Essay Example on Russian Music: From 11th C. to USSR

Russian music history started in the 11th century, but it was only vocal music. There was no use of instruments in the early days, and even the Russian Orthodox Church had prohibited the use. Later in the 19th century, the instruments were introduced back, and the ban lifted after the USSR overruled the Orthodox Church. There are four types of instruments; Aerophones, Membranophones, Chordophones and Idiophones. Some of the traditional instruments include; balalaika, gudok, gusli, rohzok (Van den Toorn, & McGinness, 2012). This essay tries to explain the various Russian traditional instruments and their functions in Russian culture.

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Chordophones are string instruments. The first instrument is the balalaika. It is a three-stringed triangular lute where the strings are supported by a neck and a bridge that rests over a chamber like a guitar. There are many types of balalaikas depending on their sizes, tone, color, pitch and volume for example; prima balalaika, piccolo balalaika, secunda balalaika and bass balalaika. The lower the pitch, the bigger the balalaika. The bass balalaikas are even played with leather because their strings are so tightly tied that it would be painful to pluck with fingers. For centuries the balalaika was a popular instrument played by the Skomorokhs to entertain people (Taruskin, 1992). It also used by different bands as a trademark of the Russian folk music special tours.

Secondly, there is the gudok which means hooter in Russian. It is a string instrument that consisted of an oval-shaped dug out the wooden case, a flat sounding board with holes and a short fingerboard with a straight head. Its prominent feature was the continuous sounding of the bottom strings. The bow touched all the strings simultaneously while playing. It is sometimes likened to some instruments in other cultures such as; Bulgarian Gadulka and Lirista. An interesting fact about the gudok is that it was recorded in an archaeological excavation of Veliky Novgorod. It was commonly used in small gatherings both with other instruments or their relatives.

Aerophones are ones which produce sound by using the tube of air. Under aerophones, there are; garmon and zhaleika. Garmon is a free-reed instrument. Its name is derived from the Russian word 'garmonika' which means "harmonics". The garmon has two rows of buttons at the right and left side (Zguta, 1972). The buttons on the left side play the diatonic scale while those on the right play the primary chord as well as the relative harmonic minor key. There are two major classes of garmons; the unisonoric and the bisonoric. The difference is that the unisonoric plays the same note while pulling and pushing the bellows and the bisonoric plays the same note while pushing and pulling the bellows. Different garmons were invented in the 19th and 20th century they include; Tula garmon, khromka, Vyatka garmon and livenka (Slonimsky, 2003). The player is the one who determines the sound duration; it is dependent on how long the player stretches the bellows and pulls them back.

Moreover, in the aerophones family, there is zhaleika, also known as the bryolka. It is a wooden pipe that is 10-30 cm long and 3-7 finger holes that allow changing the sound pitch. The reed is made out of either of cane or goose feather and the bell out of cow horn or bitch bark (Muktupavels, 2002). There are two types of zhaleikas; the single and the double-sided one. The double-sided zhaleika differs from the single one in that the double is made of two singles with a familiar bell. It has a sad, compassionate, nasal and melancholy melody. The double-sided are used for both one-voiced and double-voiced playing. Double zhaleikas are more prevalent in the southern lands of Russia while the single ones are more spread in the northern parts. It is played with high pitch and amplitude to express the highlight and power of the rhythm. Shepherds mostly used the instrument for performing tunes.

The membraphones are not commonly known, but the Buben is an instrument that has been there for the longest time (Bongers, 1998). Most times it is referred to as the tambourine, but it has a tight membrane stretched over unlike the normal tambourine, this difference allows the Buben to be struck and be played as a drum. Its unique characteristic allows it to be classified both as a membraphones and idiophones (Kale-Lostuvali, 2007). It consists of a metal or wooden hoop with clanking metal rings, cymbals, plates or little bells. It can be played in many ways from stroking or shaking the jingles to striking it with a hand or using drum sticks. It has a short duration and a low pitch but has a wide range of volume as it is controlled by how hard it is hit.

Lastly, there are idiophones. They are percussion instruments that are not drums but in the form of rattles. They are hit together to produce different sounds. The treshchotka is among this type of musical instrument. It is made of up to 20 small wooden plates strung at the same ends on two cords (Dobrikova, 2015). The plates are tightly held by some sturdy string, to make sure the plates do not press against each other they are separated by a small piece of material about 2cm thick between each plate. It is mainly used to imitate hand-clapping and cracking. The pitch is moderate and has a short duration, but the volume is determined by how much energy and strength is used in playing it. It was used for accompaniment of folk dances and songs.

In addition to the idiophones, there are musical spoons. They differ from ordinary wooden spoons in that the wood used to make them is more laborious, also elongated, painted and polished to make them prettier and more comfortable to play. They are commonly used in performances in Russian Orchestras and folk music. In conclusion, the musical instruments were mainly used to add rhythm to music and are also used as a way to identify the Russian culture and history.

References

Bongers, A. J. (1998). Tactual display of sound properties in electronic musical instruments. Displays. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0141938298000134

Dobrikova, M. (2015). Signalling Function of Musical Instruments from the Aspect of Ethnophraseology. Ezikov sviat-Orbis Linguarum. Retrieved from https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=309029

Kale-Lostuvali, E. (2007). Varieties of musical nationalism in Soviet Uzbekistan. Central Asian Survey. Reviewed from https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=309029

Muktupavels, V. (2002). Musical instruments in the Baltic region: Historiography and traditions. The world of music. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/41699450

Slonimsky, N. (2003). Nicolas Slonimsky: Writings on Music: Russian and Soviet Music and Composers. Routledge. Retrieved from https://content.taylorfrancis.com/books/download?dac=C2012-0-02672-9&isbn=9781135881320&format=googlePreviewPdf

Taruskin, R. (1992). 'Entoiling the falconet': Russian musical orientalism in context. Cambridge Opera Journal. Retrieved from https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/cambridge-opera-journal/article/entoiling-the-falconet-russian-musical-orientalism-in-context/B028849565E8FFFED51E0600932B248B

Van den Toorn, C., & McGinness, J. (2012). Stravinsky and the Russian Period: Sound and Legacy of a Musical Idiom. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/mts.2011.33.2.216

Zguta, R. (1972). Skomorokhi: The Russian Minstrel-Entertainers. Slavic Review. Retrieved from https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/slavic-review/article/skomorokhi-the-russian-minstrelentertainers/45463226FDE513ED6209748825995BE7