Iranian national musical instruments. Ethnic musical instruments Video: What does a tamboura sound like?


The music of the peoples of Central Asia, according to experts, is very original and diverse. Numerous musical instruments of Central Asia are known; there are about seventy-two varieties of them. Some of them were popular in past centuries, some are successfully used today. The most famous musical instruments of the peoples of Central Asia are:

  • oud or barbad;
  • tanbur;
  • eve;
  • ikidilli;
  • bozuk;
  • dilly tuyduk, Gosha dilly tuyduk;
  • gamysh balaman.

Musical instrument oud or barbad

This instrument is distinguished by the fact that it has no frets and contains five strings. Music is performed using a special device called a kirishkakara or a plectrum.

During the Middle Ages, this instrument was widely known among the inhabitants of the East, including the Central Asian peoples. Scientists who wrote treatises at that time also mentioned the name of this instrument. From scientific sources it became known that initially this Asian musical instrument was called barbard, and around the eighth-ninth centuries it was renamed beat.

Both names, which refer to the same instrument, are of Arabic origin and are translated as swan neck.

This instrument was created by a Merv musician named Bard Mervezi, who at one time became famous throughout the East. The man ran a music salon that existed at the court of Khisrov Pervezi, who reigned from 590 to 628.

The inhabitants of the Turkmen land enjoyed the sound of the oud from ancient times until the beginning of the eighteenth century. If the information is that the strings of this instrument were made of silk. According to scientific sources, the instrument initially had four strings, and a certain al Farabi attached a fifth to it, thanks to this it was possible to expand its musical capabilities.

Very often this instrument is mentioned in the literature of the classics of Turkmenistan.

Musical instrument tanbur (tambura)

Tambura was widely used by the peoples of Eastern and Central Asian countries, this is mentioned by the famous Uzbek scientist who spent his entire life studying the musical culture of these countries. In Turkmen lands it was played somewhere before the seventeenth-eighteenth century.

The instrument was distinguished by the fact that it had a small head and a long neck. In appearance it is similar to dutar. The base of the instrument was wooden; it was made from walnut, mulberry, and apricot. The tamboura had three strings, and the frets consisted of silk strings ranging from sixteen to nineteen.

To play this instrument, a silver or metal kirishkakara was used, which was worn on the index finger. In the epic called “Gerogly”, as well as other classical works, there is a mention of the use of tambour by the Turkmens.

Musical instrument chen

In the same epic “Gerogly” you can read that a musical instrument called chen was a national instrument among the Turkmens. This instrument was used in the State National Orchestra of Folk Instruments in 1941. However, due to the lack of performers, it was eventually expelled.

Musical instrument eve

This instrument is ancient, it was used by eastern peoples. Kanun was used by Turks and Arabs in ancient times, and after some time it became popular among residents of Iran, Afghanistan, the Caucasus and Central Asia.

During celebrations, kanun was used on Turkmen soil, from the ninth to the eighteenth centuries. Today this tool is also very popular.

Musical instrument ikitelli

This instrument is a bow instrument and has another name: okly-gopuz.

The 1973 Moscow edition of the book “Music of the Peoples of Asia and Africa” states that Turkmen Ikitelli is very similar to Turkic Ikili.

Musical instrument bouzouq

A musicologist named Temel Garahan published the book “Turkish Baglama” in 1999, which contained information that the musical instruments of Central Asia, baglama, saz, ikidilli, tambur, bozuk, are derived from gopuz.

The bouzouki was also played with the help of the kirishkakar. It is difficult to judge the appearance of the original instrument, since over many centuries it was developed and improved by different peoples.

Musical instruments of Central Asia dilly tuyduk, Gosha dilly tuyduk

It is he, according to most musicologists, who is the progenitor of all known wind musical instruments. Almost all nations used such an instrument; only its name was distinctive.

Turkmen shepherds called it the shepherd's horn. Folklore groups performed with him, some of the performers were real virtuosos.

An Asian Caucasian musical instrument, more than a hundred years old, is currently in the Moscow Museum. M. Glinka.

Gosha dilly tuyduk is one of the paired instruments. It is much more difficult to play than the dilly toyduk. People who heard the sound of this instrument admired it. After all, a musician could blow sounds simultaneously from two pipes or alternately from each.

Musical instrument gamysh balaman

It is very similar to the dilly tuyduk, but is a more advanced model, so they were used as independent instruments. The balaman's gamysh was distinguished by the fact that it had a closed tip in a place intended for blowing.

Thanks to this feature, it was easier to extract sounds from the pipe. In addition, this instrument has more fret holes, so the performance possibilities are much wider. A musical instrument called the gamysh balaman was most often used in the vicinity of Caracal.

Video: What does tamboura sound like?

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ABSTRACT

Historical geography of musical instruments of Central Asia

Introduction

The topic of my essay: “Historical geography of musical instruments.” I think this topic is quite interesting and relevant. Let's ask the question: "Why?"

Music is one of the most important and interesting phenomena in nature and in our lives. From early childhood we begin to hear the voices of other people, the chirping and singing of birds, the sound of the sea and wind. These sounds fill our lives with colors; without them, life would be very boring.

Listening to the sounds of nature, man since ancient times has strived to learn to imitate them, he has strived to create something with the help of which he, too, could produce such colorful sounds. This is how musical instruments appeared. At first, they were made from the most ordinary available materials. For example, from ordinary reed, if you make holes in it, you get a wonderful pipe. A block of wood, covered with animal skin, served as a drum for ancient people.

Gradually, with the development of culture and the emergence of different peoples, the variety of musical instruments, as well as their sound and timbre, increased. Each nation, trying to create its own special sound, by which other nations would recognize it, created its own musical instruments, which is why they received the name - folk. It is not for nothing that if we hear the sound of a balalaika we immediately think of Russia, the sound of a dombra or kobyz reminds us of Kazakhstan.

Thus, gradually, musical instruments and music become an integral part of the culture of any nation, adding their own characteristics to it. With the advent of folk music, new traditions and customs began to appear. For example, the Kazakh people have a competition called aitys.

Returning to my originally asked question, I want to say that every person should know the history and culture of his people, and since music is one of its most important components, a person should study it too. After all, music, as mentioned above, had a great influence on culture, traditions and customs.

Now, in our time, many people play musical instruments, but do not know the history of their origin. I think this is wrong. This is the same as not showing respect for the culture of the people who created this musical instrument and brought it and its sound to our world.

In addition, I think it is very interesting to study the history of the origin of a particular musical instrument. How and why it was created, what legends exist in connection with the creation of this instrument.

In my essay, I would like to talk about folk musical instruments of Central Asia using the example of countries such as Russia, the Chinese Empire and Kyrgyzstan.

All these countries have different and interesting history and culture. Their music is also diverse. I think it will be very interesting to read about the history of the emergence of the balalaika, gusli, guan, banhu and the Kyrgyz chopo-choor and temir-komuz, and the musical genres that arose in connection with this.

1. Musical instruments of Russia

The history of the emergence of Russian folk instruments goes back to the distant past. Frescoes of the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, iconographic materials, miniatures of handwritten books, popular prints testify to the diversity of the musical instruments of our ancestors. Ancient musical instruments discovered by archaeologists are genuine material evidence of their existence in Rus'. In the recent past, the daily life of the Russian people was unthinkable without musical instruments. Almost all of our ancestors owned the secrets of making simple sound instruments and passed them on from generation to generation. Introduction to the secrets of craftsmanship was instilled from childhood, in games, in work feasible for children's hands. By watching their elders work, teenagers acquired their first skills in creating the simplest musical instruments.

Also, among many peoples, the creation of musical instruments is closely connected with the gods, the lords of thunderstorms, blizzards and winds. So it was with the Russian people. The ancient Slavs honored their ancestors and worshiped the gods; worship of the gods was performed in front of sacred goddesses in temples and in the open air with bells and idols.

Religious ceremonies in honor of Perun (god of thunder and lightning), Stribog (god of the winds), Svyatovid (god of the sun), Lada (goddess of love), etc. were accompanied by singing, dancing, playing musical instruments and ended with a general feast.

According to researchers, the song and instrumental art of those years developed in close interrelation. Perhaps ritual chants contributed to the birth of instruments with the establishment of their musical structure, since temple prayer songs were performed with musical accompaniment.

The Byzantine historian Theophylact Simokatta, the Arab traveler Al-Masudi, and the Arab geographer Omar ibn Dast confirm the existence of musical instruments among the ancient Slavs. The latter writes in his “Book of Precious Treasures”: “They have all kinds of lutes, harps and pipes...”

In “Essays on the history of music in Russia from ancient times to the end of the 18th century,” Russian musicologist N.F. Findeisen notes: “It is absolutely impossible to admit that the ancient Slavs, who had a communal life, whose religious rites were extremely developed, varied and furnished with decorative pomp, would not have been able to make their own musical instruments, completely regardless of whether there were similar instruments in neighboring countries.” regions."

wooden pipes and horns (military and hunting blowers);

bells, clay whistles (ritual);

pan flute;

gusli (string); balalaika;

sopel and flute (arshine-long wind instruments).

Let's talk in more detail about the history of the balalaika and gusli.

Balalaika

The balalaika is one of the instruments that has become (along with the accordion and, to a lesser extent, the pity) a musical symbol of the Russian people.

The very name of the instrument is curious, typically folk, the sound of syllable combinations conveying the nature of playing it. The root of the words “balalaika”, or, as it was also called, “balabaika”, has long attracted the attention of researchers due to its relationship with such Russian words as balakat, balabonit, balabolit, balagurit, which means to chat, idle talk (go back to the common Slavic *bolbol of the same meaning ). All these concepts, complementing each other, convey the essence of the balalaika - a light, funny, “strumming”, not very serious instrument.

The word was first attested in the Ukrainian language of the early 18th century (in documents from 1717-1732) in the form “balabayka” (obviously, this is its older form, also preserved in the Kursk and Karachev dialects). In Russian for the first time in the poem by V.I. Maykova “Elisha”, 1771, song 1: “set me a buzzer or a balalaika.”

The history of the origin of the balalaika goes back centuries. Everything is not so simple here, because there is quite a large number of documents and information about the origin of the instrument. Russian balalaika Many believe that the balalaika was invented in Rus', others think that it originated from the Kyrgyz folk instrument - the Kaisak - dombra. There is another version: perhaps the balalaika was invented during Tatar rule, or at least borrowed from the Tatars. Consequently, it is difficult to name the year of origin of the instrument. Historians and musicologists argue about this too. Most adhere to 1715, but this date is arbitrary, since there are references to an earlier period - 1688. Probably, the balalaika was invented by serfs to brighten up their existence under the rule of a cruel landowner. Gradually, the balalaika spread among peasants and buffoons traveling throughout our vast country. Buffoons performed at fairs, entertained people, earned money for food and a bottle of vodka, and did not even suspect what a miracle instrument they were playing. The fun could not last long, and finally, the Tsar and Grand Duke of All Rus' Alexei Mikhailovich issued a decree in which he ordered all instruments (domras, balalaikas, horns, harps, etc.) to be collected and burned, and those people who would not obey and give away balalaikas, flog them and send them into exile in Little Russia. But time passed, the king died and the repressions gradually ceased. The balalaika sounded again throughout the country, but again not for long. The time of popularity was again replaced by almost complete oblivion until the middle of the 19th century.

So the balalaika was lost, but not completely. Some peasants still played music on three strings. Vasily Vasilyevich Andreev And, one day, while traveling around his estate, the young nobleman Vasily Vasilyevich Andreev heard a balalaika from his servant Antipas. Andreev was struck by the peculiarity of the sound of this instrument, but he considered himself an expert in Russian folk instruments. And Vasily Vasilyevich decided to make the most popular instrument out of the balalaika. To begin with, I slowly learned to play myself, then I noticed that the instrument was fraught with enormous potential, and decided to improve the balalaika. Andreev went to St. Petersburg to see violin maker Ivanov for advice and asked him to think about how to improve the sound of the instrument. Ivanov objected and said that he would not do a balalaika, categorically. Andreev thought for a moment, then took out an old balalaika, which he bought at a fair for thirty kopecks, and masterfully performed one of the folk songs, of which there are a huge number in Russia. Ivanov could not resist such an onslaught and agreed. The work was long and hard, but still a new balalaika was made. But Vasily Andreev was planning something more than creating an improved balalaika. Having taken it from the people, he wanted to return it to the people and spread it. Now all soldiers serving in the service were given a balalaika, and when leaving the army, the military took the instrument with them.

Thus, the balalaika again spread throughout Russia and became one of the most popular instruments. Moreover, Andreev planned to create a family of balalaikas of different sizes, modeled on a string quartet. Family of balalaikas For this, he gathered masters: Paserbsky and Nalimov, and they, working together, made balalaikas: piccolo, treble, prima, second, viola, bass, double bass. From these instruments the basis of the Great Russian Orchestra was created, which subsequently traveled to countless countries around the world, glorifying the balalaika and Russian culture. It got to the point that in other countries (England, USA, Germany) orchestras of Russian folk instruments were created based on the Great Russian model.

Andreev first played in the orchestra himself, then conducted it. At the same time, he gave solo concerts, the so-called balalaika evenings. All this contributed to an extraordinary surge in the popularity of the balalaika in Russia and even beyond its borders. Moreover, Vasily Vasilyevich trained a huge number of students who also tried to support the popularization of the balalaika (Troyanovsky and others). During this period, composers finally paid attention to the balalaika. For the first time the balalaika was performed with an orchestra.

Today the instrument is going through hard times. There are few professional performers. Even in the village they forgot about the balalaika. In general, folk music is interesting to a very narrow circle of people who attend concerts or play some folk instruments. Now the most famous balalaika players are Boldyrev V.B., Zazhigin Valery Evgenievich, Gorbachev Andrey Aleksandrovich, Kuznetsov V.A., Senchurov M.I., Bykov Evgeniy, Zakharov D.A., Bezotosny Igor, Konov Vladimir Nikolaevich, Mikhail Fedotovich Rozhkov. All these people try to maintain the popularity of our great instrument and are engaged in teaching and concert activities.

In the history of the balalaika there have been ups and downs, but it continues to live and it is not for nothing that all foreigners consider it the personification of Russian culture.

Gusli

Gusli is an ancient plucked string musical instrument, the name of which in Russia refers to several varieties of recumbent harps. Psalted harps are similar to the Greek psalter and the Jewish kinnor; these include: Chuvash gusli, Cheremis gusli, clavier-shaped gusli and gusli, which are similar to the Finnish kantele, Latvian kukles and Lithuanian kankles.

We are talking about instruments that existed in Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Finland and some other European countries. What unites these instruments is an exclusively constructive feature: a fan of strings, a tailpiece, a tuning bar and a resonator located under the strings along the entire length of the string. The design of each individual instrument may have features and exceptions, but the four parts listed are usually present.

The history of the Slavic gusli, and the Finnish kantele, and the Estonian kanneli, and the Latvian kokle, and the Lithuanian kankles and all the instruments not mentioned here from the same list comes down to the same roots at some stage. Only which one? Nobody has accurate information. There is too much speculation in the literature about the “where” and “when” of this stage. But only assumptions, only guesses.

In ancient times, the elastic string of a bow was called differently - “gusla”. Here is one of the hypotheses for the origin of the name of the instrument. And by attaching a hollow vessel to a string, we get a primitive musical instrument. So: strings and a resonator that enhances their sound are the basic principle of this plucked instrument.

In the Old Russian manuscript, “The Tale of the Belorized Man and Monasticism,” the miniaturist depicted in the initial letter “D” the figure of a king (possibly the psalmist David) playing the harp. Their shape corresponds to the instrument that existed in Rus' at that time. These are the so-called “helmet-shaped” harps. The shape of their body really resembles a helmet. Subsequently, the shape of the flat resonator box changed. A trapezoidal harp appeared. The number of strings on the instrument has decreased, and the shape of the body has also changed. This is how winged harps appeared.

Back in the 9th century, the Slavs amazed the kings of Byzantium by playing the harp. In those distant times, harps were made from hollowed-out dry spruce or maple boards. The “Yavor” maple is especially loved by music masters. This is where the name of the gusli comes from - “Yarochnye”. / And as soon as the strings began to be pulled from metal, the gusli began to ring and began to be called “ringing”.

The fate of this instrument has long been associated with folk song and epic traditions. Master craftsmen have been passing on the secrets of making gusli for centuries. Gusel tunes, songs of singers, were loved by both the people and the kings. But often folk singers sang unflatteringly about the authorities.

Persecution of gusli players (as this word sounds correctly), or, as they were disparagingly called guslars, did a disservice to the fate of the instrument. The interest in its improvement was not the same as it was in the fate of the violin. But time has changed this ancient instrument. Its design, body shape, wood processing technology, varnishes, decorative finishing - all this has long removed the harp from the category of a purely folk instrument, turning it into a professional stage instrument with a rich, unique sound.

Currently, interest in the gusli has grown significantly. Modern guslars appeared - storytellers who set out to recreate the ancient tradition of both playing the gusli and singing to the gusli. Along with three types of plucked psaltery, the main playing technique of which is plucking and clanking, keyboard psalteries also appeared. The mechanics installed on them opens the strings when you press the keys, and makes it possible to select the desired chord. This makes it much easier to play the harp as an accompanying instrument.

2. Musical instruments of China

musical folk balalaika

The history of Chinese folk musical instruments goes back several thousand years. Archaeological excavations indicate that more than 2000 years ago, and possibly earlier, various musical instruments were already in use in China. For example, as a result of excavations in the village of Hemudu, Zhejiang province, bone whistles from the Neolithic period were recovered, and in the village of Banpo, Xi'an, a “xun” (a wind instrument made of baked clay) belonging to the Yangshao culture was discovered. In the Yin Ruins, located in Anyang, Henan Province, a “shiqing” (stone gong) and a drum covered with python skin were found. From the tomb of the imperial dignitary Zeng (buried in 433 BC), opened in Suixiang County, Hubei Province, a “xiao” (longitudinal flute), a “sheng” (labial organ), and a “se” (25-string horizontal flute) were recovered. harp), bells, "bianqing" (stone gong), various drums and other instruments.

Ancient musical instruments, as a rule, had a dual use - practical and artistic. Musical instruments were used as tools or household utensils and at the same time for performing music. For example, "shiqing" (stone gong) may have originated from some kind of disc-shaped tool. Additionally, some ancient instruments were used as a means to convey certain information. For example, beating the drums served as a signal to set off on a campaign, beating the gong to signal a retreat, night drums to beat off the night guards, etc. A number of national minorities still have a tradition of expressing love by playing melodies on wind and string instruments.

The development of musical instruments is closely related to the development of social productive forces. The transition from the manufacture of stone gongs to metal gongs and the manufacture of metal bells became possible only after man mastered the technology of metal smelting. Thanks to the invention and development of sericulture and silk weaving, it became possible to make stringed instruments such as the qin (Chinese zither) and the zheng (an ancient plucked musical instrument with 13-16 strings).

The Chinese people have always been distinguished by their ability to borrow useful things from other peoples. Since the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD), many musical instruments have been introduced into China from other countries. During the Han Dynasty, the flute and shukunhou (vertical zither) were imported from the western regions, and in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), dulcimers and sona (Chinese clarinet). These instruments, which became more and more perfect in the hands of masters, gradually began to play an important role in the orchestra of Chinese folk music. It is worth noting that in the history of the development of Chinese folk musical instruments, string instruments appeared much later than percussion, wind and plucked instruments.

According to historical records, the stringed instrument, the sounds from which were extracted using a bamboo plectrum, appeared only in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), and the stringed instrument, the bow of which was made from a horse's tail, appeared in the Song Dynasty (960). -1279). Beginning with the Yuan Dynasty (1206-1368), other stringed instruments were invented on this basis.

After the founding of new China in the middle of the last century, musical figures carried out large-scale work and reform to eliminate a number of shortcomings of folk instruments, manifested in impurity of sound, fragmentation of tuning, imbalance of sound, difficult modulation, unequal pitch standards for various instruments, lack of middle and low instruments register. Musicians have made significant progress in this direction.

Guan

Guan is a Chinese reed wind instrument (Chinese). ), genus Oboe. A cylindrical barrel with 8 or 9 playing holes is made of wood, less often of reed or bamboo. A double reed cane, tied with wire at the narrow part, is inserted into the guan channel. Tin or copper rings are placed on both ends of the instrument, and sometimes between the playing holes. The total length of the guan ranges from 200 to 450 mm; the largest ones have a brass bell. The scale of modern guan is chromatic, range es1-a3 (large guan) or as1 - c4 (small guan). Used in ensembles, orchestras and solos.

In China, guan is widely distributed in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China. In the south, in Guangdong it is also known as houguan (Chinese). 喉管). The traditional Chinese name for this instrument is beli (Chinese). 筚篥) (exactly in this form ( 篳篥 in traditional spelling) it passed into Korean and Japanese).

Banhu

Banhu is a Chinese stringed musical instrument, a type of huqin.

In the 20th century, the banhu began to be used as an orchestral instrument. There are three types of banhu - high, middle and low registers. The most common banhu is the high register.

3. Musical instruments of Kyrgyzstan

The music of the Kyrgyz people is not just singing with music - it is an entire art. Entire communities gathered here to listen to the professional playing of the masters. Akyns (folk performers) are a significant part of the country's musical culture. But that's not all. Kyrgyz music has a myriad of directions, genres and song performance styles.

The music of Kyrgyzstan dates back to the 16th century, when the Kyrgyz people were formed from the tribes of Central Asia. Different parts of the country have their own special music. In the south, for example, there were recitative performances of songs, while the songs of the north of the country, on the contrary, were drawn-out and calm.

The traditional music of Kyrgyzstan was based on many genres: ritual, traditional, labor, epic, lyrical, funeral, satirical, as well as ditties. There were also girls' songs, locally called "kyzdar yry", women's songs - kelinder yry and children's songs called baldar yry, as well as other various genres.

Mentions of singing in ancient times also survive. For example, there were songs “Backbekey” - women sang them in chorus when they guarded the herd at night. The song “Shyryldan” was also sung by the choir, and its melody was drawn-out and sad. Love songs also had a place in the music of the Kyrgyz people.

The formation and improvement of folk musical instruments continued throughout the history of the Kyrgyz people and ended around the 16th century.

The most popular of the Kyrgyz folk instruments is the three-stringed plucked instrument komuz, made from apricot wood.

The two-stringed bowed instrument kyl-kyyak is popular, the soundboard of which is usually made of camel skin.

In folk musical practice, reed lip instruments are also used: temir komuz, made of metal, and zhygach ooz komuz, made of wood.

Chopo-choor

Chopo-choor (clay choor) is a type of Kyrgyz folk wind instrument. It was distributed mainly in the southern, agricultural regions of the republic under various names - chopo choor, ylay choor. Its shape is arbitrary. One of the ancient samples, located in the collection of Professor S. Subanaliev, is made in the form of a small ball of white clay; its height is slightly more than 5 cm. Two playing holes and one muzzle hole are located in such a way that you can simultaneously cover them with the lips and index fingers of both hands (the instrument is supported by the thumbs). Folk chopo choor is not difficult to perform. The timbre is captivating, soft, deep. Obviously, this is why chopo-choor can serve both as a musical toy for children and as an equal instrument in a folklore ensemble. The tool has now been improved. By reconstructing its ancient model, a family of new chopo choors was created.

In ancient times, it was used by the Kyrgyz for grazing livestock. Having heard the sounds of chopo-choor made by the shepherd, the sheep never strayed from the herd, following the shepherd to the place of migration and back.

Temir-Komuz

Kyrgyz folk plucked reed music. tool. A genus of jew's harp. It is an iron (also copper or brass) horseshoe with elongated and tapering ends (length 60-120 mm, width at the base 3.5-7 mm). The tongue is a steel plate fixed in the middle of the horseshoe arc. Pressing the instrument with a horseshoe to the teeth with one hand, the performer on T.-k. (so-called komuzchi) pinch the tongue with the index finger of the other hand, obtaining the basic. tone (usually within f - d1), the resonator is the oral cavity (hence the term common among different peoples for instruments of this kind: German Maultrommel - oral drum, etc.). By changing the shape of the mouth, the performer extracts various. overtone sounds that form a melody. The melody sounds with a continuous bourdon (basic tone). Operating range - within a sixth; the maximum range does not exceed duodecima (the breadth of the range is determined by the performer’s ability to regulate the air supply). T.-k. - a solo instrument, ch. arr. kyu, as well as melodies of folk songs. The technique of the right hand is diverse - with its help, many can be achieved. sound as well as visual effects. Sometimes a performer in T.-k. combines playing with whistling. T.-k. widespread, especially among women and adolescents. Less common among the Kyrgyz is a wooden jaw's harp, called. "Dzhikach-oozkomuz" ».

Conclusion

During this essay, we examined the history of the emergence of musical instruments in Russia, China and Kyrgyzstan. It was very interesting to learn about the origin and structure of such instruments as the gusli, banhu and temir - komuz. After reading all about these instruments and writing this work, I became closer to the culture of these peoples. And this was my main goal. After all, as I already said in the introduction, it is the duty of every person to respect, value and know the culture of their people, as well as study other cultures and treat each of them with respect.

Used Books

2.http://sounds.kg/ru/dyhovie/21 “Chopo-choor”

Http://russian.china.org.cn/russian/219364.htm "The emergence of Chinese folk instruments", "Banhu" "Guan". (China Internet Information Center. China.org.cn) 11/23/2006

Http://antisait.ru/inc/content/strany/kyrgyzstan.php “Music of the Kyrgyz people” 2012

Http://dic.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enc_music/7479/%D0% A2% D0% B5% D0% BC % D0% B8% D1% 80 “Temir - Komuz”

Http://eomi.ws/plucked/gusli/ “Gusli” 2010

Dutar. Du - two. Tar - string. An instrument with fixed frets and two sinew strings. Do you think the fewer strings, the easier it is to play?

Well, then listen to the play of one of the best dutar players - Abdurakhim Khait, a Uyghur from Xinjiang, China.
There is also a Turkmen dutar. The strings and frets of the Turkmen dutar are metal, the body is hollowed out, made from a single piece of wood, the sound is very bright and sonorous. The Turkmen dutar has been one of my favorite instruments for the past three years, and the dutar shown in the photo was brought to me from Tashkent quite recently. Amazing tool!

Azerbaijani saz. The nine strings are divided into three groups, each of which is tuned in unison. A similar instrument in Turkey is called baglama.

Be sure to listen to how this instrument sounds in the hands of a master. If you are short on time, then watch at least from 2:30.
From the saz and baglama came the Greek instrument bouzouki and its Irish version.

Oud or al-ud, if you call this instrument in Arabic. It is from the Arabic name of this instrument that the name of the European lute comes from. Al-ud - lute, lute - do you hear? A regular oud does not have frets - the frets on this example from my collection appeared on my initiative.

Listen to how a master from Morocco plays the oud.


From the Chinese two-string violin erhu with a simple resonator body and a small membrane made of leather came the Central Asian gijak, which in the Caucasus and Turkey was called kemancha.

Listen to how the kemancha sounds when Imamyar Khasanov plays it.


Rubab has five strings. The first four of them are doubled, each pair is tuned in unison, and there is one bass string. The long neck has frets corresponding to the chromatic scale of almost two octaves and a small resonator with a leather membrane. What do you think the downward curved horns coming from the neck towards the instrument mean? Doesn't its shape remind you of a ram's head? But okay form - what a sound! You should have heard the sound of this instrument! It vibrates and trembles even with its massive neck; it fills the entire space around with its sound.

Listen to the sound of the Kashgar rubab. But my rubab sounds better, honestly.



The Iranian tar has a double hollowed body made from a single piece of wood and a membrane made of thin fish skin. Six paired strings: two steel, then a combination of steel and thin copper, and the next pair is tuned to an octave - the thick copper string is tuned an octave below the thin steel. The Iranian tar has intrusive frets made of veins.

Listen to what Iranian tar sounds like.
The Iranian tar is the ancestor of several instruments. One of them is the Indian setar (se - three, tar - string), and I will talk about the other two below.

The Azerbaijani tar has not six, but eleven strings. Six are the same as the Iranian tar, another additional bass and four strings that are not played, but they resonate when played, adding echo to the sound and making the sound last longer. Tar and kemancha are perhaps the two main instruments of Azerbaijani music.

Listen for a few minutes starting at 10:30 or at least starting at 1:50. You have never heard this and could not imagine that such a performance is possible on this instrument. This is played by Imamyar Khasanov’s brother, Rufat.

There is a hypothesis that the tar is the ancestor of the modern European guitar.

Recently, when I talked about the electric cauldron, I was reproached that I was taking the soul out of the cauldron. Probably, about the same thing was said to the person who 90 years ago guessed to put a pickup on an acoustic guitar. Some thirty years later, the finest electric guitars were created and remain the standard to this day. Another decade later, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones appeared, and after them Pink Floyd.
And all this progress has not hindered acoustic guitar manufacturers and classical guitar players.

But musical instruments did not always spread from east to west. For example, the accordion became an extremely popular instrument in Azerbaijan in the 19th century, when the first German settlers arrived there.

My accordion was made by the same master who created instruments for Aftandil Israfilov. Listen to how such an instrument sounds.

The world of oriental musical instruments is large and diverse. I have not even shown you part of my collection, and it is far from complete. But I must definitely tell you about two more tools.
A pipe with a bell at the top is called a zurna. And the instrument underneath is called duduk or balaban.

Celebrations and weddings begin with the sounds of zurna in the Caucasus, Turkey and Iran.

This is what a similar instrument looks like in Uzbekistan.

In Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, zurna is called surnay. In Central Asia and Iran, the lingering sounds of another instrument, the karnay, are necessarily added to the sounds of the surnay and tambourines. Karnai-surnai is a stable phrase denoting the beginning of the holiday.

It is interesting that an instrument related to the carnai exists in the Carpathians, and its name is familiar to many - trembita.

And the second pipe, shown in my photograph, is called balaban or duduk. In Turkey and Iran, this instrument is also called mei.

Listen to how Alikhan Samedov plays the balaban.

We will return to the balaban later, but for now I want to talk about what I saw in Beijing.
As you understand, I collect musical instruments. And as soon as I had a free minute during my trip to Beijing, I immediately went to a musical instrument store. What I bought for myself in this store, I will tell you another time. And now about what I didn’t buy and what I terribly regret.
On the display case stood a pipe with a bell, the design exactly reminiscent of a zurna.
- How does is called? - I asked through the translator.
“Sona,” they answered me.
“How similar it is to “sorna - surnay - zurna” - I thought out loud. And the translator confirmed my guess:
- The Chinese do not pronounce the letter r in the middle of a word.

You can learn more about the Chinese variety of zurna
But, you know, zurna and balaban go hand in hand. Their design has a lot in common - maybe that's why. And what do you think? Next to the son instrument there was another instrument - guan or guanji. This is what he looked like:

This is what he looks like. Guys, comrades, gentlemen, this is what duduk is!
When did he get there? In the eighth century. Therefore, we can assume that it came from China - the timing and geography coincide.
So far, all that is documented is that this instrument spread eastward from Xinjiang. Well, how do they play this instrument in modern Xinjiang?

Watch and listen from the 18th second! Just listen to the luxurious sound of the Uyghur balaman - yes, here it is called exactly the same as in the Azerbaijani language (there is also such a pronunciation of the name).

Let's look for additional information in independent sources, for example, in the Iranica encyclopedia:
BĀLĀBĀN
CH. ALBRIGHT
a cylindrical-bore, double-reed wind instrument about 35 cm long with seven finger holes and one thumb hole, played in eastern Azerbaijan in Iran and in the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Or does Iranika sympathize with Azerbaijanis? Well, the TSB also says that the word duduk is of Turkic origin.
Did Azerbaijanis and Uzbeks bribe the compilers?
Well, okay, you definitely won’t suspect the Bulgarians of sympathizing with the Turks!
on a very serious Bulgarian website for the word duduk:
duduk, dudyuk; duduk, dyudyuk (from Turkish düdük), pishchalka, svorche, glasnik, additional - People's darven musical instrument of the type on the aerophonite, semi-closed trubi.
They again point to the Turkish origin of the word and call it their folk instrument.
This instrument, as it turned out, is widespread mainly among the Turkic peoples, or among the peoples who were in contact with the Turks. And every nation rightfully considers it its folk, national instrument. But only one takes credit for its creation.

After all, only the lazy have not heard that “duduk is an ancient Armenian instrument.” At the same time, they hint that the duduk was created three thousand years ago - that is, in the unprovable past. But facts and elementary logic show that this is not so.

Go back to the beginning of this article and take another look at the musical instruments. Almost all of these instruments are played in Armenia too. But it is absolutely clear that all these instruments appeared among much more numerous peoples with a clear and understandable history, among whom the Armenians lived. Imagine a small people living scattered among other nations with their own states and empires. Will such people create a complete set of musical instruments for an entire orchestra?
I must admit, I also thought: “Okay, those were large and complex instruments, let’s leave them aside. But could the Armenians even come up with a pipe?” But it turns out that no, they didn’t come up with it. If they had come up with it, then this pipe would have a purely Armenian name, and not the poetic and metaphorical tsiranopokh (soul of the apricot tree), but something simpler, more popular, with one root, or even onomatopoeic. In the meantime, all sources point to the Turkic etymology of the name of this musical instrument, and the geography and dates of distribution show that the duduk began its spread from Central Asia.
Well, okay, let's make one more assumption and say that the duduk came to Xinjiang from ancient Armenia. But how? Who brought it there? What peoples moved from the Caucasus to Central Asia at the turn of the first millennium? There are no such nations! But the Turks were constantly moving from Central Asia to the west. They could well have spread this instrument in the Caucasus, and in the territory of modern Turkey and even in Bulgaria, as the documents indicate.

I foresee another argument from defenders of the version of the Armenian origin of the duduk. They say that real duduk is made only from apricot wood, which in Latin is called Prúnus armeniáca. But, firstly, apricots are no less common in Central Asia than in the Caucasus. The Latin name does not indicate that this tree spread throughout the world from the territory of the area bearing the geographical name Armenia. It’s just that it was from there that it penetrated into Europe and was described by botanists about three hundred years ago. On the contrary, there is a version that the apricot spread from the Tien Shan, part of which is in China, and part in Central Asia. Secondly, the experience of very talented peoples shows that this instrument can even be made from bamboo. And my favorite balaban is made from mulberry and sounds much better than the apricot ones, which I also have and were made in Armenia.

Listen to how I learned to play this instrument in a couple of years. The recording was attended by People's Artist of Turkmenistan Hasan Mamedov (violin) and People's Artist of Ukraine, my fellow Fergana resident, Enver Izmailov (guitar).

With all this, I want to pay tribute to the great Armenian duduk player Jivan Gasparyan. It was this man who made the duduk a world-famous instrument; thanks to his work, a wonderful school of playing the duduk arose in Armenia.
But it is legitimate to say “Armenian duduk” only about specific instruments, if they are made in Armenia, or about the type of music that arose thanks to J. Gasparyan. Only those people who allow themselves to make unsubstantiated statements can point to the Armenian origin of the duduk.

Please note that I myself do not indicate either the exact place or the exact time of the appearance of the duduk. It is probably impossible to establish this and the prototype of the duduk is older than any of the living peoples. But I am building my hypothesis about the spread of duduk, based on facts and elementary logic. If someone wants to object to me, then I would like to ask in advance: please, when constructing hypotheses, rely in the same way on provable and verified facts from independent sources, do not shy away from logic and try to find another intelligible explanation for the listed facts.

Extraordinarily rich and varied. Even in ancient times, in the territory of what is now the Near and Middle East, the simplest percussion instruments were used for ritual dances and celebration of significant events. The following is a list of the most common Uzbek musical instruments with names and brief descriptions.

Doira - a type of tambourine

Doira is an Uzbek musical instrument from the percussion family, resembling a tambourine in appearance. Widely distributed in the countries of the Near and Middle East. The instrument is a rim made of dried grapevine (less commonly used beech or walnut), over which a leather membrane is stretched. The average diameter is about 40 cm. When making a modern version of this Uzbek folk musical instrument, metal rings can be used. There are also versions of the doira that are attached to the inside of the main hoop. Usually there are from 40 to 100.

For a clearer and clearer sound, the doira must be heated near a fire or in the sun before playing. Hot air dries the skin stretched over the frame and the tension force of the membrane increases.

In ancient times, this instrument was played exclusively by women. Images dating back to 2000 BC were found in caves in the mountains of the Fergana Valley. e. The pictures depict female figures playing the doira, surrounded by dancers performing ritual actions.

Doira has been improved for many centuries and has now reached a high level. The instrument is used both as an addition to an ensemble of other Uzbek national musical instruments, and as an accompaniment for the voice. The methods of sound production are very diverse: light tapping with the little fingers, strong strikes with the palms, sliding the fingers along the membrane and others. Depending on the placement of your fingers, you can change the pitch of the sound. Striking the middle of the head produces low notes, and as the hands move toward the edge the sound rises. There is also the opportunity to enrich your playing with various ornate rhythmic patterns and all kinds of melismas, such as trills, tremolos, and grace notes. Dynamics are available from the quietest piano to the thunderous forte.

Nagora - analogue of timpani

Another Uzbek musical instrument related to percussion is the nagora. It consists of paired timpani in the form of ceramic pots covered with a leather membrane. The instruments vary in size, resulting in a variety of sounds. Nagora does not have precise tuning, but there are several varieties:

  • Dol-nagora is a large pot designed for extracting deep thuds.
  • The kos-nagora is a medium-sized instrument with a relatively low sound.
  • Rez-nagora - for playing higher notes.

Before performing, Uzbek timpani warm up in the sun. This helps to achieve clear and ringing strikes.

Unlike the doira, the nagora is rarely used as a solo instrument. It is used primarily for playing in an ensemble with woodwind instruments such as karnai and surnai. Less commonly heard in combination with strings (mainly in Armenia). The instrument enriches the works with various rhythmic patterns and helps convey the character of trance or fiery music.

Nai - Eastern Pan Flute

Nai is a woodwind musical instrument with six finger holes. It is made mainly from bamboo wood. Modern versions of this instrument are complemented by brass and tin. The nature of sound production is labial (that is, using the lips). A variety of melodic patterns is achieved using various fingering combinations of fingers, partial and complete closing of the playing holes and varying the intensity of the air flow. The nai is used as a solo and ensemble instrument.

Surnay is a type of woodwind instrument

Surnay is another Uzbek wind musical instrument. It is a narrow pipe that widens at the end. On average, the length of the instrument is 45-55 cm. Surnai has a rather complex mechanism: a small metal tube with bamboo plates is inserted into the upper part. To produce sound, the performer needs to press tightly with his lips a small flat piece called “sadat”. Playing such a trumpet with a double reed requires certain skills and a high level of mastery of the instrument.

Surnai is used mainly in an ensemble during national celebrations. The palette of sound production is quite rich - from smooth legato to fast leaps and melismatic embellishments.

Karnai is a folk Uzbek musical instrument of the brass family. Also widespread in Iran and Tajikistan. The karnai is a straight pipe that flares out at the end. The length of the instrument reaches two meters. The sound produced by the carnay is reminiscent of a trombone. The range does not exceed an octave.

The powerful and strong sound of karnay can be heard at ceremonies and sports games in Uzbekistan. In ancient times, it also served as an instrument for signaling the outbreak of war and boosting the morale of the army.

Chang - an ancient analogue of the dulcimer

Another famous Uzbek musical instrument is the chang. It belongs to the cimbalom genus. It consists of a wooden body in the shape of a trapezoid, on which 42 are stretched. The top deck contains small resonator holes that help improve the sound. Chang is played with two bamboo or reed sticks. The sound is clear, bright and has good duration. The chang is used both as a solo and ensemble instrument.

Sato - bowed string instrument

Sato is an instrument with a thousand-year history and a delightful, mesmerizing sound. The emergence of varieties of stringed instruments in the East dates back to the 10th century. By the beginning of the 20th century, they were on the verge of extinction, however, master Usman Zufarov managed to revive ancient traditions.

The sato is a pear-shaped wooden body with an attached neck on which the frets are applied and the strings are tensioned. Sound production is made by moving the bow along the strings.

The exciting and mysterious music of the East fascinates with its complex rhythms and ornate melodic patterns. The peoples of Asia managed to preserve ancient cultural traditions and the wisdom of centuries, bringing to their contemporaries the real treasure of their ancestors.

Since ancient times, music has occupied a prominent place in the life of the Chinese, as well as other peoples. Ethnographers and musicologists establish that in the early stages of human history, music was closely connected with pantomimic performances and dance.

The origin and development of Chinese musical art

The ancient Chinese associated the appearance of musical works and instruments with the gods in their legends. According to them, the gods considered man their complete creation only when they taught him music. However, a reliable picture of the history of the development of Chinese musical culture can only be recreated on the basis of data from a number of sciences: archeology, ethnography, etc. musicology, literary criticism, etc.

The oldest musical instruments in China (percussion musical instruments - stone plates) were found by archaeologists at Neolithic sites in the valley of the river. Yellow River. The oldest stringed instruments (chuse - se from the ancient kingdom of Chu) date back to the 5th-3rd centuries. BC e. The variety of musical instruments and various musical performances are indicated by inscriptions on bones and shells. In the 2nd millennium BC. e. Bronze musical instruments appeared. Some later sources indicate that already in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. e. hu - crowded song and dance performances were organized, which apparently had a ritual character (they were dedicated to the beginning and end of agricultural work). Gradually, the song as a piece of music separated from the dance. And during the Western Zhou period (XI-VIII centuries BC), a collection of songs “Shijing” (“Book of Songs”) was first compiled from folk songs from various regions of China. Recordings of ancient songs make it possible to talk about differences in the music of songs from different regions of the country (for example, the music of songs from the kingdom of Chu).

In ancient China, the science of music began to be created. The oldest treatise on music, “Yuejing,” was part of a complex of 6 classical books that originally existed in China. “Description of Music” (“Yueji”) was then included as one of the chapters in “Ili” (“Ritualist”), compiled by Confucius himself. Confucius's judgments about music are also found in "Moonlight". Music played a big role in all aspects of Chinese life. This is why the Confucians attached such great importance to music. According to their teachings, musical harmony was supposed to be an indicator of social and political harmony.

Music was held in high esteem at the courts of the Vans in the Zhou era: the performance of songs and dances at the court was in charge of a special court service (Dasiyue). During the Han period, a special music chamber (Yuefu) was established. The Han era saw rapid development of musical culture. It was during this period that new musical instruments appeared (borrowed from outside kunhou - stringed harp-shaped instruments, etc.). It is known what a great influence Buddhism, which penetrated into China, had on the development of Chinese music.

A new flowering of Chinese music occurred during the Tang era. Dunhuang frescoes depict various musicians, singers, and dancers.

Musical recordings of song and dance music of the Tang era have been discovered. At the end of the XIII - beginning of the XIV century. the famous poet and musician Zhang Yan creates the book “Sources of Qi” (“Qiyuan”), which historians of Chinese music consider as the earliest work on vocal art.

In the 18th century The publication of a 62-volume collection of Chinese classical melodies, covering the period of the 8th-17th centuries, was undertaken. Recently, the ancient signs of this set have been translated into modern notes. In the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing eras, Chinese music was enriched due to the influence of the music of other peoples: Mongols, Tibetans, Uighurs, etc., many new musical instruments were borrowed (pipa, erhu, yangqing, etc.) . Since the 17th century orchestral music began to be created in China. In the Ming and Qing eras, music became much more diverse, and the specifics of the music of opera (musical-dramatic) performances were determined.

Melodics of Chinese music

The melodic pattern of Chinese music is always unusually distinct, convex and peculiarly colorful, melodious and at the same time rhythmic.

It is characteristic that the musical notation does not record all the bends of the melody, but only its main core, while the performer arbitrarily strings various decorations on it, and his improvisation sometimes has a very wide amplitude, depending primarily on the skill of the performer.

Although modern choirs sing in many voices, the melody of traditional folk songs is always in unison; In Chinese music, especially ancient music, there is no polyphonic voice guidance, much less complex harmonization of melody. Therefore, a Chinese folk song is essentially a solo song, regardless of the number of singers.

Weak intonation capabilities are largely compensated by a very prominent and emphasized rhythm, and hence the exclusive role of percussion instruments. Due to the emphasis on rhythm in the nature of Chinese music, it is close to poetry.

After all, every Chinese word has a characteristic melodic pattern determined by tone. And it is very likely that in the musicality of Chinese speech one can look for its connection with Chinese music.

Rhythmicity is most characteristic of the music of the northern regions. For example, some researchers associate the origin of yangge (song and dance performance) with extra-melodic, rhythmic drum music, which was then overgrown with melody. In southern Chinese music, the timbre coloring is much brighter; melody, rather than rhythm, comes to the fore. For example, Guangdong music is distinguished by its melody, in which, along with a clear and clear rhythm, generally inherent in Chinese music, the melody flows beautifully, melodiously, freely. melodiousness reminiscent of Indonesian music.

Works of Chinese music are characterized by strict and clear programming. The predominance of landscape paintings is characteristic. Thus, among the musical works of the Chaozhou region (Guangdong Province) we can* name the musical pictures “Festive Boating” and “Reflection of the Autumn Moon on the Surface of the Lake.”

Musical system

The most characteristic feature of the rhythmic scale of Chinese music is the pentatonic scale. With such a sound system, within one octave there are sounds of different heights. The five-sound scale was established around the 4th century. n. e. music theorists of ancient China using mathematical calculations and philosophical reasoning. The most common is the half-tone pentatonic scale, i.e. between adjacent steps the intervals reach a whole tone or semitone. In this feature of Chinese music, there is also a certain limitation of its capabilities.

However, the national style of Chinese music cannot be viewed only from the point of view of the pentatonic scale. The pentatonic modes did not hinder the development of musical culture. Already in the 3rd century. BC e. A seven-sound and then a twelve-sound scale was established. The creation of a complete twelve-note musical scale towards the end of the Zhou era laid the foundation for the further development of Chinese music. The development of musical culture also occurred as a result of influence coming from outside. With Buddhism, elements of the musical culture of India and Central Asia penetrated into China. In the XIV century. Under the influence of Mongolian musical culture, the diatonic scale took shape in Chinese music. Although in China in the 16th century. Chou Tsai-yu used the tempered scale; the tempered scale was not established in Chinese music. Chinese music was still based on five pentatonic scales. And in the nature of the sound of pentatonic music, its capabilities were fully used. Already from ancient times, despite a certain constraint of the scale system, folk music was distinguished by great melodic and intonation richness.

Musical instruments

The lack of flexibility and static nature of the intonation-modal structure is compensated by the rich and very diverse composition of musical instruments that still exist in folk orchestras and theater orchestras.

From the fact that the basis of the musical outline was a clear rhythm, the extremely important role in Chinese music of percussion instruments, which are distinguished by their extreme diversity, is completely clear. And the primacy among all this diversity undoubtedly belongs to the drum (gu); These are double-sided drums tangu, gangu, shugu, dianggu, tambourine-shaped logu, etc., a one-sided small drum banggu. Membrane percussion instruments also include the tambourine-shaped dagu and bajiaogu. Drums were made of wood, pumpkin, clay, and bronze. The drums' membranes were made of leather, bull's bladder and other materials. During performance, the drums are held in hands or placed on special stands. The performer strikes the membrane with a hand and a stick. The use of drums is extremely wide. It will not be an exaggeration to say that without a drum in China, not a single festival is unthinkable, no celebration is unthinkable. The importance of the drum in the orchestra is evidenced by the fact that the drum player essentially performs the functions of the conductor of an orchestra consisting of Chinese national instruments.

Other percussion instruments are also widespread - metal gongs, from which the sound is extracted by striking a wooden mallet, copper cymbals, fansian - stone, jade or, very rarely, metal oblong quadrangular plates suspended on a wooden frame-stand, differing from each other only in thickness, and as a result, when struck with a stick, each one makes its own sound. Particularly noteworthy is the presence of qings (stone gongs, lithophones) - shiqing, teqing or bianqing (a set of qings, differently tuned). A feature of another type of percussion instruments - bronze bells and bells (bozhong and bianzhong - a set of bells) is that the sound is produced by striking the bell with a wooden mallet. Wooden percussion instruments are also used to beat the rhythm: wooden kuaiban plates, as well as castanets such as kaiban, banzi, paiban. The plates were made from hardwood trees. The performer holds one record in his hand on the palm of his hand, striking it with a second record, which he holds in the other hand (banzi), or with a movement of the hand in which he holds a bunch of records, hitting them against each other (paiban). Percussion musical instruments, although rare, include the muyu ("wooden fish") - essentially a kind of wooden bell, usually in the shape of a fish (hence the name of the instrument), from which the sound is also extracted by striking a wooden mallet.

String instruments are also distinguished by great variety: se and zheng - stringed plucked musical instruments such as tabletop gusli. The entire body of the instrument is slightly convex, it is a soundboard; strings, usually silk, are stretched along the entire length of the instrument; a stand is installed under each string, by moving which the instrument is tuned. Play with one (right) hand or both hands. The qixiangqing (a type of zither), the pipa (a type of lute), the kunhou (a type of harp), etc. are highly expressive. The types of stringed bowed musical instruments hu (erhu, sihu, banhu, etc.) are varied. The body of the erhu, for example, is hollow, with a snakeskin soundboard on the upper side. A bamboo neck-neck is inserted into the resonator, containing a pair of pegs for two silk strings, and the strings are tensioned using rotating pegs. They play while sitting, resting the instrument with the resonator leg against the knee, holding it vertically. The bow hair is passed between the strings, the distance between which does not exceed

3-4 mm. In the Chinese folk orchestra, the erhu occupies as important a place as the violin in a symphony orchestra.

Wind instruments are very popular. These are bamboo xiao (a type of longitudinal flute), chi and di (a type of transverse flute), and paixiao (a multi-barrel flute). Xuan was made from clay - an oval-shaped wind instrument with 6 holes for changing the pitch of sounds. Air was blown through the muzzle hole at the top of the xuan.

These tools are very simple. A more complex instrument is the laba (or sona) trumpet - a type of oboe. The body of the lab is an almost conical wooden tube with eight holes, with the help of which the performer changes the pitch of the sound. A very unique instrument is the sheng, which consists of a round body into which a pipe for blowing air and up to 20 bamboo tubes are inserted. Bronze tongues are inserted into oblique cuts at the ends of the tubes. There are holes in the lower part of the tubes, which the performer closes alternately with his fingers when playing.

The sound comes from the vibration of the reeds. Depending on the number of inserted tubes, there are several types of sheng.

Contemporary music and performing arts

During the recent period, especially after the May 4th movement, there has been a rapid process of enrichment of the content and form of new Chinese music. In 1919, composer Hsiao Yu-mei founded a music department at Peking University. This was the first department at a Chinese higher education institution, where classes followed the program of European music schools. A number of such departments arose later at other universities. During this period, patriotic works were created, glorifying love for the motherland and the life of ordinary people. Thus, composer Zhao Yuan-ren wrote “Song of Labor” and “Song of Selling Linen.” With the development of the revolution, revolutionary songs such as “Internationale”, “Varshavyanka”, etc. penetrated into China. With the creation of the CPC and the beginning of revolutionary wars, music began to play an increasingly important role in the struggle of the people. Already in 1932, Nie Er and Lü Ji initiated the creation of a revolutionary musical group that rallied advanced Chinese musicians around them. During his short life (1912-1935), the communist composer Ne Er wrote about 50 fighting revolutionary mass songs, among them “March of the Volunteers,” now approved as the anthem of the PRC. Significant works in Chinese music are “Cantata on the Yellow River” and “Movement for the Rise of Production” by composer Hsi Hsin-hai (1905-1945), which had a great influence on the further development of Chinese music. What is new in revolutionary song is its concreteness, political pointedness, simple language, and sharp expressiveness. A revolutionary song is characterized by brevity, precision and clarity of thought expressed in the text, swiftness, assertiveness, strong-willed rhythm, and a bright, beautiful melody (“Praise to Lenin”, “Song of Workers and Peasants”, “May 1”, “Brother and Sister Raise Virgin Soil”). . The new content and new form did not deprive the song of its national flavor; it remained a Chinese folk song and thereby replenished the treasury of the rich song culture of the people.

With the formation of the People's Republic of China, Chinese musical culture received certain conditions for its development. The works of the first years glorify the people's power, which gave the peasants land, made women a free, equal member of society, etc. The art of song and dance is developing. New genres of music are being mastered. Thus, a group of students from the Shanghai Conservatory wrote a concert for violin and orchestra “Liang Shan-bo and Zhu Ying-tai”, “Youth Concert”. The greatest Chinese composers Ma Sy-tsung and He Lu-ding are working fruitfully. Composer Wu Tseu-qiang wrote the music for the national ballet “The Beauty Fish,” which was staged with great success on the stage of the Central Opera and Ballet Theater in Beijing, staged by P. A. Gusev.

The All-China Association of Music Workers and the Chinese Writers' Union jointly work to collect, record, systematize and study folk music. Folk music is studied and taught in conservatories and music schools. After 1949, almost every enterprise, village, and educational institution created its own amateur art group, local ensembles of national song and dance, musical drama, etc.

The training of musicians is carried out by the Beijing 1 and Shanghai Conservatories. Along with such major masters as violinist Ma Sy-tsung, young musicians who have emerged in recent years, including laureates of the International Competition named after. P. I. Tchaikovsky Liu Shi-kun and Ying Cheng-tsun, as well as Li Ming-qiang (students of Prof. T. P. Kravchenko). Go Shu-ying, a student of the Moscow Conservatory, performs successfully in opera performances. In 1957-1958 The Central Symphony Orchestra was created (chief conductor - Li De-lun, a graduate of the Moscow Conservatory, student of Prof. N. P. Anosov). Numerous folk instrument orchestras conduct successful concert activities. The annual Shanghai Spring music festival attracts a large number of performers.

Soviet music has a tremendous influence on the development of Chinese musical culture. The Chinese people became acquainted with Soviet music through the fighting, mass Soviet song, which began to penetrate into China already during the years of the revolution of 1925-1927. Soviet songs “March of Budyonny”, “Song of the Motherland”, “Katyusha”, “Anthem of the Democratic Youth of the World”, “Moscow Evenings” and others are well known to the Chinese people. Numerous performances by Soviet musicians in China were a great success. Through acquaintance with Soviet music, Chinese musicians mastered the achievements of world musical culture, the Soviet experience of building a new musical culture, national in form, socialist in content.