In Russia, the balalaika has been known for several centuries. From the village, she migrated to academic orchestras. But in order to play simple folk tunes on it, it is not at all necessary to study for a long time at a music school and a conservatory. Our grandparents learned to play by ear, with an illustrative example.
Balalaika device
The modern balalaika consists of three parts. The first part is a triangular body, the front of which is called a deck. The back is glued together from several wooden segments. A resonator window is cut out on the soundboard, which is sometimes called a voice box. The second part is the fretboard on which the frets are located. The third part is the head on which the tuning pegs are fixed. With the help of the tuning pegs, the balalaika is tuned.
According to the rules, the saddle (bridge on the deck) and the upper (from the headstock) should be at the same distance from the twelfth fret - at this point the string is divided in half.
Balalaika tuning
There are now two types of balalaika tuning:
- academic;
- rustic or "guitar".
Until the end of the 19th century, there was no single concept of tuning an instrument; village musicians tuned it for themselves, depending on personal preferences and traditions that existed in a particular place.
At the end of the 19th century, thanks to the efforts of the musician Vasily Andreev, the balalaika became a concert instrument. Andreev introduced the academic system. With this tuning, the top two strings are tuned in unison on the E note, and the bottom string is tuned one fourth higher on the A note.
The difference between the village system is that the tuning is carried out according to the triad. Moreover, the first note in this triad can be any, it is very convenient, especially when it is necessary to adjust the balalaika to other instruments for playing in a village orchestra.
Having tuned the first string as we need it, we can tune the rest. To do this, hold down the second string at the third fret and, then pulling up, then loosening it, achieve unison with the open first string. Tune the third string at the fourth fret from the open second.
For tuning, you can also use a tuner, piano, guitar, accordion, or any other instrument capable of producing the notes we need. After tuning, you should hear a clean chord by sliding your finger across the strings from top to bottom.
Now all that remains is to master a couple of chords, with the help of which, in the future, you will learn several common traditional Russian tunes.
