Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
3,587,742,117 visitors served.
forum Join the Word of the Day Mailing List For webmasters
?
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

Balalaika

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.
balalaika (băləlī`kə), Russian stringed musical instrument, with a triangular body and a long fretted neck fretted instrument. Usually there are three strings, which are generally plucked with a pick. The balalaika is made in various sizes, and several may be combined to make a band or orchestra. A similar instrument, the bandura, is found in Ukraine and Russia, and other types are to be found in the countries of the Middle East, where the balalaika almost certainly originated. The instrument did not appear in Russia until c.1700. Like the guitar, it has been much used to accompany folk songs and country dances.

balalaika

Russian stringed instrument with a triangular body, three strings, and movable frets on its fingerboard. It comes in six sizes, from piccolo to double bass. It developed in the 18th century from the dombra. It has been primarily a solo folk instrument for accompanying song and dance, but is also played in large balalaika orchestras.


balalaika
a plucked musical instrument, usually having a triangular body and three strings: used chiefly for Russian folk music

Balalaika 

Russian stringed pizzicato instrument. As a rule the body is triangular in shape; the neck has frets and three strings (in earlier models, two). The sound is produced chiefly by strumming all strings with the index finger of the right hand and by plucking separate strings. In the 18th and 19th centuries it was widely used as a solo and ensemble instrument and to accompany singing. In the 1880’s it was perfected by V. V. Andreev and the instrumental masters F. S. Paserbskii and S. I. Nalimov. The family of balalaikas created later forms the basis of Russian folk instruments orchestras. Outstanding performers on the balalaika were V. V. Andreev, B. S. Troianovskii (1883–1951), N. P. Osipov (1896–1945), and P. I. Necheporenko (born in 1916). Major works for balalaika written by Soviet composers include concertos for balalaika and orchestra by S. N. Vasilenko, M. M. Ippolitov-Ivanov, and others.

REFERENCES

Babkin, B. “Balalaika: Ocherki istorii ee razvitiia i usovershen-stvovaniia.” Russkaia muzykal’naia gazeta,1896, nos. 6–7, 9.
Sokolov, F. V. Russkaia narodnaia balalaika. Moscow, 1962.

K. A. VERTKOV



How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Feedback
Mentioned in?  References in classic literature?   Encyclopedia browser?   Full browser?
No references found
 
All of a sudden there was a great uproar of shouting, singing and the balalaika, and from the tavern a number of big and very drunken peasants came out, wearing red and blue shirts and coats thrown over their shoulders.
 
 
 
Encyclopedia
?

Terms of Use | Privacy policy | Feedback | Copyright © 2012 Farlex, Inc.
Disclaimer
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.