

On a peculiar note, 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: The Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 as part of their first tour of the United States, promoting their first hit single there, I Want To Hold Your Hand. ... The self-titled double album The Beatles, released by the Beatles in 1968 at the height of their popularity, is often hailed as one of the major accomplishments in popular music. ... Back in the U.S.S.R. is a song by The Beatles written by Paul McCartney (John Lennon shares songwriting credits), and which opens the double-disc album The Beatles (a. ...

Take me to your daddy’s farm
Let me hear your balalaikas ringing out
Come and keep your comrade warm.
I’m back in the USSR.

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 is an American television drama/comedy created by Amy Sherman-Palladino and starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. ...

In addition, some Russian Orthodox churches in larger U.S. cities sponsored smaller balalaika orchestras where village-style and Andreyev-style playing coexisted side by side. The Russian Orthodox Church (Русская Православная церковь) is that body of Christians who are united under the Patriarch of Moscow, who in turn is in communion with... For the architectural structure, see Church (building). ...

The Balalaika received mention by the German band Scorpions in the 1990s song Wind of Change, which celebrated the changes in Eastern Europe during the post Cold War period. The lyrics of the song referring to the balalaika: For other bands named The Scorpions or other meanings of scorpion, see scorpion. ... For other uses, see Wind of Change (disambiguation). ... Pre-1989 division between the West (grey) and Eastern Bloc (orange) superimposed on current national boundaries: Russia (dark orange), other countries of the former USSR (medium orange),members of the Warsaw pact (light orange), and other former Communist regimes not aligned with Moscow (lightest orange). ... For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ...

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...

Discography

Eduard Tubin's Balalaika Concerto has been recorded by Emanuil Sheynkman, with Neeme Järvi conducting the Swedish National Radio Symphony Orchestra on a BIS CD that also includes Tubin's Symphony No. 1 and Music for Strings. Eduard Tubin (June 18, 1905 - November 17, 1982) was an Estonian composer and conductor. ... Neeme Järvi (born June 7, 1937) is an Estonian-born conductor. ...

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Balalaikas

Balalaika Favorites / Osipov State Russian Folk Orchestra / CD / Mercury Living Presence Image File history File links Commons-logo. ...

External links

• Balalaika Ensemble QUARTET "SKAZ" Russia - Official site of the groups. The Popular classical music, melodies to Russia and countries of the world, ragtimes, russian romances...
• Balalaika and Domra Association of America
• University of Pennsylvania: Balalaika Sheet Music
• Balalaika.fr: History of balalaika, events, mp3 and more...
• Balalaika Luthier - Andreas Gerth
• Online school
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