Our Balalaika Prima measures approximately 27
inches in length. The scale length is 430 mm. The body has the classical
triangular shape. The back is slightly bowed and made with stave
construction in alternating pieces of lacewood and rosewood.
The
Balalaika strings are tuned above middle C to: A, E, E (1st-3rd). The
1st string is the thinnest, and lays over more frets than the 2nd &
3rd strings. Use a piano or electronic tuner as a reference for tuning.
The tension on each tuning peg can be adjusted by tightening or loosing
the screw on the top of the peg. To play, the left hand notes the
strings while the index finger of the right hand strums high on the
soundboard near the neck. The dark rosewood on the soundboard is
decorative but also protects the soundboard from the strumming.
The
Balalaika most likely evolved from the Oriental dombra, which is still
played in present-day Kazakhstan. Knowledge of the dombra most likely
spread to Russia by Mongol trade and conquest. After undergoing
structural changes, the Balalaika was embraced by Russians. It is said
that the Balalaika embodies the Russian people’s character, with its
ability to switch from happiness to sadness with ease. It was common for
the peasant ballads, composed for the Balalaika, to irreverently poke
fun at the authority of the times. For this reason there were times when
the Balalaika was banned by both the Orthodox Church and the State. The
instrument enjoyed its greatest folk popularity in the early 18th
century.
In the later 19th century the instrument underwent a
number of changes, including the adoption of the classic triangular
shape. Reportedly, in the late 19th century, Vassily Vassilievich
Andreyev, was responsible for the transition from a folk instrument to a
concert instrument. Andreyev’s chamber ensemble, renamed The Great
Russian Imperial Balalaika Orchestra, introduced the instrument to
cultures outside of Russia. The Instrument was also carried by the
common people when they fled Russia at times of war.
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