Kazakh musical instrument dombra (photo)

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Kazakhstan is an amazing and beautiful country whose culture never ceases to amaze. Even if you look only at a number of unique musical instruments, you begin to understand that this is an extraordinary people. Kobyz, zhetygen, sybyzgy, sherterb, asyatayak - where else can you find such instruments? The uniqueness and uniqueness of each nation is something that no one can ever take away from humanity. Such riches of the culture of the Republic of Kazakhstan will be discussed further.

Kazakh music

For the Kazakh people, music has always been something supernatural and everyday at the same time. The legends of this people speak of its unearthly origin. At the same time, for any Kazakh, being a musician is like being able to walk or talk. It is worth noting that Kazakh culture is characterized by solo performances, where the musician manifests himself as an artist who creates right in front of the public. Previously, it was very rare to meet any ensembles or even duets. And if people sang together, then most often in unison.

One of the main musical instruments of Kazakhstan

Here we will talk about a unique masterpiece. Dombra is a musical instrument that is considered to be the national treasure of the Republic of Kazakhstan. It is mainly distinguished by the fact that it has only two strings, but this does not limit it in any way. Anyone who knows how to play the dombra will be able to create beautiful and absolutely complete music using just these two strings. It is important to mention here that dombra can easily be both a solo instrument and play in a large orchestra, creating a unique musical background.

Dombra is a plucked musical instrument. This means that sound is extracted from it in one of the following ways:

1. Pinch.
2. With a stroke of the brush.
3. With the help of a mediator.

As a result, we get a quiet, gentle and soft sound, which is suitable for both loud orchestral music and quiet and lyrical solo themes.

Part of Kalmyk culture

An interesting fact is that the dombra is a Kalmyk musical instrument exactly the same as the Kazakh one. The Kalmyks did not have full-fledged and professional singing in ensembles and even the theater. It was common for them to hear all sorts of solo performances, which were organized by storytellers accompanied by music. It was precisely for this accompaniment that the dombra was used. Often, along with this action, they begin to dance and sing along in unison. Dombra(a musical instrument, the photo of which you will see below) has firmly entered the culture of Kalmykia, which should never be forgotten.

What is it made of?

The musical instrument dombra, like any other, has its own components. In many ways, they are typical for plucked products, but it will be very interesting to examine them better. So, the dombra design includes:

1. Corpus (in Kazakh culture - shanak). It acts as a sound wave amplifier like other similar instruments.
2. Deca (in Kazakh culture - kakpak). Not only amplifies sound waves, but also gives them a characteristic sound coloring, thereby forming the timbre of the instrument. Depending on the shape or irregularities of the soundboard for seemingly identical instruments, this timbre can vary quite a lot.
3. Stand. Almost the entire sound of the instrument depends on the qualities, weight, shape and tuning of this part. It directly affects the strength, evenness and timbre of the dombra.
4. Strings. They are the source of sound, which means that nothing will work without them.

Traditional for dombra have always been gut strings, which were made from the insides of a goat or a ram. At one time, strings made from the intestines of a sheep that was already two years old were considered the highest quality. They gave the sound a lower tone, and this was exactly what was characteristic of traditional Kazakh music. Now the strings are most often made from fishing line. Forall other elements of dombra, any quality wood will do.

Diversity of species

Kazakh musical instrument dombra has several varieties. It is important to say here that although there is a three-stringed instrument in the classification of its types, the two-stringed dombra is a classic representative of its family. So, there are the following types of this stringed instrument:

1. Two-string.
2. Three-string.
3. Widebody.
4. Double sided.
5. Podgriffon.
6. Hollow neck.

What do they do on dombra?

We continue to consider what dombra is (photos are presented in the article). This section tells, perhaps, the most important thing about this tool. You don't know what it can be used for yet?

No matter how surprising it may sound, you can play any music on the dombra - from classical works and folk motives to modern pop music. To do this, you just need to learn how to handle these two strings and, of course, train a lot. Although earlier ensembles with dombra were something incredible, but today she can play with any other instrument in a pair or even in an orchestra. Together with other folk stringed-plucked instruments, it sounds very harmonious and pleasant.

Although it is quite possible to perform music of any genre on dombra, kui is considered its main asset. The steppe peoples have been performing this music for hundreds of years for their own pleasure, and their ignorance of musical literacydoes not stop.

Kyuy can be performed in two styles: fight and shertpe. The first option is familiar and familiar to us, but the second one involves playing by lightly pulling the string. Shertpe was started by the Kazakh hero Tatimbet around the 19th century.

A lot of musicians tried to master playing the dombra and it turned out to be difficult or even overwhelming for them. The whole secret was that it is very difficult to understand how two strings can create complete and absolutely beautiful music.

Dombra and domra are the same thing?

Very often people use these two words as synonyms, giving them the same meaning. If you allowed yourself to do this, then it was a huge mistake. Even people with a musical education do not always know the difference between these instruments, so more will be said about this later.

The musical instrument dombra, as already mentioned, is a two-string, while domra is a three- or four-string masterpiece that Russian culture is already proud of.

The common thing for these two instruments is that they are plucked, and picks are used to extract sound for them. In history and culture, they were used for approximately the same purposes.

What is domra in music?

So that you can imagine domra, you don't need to fantasize much. It is very similar to a balalaika, but its main body is not triangular, but oval. Domra consists of three main parts, and in this it is quite similar to dombra. Mosta common type is a small dombra, the body of which is a hemisphere. In addition to the body, the instrument consists of a neck, often called a neck, and a head.

One more thing to say about the body is that it includes such elements as a body, a soundboard, buttons for fastening strings and a saddle.

Instead of a conclusion

It's no secret that folk musical instruments have always had not only great cultural value in their homeland, but also had a significant impact on modern music. Quite often it may seem that folk motifs are dying out along with a huge number of other cultural traditions. But in fact, the younger generation will never forget their story if we tell it to them. And this directly applies to music. The musical instrument dombra in Kazakhstan and Kalmykia or domra in Russia is our property. Growing up, our children begin not only to respect such things, but also to revive them.