Ukrainian musical culture is similar to Russian, but has several distinctive features. Trembita, bandura and torban stand out among the national Ukrainian instruments.
Bandura is the most famous Ukrainian instrument
The bandura is a gusli-like plucked string instrument. It is a wooden deck with 25-60 strings. The body of the bandura is asymmetrical - the neck is located slightly on the side. Some of the strings are pulled over the neck, and some are attached directly to the soundboard. The bandura is played by plucking the strings with your fingers. This instrument was brought from Poland, but acquired several changes in Ukraine. Tales, thoughts and ballads of wandering bards were performed to the bandura. This use of a musical instrument as an accompaniment for folk art prevailed until the 20th century. It was only after the 1940s that professional works written specifically for the bandura began to appear.
The first bandura had only 12-20 strings, but over time they began to grow in complexity and increase in size. Because of this, all bulky objects began to be called "bandura".
Torban - Ukrainian lute
Torban looks like a bandura, but its body is symmetrical. It has an oval body and a longer neck than the bandura. The number of torban strings varies from 30 to 60. The bass strings are stretched over an additional head - a torus - which is located on the main head. This instrument spread in the 17-18th century and was very popular at Ukrainian feasts. It was very difficult to play the torban - the musician simultaneously pressed some strings to the body, and pinched others with his fingers. The tool was also quite expensive to make. Therefore, the popularity of the torban slowly declined, and in the 20th century it was finally excluded from the list of concert instruments.
One of the last musicians to play the torban was Vasily Shevchenko. His instrument is kept in the Museum of Musical Culture named after M. I. Glinka.
Trembita - a colorful wind instrument
Trembita was distributed in the south-west of Ukraine, in the Carpathians. This original instrument looks like a long wooden tube wrapped in birch bark. Towards the end, the pipe expands slightly. The length of the trembita can be up to 4 meters. The pitch of the instrument depends on the size of the squeak inserted into the narrow end, as well as on the skill of the musician himself. It is noteworthy that usually trembita was made only from those trees that were struck by lightning. Its creation required special skill, because the walls of the instrument should be no more than 7 mm. The sound of trembita is heard for several kilometers, so it was widely used by Carpathian shepherds to notify about various events. Trembita was also played during funerals and weddings. Now the instrument is used in folk groups, and sometimes it is played in an orchestra.
