The origin and development of Chinese musical art. Musical instruments

Gidzhak (gijak, girzhak, gijak, gijjak) is a stringed bowed folk musical instrument of Uzbeks, Tajiks, Karakalpaks, Turkmens, Uighurs. The design of the gidzhak is very close to the Persian kemanche, which is common in Azerbaijan, Iran and Armenia.

In folk musical instruments - all the philosophy and wisdom of the ages. Performed on gidjak folk music, songs, instrumental pieces, maqoms(a vocal-instrumental cyclical genre, the melodic basis of which is most often the intonation of crying). Gidzhak and its varieties, along with other folk instruments, are included in the Uzbek national instrumental orchestras.

Gijak body- spherical, traditionally made from a special variety of pumpkin, wood or other material (for example, a large coconut), covered with leather on top. Instrument sizes vary and often depend on the material from which it is made.

Number of strings modern gidzhak - four, although historically this number was also inconsistent, most often three-stringed gidzhaks were found. In the old days, the gijak had silk strings, today they have metal strings.

It is generally accepted that the gidzhak dates back to the 11th century. invented Avicenna(Abu Ali ibn Sina) - a great Persian scientist, doctor and philosopher who laid the foundation for the field of science of musical instruments (instrument science), described almost all musical instruments existing at that time and compiled a detailed classification of their types.

At classic gidjak game the instrument is held vertically, the sound is extracted with a special short bow in the shape of a bow, although contemporary performers also use a violin bow.

However, there virtuosos who play on the gijak not only classical folk music, but also unusually bright passages. In the video below you can not only listen, what does gidjak sound like but also look virtuosic gidjak game masters of his craft - Uzbek musician Farkhodzhon Gapparov(work "Storm" by Iranian composer Bizhan Mortazavi):

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

Doira - a kind 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 (beech or walnut is less commonly used), on which a leather membrane is stretched. The average diameter is about 40 cm. modern version This Uzbek folk musical instrument can be used with metal rings. There are also versions of doira with attached to the inside of the main hoop. Usually they number from 40 to 100.

For a more sonorous and distinct sound, 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. In the caves of the mountains of the Ferghana Valley, images dating back to 2000 BC were found. e. The pictures show female figures playing the doira, surrounded by dancers performing ritual actions.

The na doira has been improved over many centuries and has now reached high level. The instrument is used both as an addition to the ensemble of other Uzbek national musical instruments, and as an accompaniment for the voice. Sound extraction techniques are very diverse: light tapping with the little fingers, strong blows with the palms, sliding the fingers along the membrane, and others. Depending on the location of the fingers, you can change the pitch. Striking in the middle of the membrane allows you to play low notes, and as you move your hands to the edge, the sound rises. It is also possible to enrich your playing with various ornate rhythmic patterns and all kinds of melismas, such as trills, tremolo, grace notes. Dynamics are available from the quietest piano to the thunderous forte.

Nagora - an analogue of the timpani

Another Uzbek musical instrument related to percussion is nagora. It is a pair of timpani in the form of ceramic pots covered with a leather membrane. Instruments vary in size, which makes it possible to achieve a variety of sounds. Nagora has no fine tuning, but there are several varieties:

• Dol-nagora is a large pot designed to extract deep thuds.
• Kos-nagora is a medium-sized instrument with a relatively low sound.
• Rez-nagora - for the performance of higher notes.

Before the performance, Uzbek timpani are warmed up in the sun. This helps to achieve clear and sonorous beats.

Unlike the doira, the nagora is rarely used as a solo instrument. It is used mainly for playing in an ensemble with woodwind instruments such as karnay and surnay. It can be heard less often in combination with strings (mainly in Armenia). The instrument enriches the compositions with various rhythmic patterns and helps to convey the character of trance or incendiary music.

Nai - Pan's oriental 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 extraction is labial (that is, with the help of lips). A variety of melodic pattern is achieved with the help of various fingering combinations, partial and complete closing of the playing holes and varying the intensity of the air flow. Nye is used as a solo and ensemble instrument.

Surnay - a type of woodwind instrument

Surnay is another Uzbek wind musical instrument. It is a narrow tube, expanding at the end. On average, the length of the instrument is 45-55 cm. Surnay is distinguished by a rather complex mechanism: a small metal tube with bamboo plates is inserted in the upper part. To extract sound, the performer needs to press his lips tightly with a small flat piece called "sadat". Playing such a trumpet with a double reed requires certain skills and a high level of proficiency in the instrument.

Surnay is used mainly in the ensemble during national celebrations. The palette of sound production is quite rich - from smooth legato to fast jumps and melismatic decorations.

Karnay is a folk Uzbek musical instrument of the copper family. Also widely distributed in Iran and Tajikistan. The karnay is a straight tube that widens at the end. The length of the tool reaches two meters. The sound produced by the karnay resembles a trombone. The range does not exceed an octave.

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

Chang - an ancient analogue of cymbals

Another well-known Uzbek musical instrument is the chang. It belongs to the genus cymbals. It consists of a trapezoid-shaped wooden body, on which 42 are stretched. The top soundboard contains small resonator holes that help improve the sound. The chang is played with two bamboo or reed sticks. The sound has purity, brightness and good duration. The chang is used both as a solo and ensemble instrument.

Sato - bowed string instrument

Sato is an instrument with a thousand years of history and a delightful, mesmerizing sound. The emergence of varieties bowed string 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 the ancient traditions.

The sato is a pear-shaped wooden body with an attached neck, on which the frets are applied and the strings are stretched. Sound extraction is made by conducting a bow along the strings.

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

At all times, people devoted part of their lives to culture. So, despite the nomadic lifestyle and various difficult times, the inhabitants Central Asia carried their musical culture through the ages. Thanks to akyns and masters of the past, national instruments have survived to this day almost in the same form as they were 100 and 200 years ago. The peoples of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan can still hear, play or simply hold in their hands the unique musical instruments characteristic of Central Asia.

Let's tell you more about them.

Uzbek karnai

Karnay is a massive wind instrument made of copper and brass alloys. A large trumpet reaches a length of up to 3 meters and allows you to create unique melodies.

Modern Uzbek musicians traditionally use karnai at weddings. These deep solemn sounds symbolize the holiday today. You can hear them not only from the next street, you can even hear them from another quarter of the city. At the festival, melodies, decorated with karnay, loudly and publicly declare that a celebration is being celebrated in this house.

Previously, karnay was used both as a tool for convening warriors, as well as in order to notify the population that an enemy was approaching, a nuisance. The sound of the karnay was heard throughout the village and people were ready for certain actions thanks to the volume of the national wind instrument.

Tajik rubab

The rubab is a stringed instrument great story. It is made by hand from special types of trees. The process of cutting out a jug-shaped body is very painstaking and requires not only great diligence, but also special skills. The secrets of soaking log cabins, stretching the skin of an animal on the main part of a musical instrument, tuning strings and pegs in Tajikistan are passed on only from master to student.

Rubab sounds very lyrical. The strings give rise to a wondrous melody or accompaniment for a poet's song. But real masters of the game can also play Tajik national dance melodies on the rubab, many of which are already countless years old, and they are simply considered traditional folklore.

Kyrgyz komuz

Komuz is a national Kyrgyz stringed musical instrument. It has only three strings, but it has a very sonorous and melodic sound. A real komuz is made from wild apricot (apricot tree). The carpentry process for creating the shape of the komuz, the corresponding recess in the body, the top, the neck, and so on, is very complex and requires great skill. A piece of sawn wood for the future komuz must dry completely; for this, it can be placed in a special dark room for several years.

There are no frets on the neck of the komuz, as well as on some other musical instruments of the peoples of Central Asia. They learn to play it by ear, so not everyone can become a komuzchi (a master of playing the komuz).

The sound of a stringed instrument is practically inimitable, therefore, so many characteristic melodies have been written for the komuz, which are performed by national akyns, both solo and in an ensemble.

Sources of information, photos and videos

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

The origin and development of Chinese musical art

The ancient Chinese in their legends associated the appearance of musical works and instruments with the gods. According to them, the gods considered man their finished 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. Huanghe. The oldest stringed instruments(chuse - se from ancient kingdom Chu) belong to the V-III centuries. BC e. About the variety of musical instruments, about various musical performances say the inscriptions on the bones and shells. In the II millennium BC. e. bronze musical instruments appeared. Some later sources indicate that already in the middle of the II millennium BC. e. khu was arranged - crowded song and dance performances, 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 in the period of the Western Zhou (XI-VIII centuries BC), a set of songs "Shijing" ("Book of Songs") was compiled for the first time from the folk songs of various regions of China. Recordings of ancient songs make it possible to talk about the differences in the music of songs from different regions of the country (for example, the music of the songs of the Chu kingdom).

Musical science began to be created in ancient China as well. The most ancient treatise on music "Yuejing" was part of the complex originally existing in China 6 classic books. "Description of Music" ("Yueji") was then included as one of the chapters in "Ili" ("Rite"), compiled by Confucius himself. Judgments of Confucius about music are also found in the Moon. Music played a big role in all aspects of Chinese life. That is why the Confucians attached such great importance music. According to their teaching, musical harmony was supposed to be an indicator of social and political harmony.

Music enjoyed great honor at the courts of the Wangs in the Zhou era: the performance of songs and dances at the court was in charge of a special court service (Dasyue). During the Han period, a special music chamber (Yuefu) was established. During the Han era, there was a rapid development of musical culture. It was during this period that new musical instruments appeared (kunhou borrowed from outside - stringed harp-like instruments, etc.). It is known what a great influence on the development Chinese music had Buddhism that penetrated China.

A new flowering of Chinese music falls on the Tang era. Dunhuang's frescoes depict various musicians, singers, and dancers.

Notes of song and dance music of the Tang era have been found. At the end of the XIII-beginning of the XIV century. famous poet and musician Zhang Yan creates the book "Sources of Qi" ("Ciyuan"), which is considered by historians of Chinese music as the most early work about vocal art.

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

Melody 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 captures far from all the bends of the melody, but only its main core, while the performer arbitrarily strings various ornaments on it, and his improvisation sometimes has a very wide amplitude, depending primarily on the skill of the performer.

Although modern choirs they 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 the melody. Therefore, the Chinese folk song is essentially solo, regardless of the number of singers.

Weak intonation possibilities are largely compensated for by a very convex and emphasized rhythm, and hence the exceptional 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.

Rhythm 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 then acquired a melody. In South Chinese music, the timbre coloration is much brighter; not the rhythm, but the melody comes to the fore. For example, Guangdong music is distinguished by melodiousness, in which, along with a clear and clear rhythm, generally inherent in Chinese music, the melody flows beautifully, melodiously, freely. melodious, reminiscent of Indonesian music.

The works of Chinese music are characterized by strict and clear programming. The predominance of landscape paintings is characteristic. Thus, among the musical compositions of the Chaozhou region (Guangdong province) one can * name the musical pictures "Festive boating" and "Reflection of the autumn moon on the surface of the lake."

musical scale

Most characteristic feature The old scale of Chinese music is the pentatonic scale. With such a sound system, within one octave contains about sounds - different heights. The five-tone scale was established around the 4th century BC. n. e. musical theorists of ancient China with the help of mathematical calculations and philosophical reasoning. The most common is the non-semitone 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 possibilities.

However, one cannot consider the national style of Chinese music only from the point of view of the pentatonic scale. Pentatonic frets did not hamper the development of musical culture. Already in the III century. BC e. a seven-sound, and then a twelve-sound gamma was installed. By the end of the Zhou era, the creation of a complete twelve-tone musical scale laid the foundation for the further development of Chinese music. The development of musical culture also took place 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 the Mongolian musical culture, the diatonic scale took shape in Chinese music. Although in China in the XVI century. Chou Tsaiyu used a tempered scale, the tempered scale was not established in Chinese music. Chinese music was still based on the five pentatonic scales. And in the nature of the sound of pentatonic music, its possibilities were fully used. Already since ancient times, despite a certain constraint of the sound row system, folk music has been distinguished by great melodic and intonational richness.

Musical instruments

Insufficient flexibility, static intonation-modal structure is compensated by a rich and very diverse composition of musical instruments that still exist in compositions. folk orchestras and theater orchestras.

From the fact that the basis of the musical canvas was a clear rhythm, the extremely important role in Chinese music of percussion instruments, which are extremely diverse, is completely understandable. And the primacy among all this diversity undoubtedly belongs to the drum (gu); these are double-sided drums tangu, gangu, shugu, diangu, tambourine logu, etc., one-sided snare drum bangu. Membrane percussion instruments also include tambourine dagu and bajiaogu. Drums were made of wood, pumpkin, clay, bronze. Drum membranes were made of leather, bull bladder and other material. During the 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 would not be an exaggeration to say that without a drum in China not a single festival is conceivable, no celebration is conceivable. The importance of the drum in the orchestra is evidenced by the fact that the drummer 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 hitting a wooden mallet, copper cymbals, fangsyan - 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 emits its own sound. The presence of qings (stone gongs, lithophones) - shiqing, teqing or bianqing (a set of qings tuned differently) should be especially emphasized. A feature of another kind of percussion instruments - bronze bells and bells (bozhong and bianzhong - a set of bells) is that the sound is extracted by striking the bell with a wooden mallet. To beat the rhythm, wooden percussion instruments are also used: wooden plates kuaiban, as well as castanets such as kaiban, banzi, paiban. The plates were made from hardwood trees. The performer holds one plate in his hand in the palm of his hand, hitting it with the second plate, which he holds in the other hand (banzi), or with the movement of the hand in which he holds a bunch of plates, hits them against each other (paiban). Among the percussion musical instruments, although rare, is the muyui (“wooden fish”), essentially a kind of wooden bell, usually in the form of a fish (hence the name of the instrument), from which the sound is also extracted by hitting a wooden mallet.

String instruments are also distinguished by a great variety: se and zheng - stringed plucked musical instruments such as table harp. The whole body of the instrument is slightly convex, it is a deck, 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. Qixian-qing (a kind of zither), pipa (a kind of lute), kunhou (a kind of harp), etc., are very expressive. The type of bowed musical instruments hu (erhu, sihu, banhu, etc.) is diverse. The erhu body, for example, is hollow, with a snakeskin soundboard on the upper side. A bamboo neck-vulture is inserted into the resonator, there are a pair of pegs for two silk strings in it, with the help of rotating pegs the strings are stretched. They play sitting, the instrument rests against the knee with the resonator leg, holding it vertically. The hair of the bow is passed between the strings, the distance between which does not exceed

3-4 mm. in a Chinese orchestra folk instruments The erhu is as important as the violin in a symphony orchestra.

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

These tools are very simple. A more complex instrument is the laba (or son) trumpet, a kind of oboe. The body of the laba is an almost conical wooden tube with eight holes, through which the performer changes the pitch. A very peculiar instrument is the sheng, which consists of a round body, into which a branch pipe for blowing air and up to 20 bamboo tubes are inserted. Bronze tongues are inserted at the ends of the tubes in oblique sections. Holes are made in the lower part of the tubes, which the performer, when playing, closes alternately with his fingers.

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

Contemporary music and performing arts

Behind last period, especially after the May 4th movement, there is a rapid process of enrichment in the content and form of new Chinese music. In 1919, the composer Xiao Yu-mei at Peking University founded music department. It was the first branch under the Chinese Higher educational institution, where classes were held according to the program of European music schools. A number of such departments arose later at other universities. During this period, patriotic works are created that glorify love for the motherland, the life of the common people. Thus, the composer Zhao Yuan-jen wrote "The Song of Labor" and "The Song of the Sale of the Canvas". With the development of the revolution, such revolutionary songs as "The Internationale", "Varshavyanka" and others penetrate into China. With the creation of the CPC and the outbreak of revolutionary wars, music begins to play an increasingly important role in the struggle of the people. As early as 1932, Nie Er and Lu Ji initiated the creation of a revolutionary musical group that rallied leading Chinese musicians around itself. Communist composer Nie Er for his short life(1912-1935) wrote about 50 militant revolutionary mass songs, among them the "March of the Volunteers", now approved as the anthem of the PRC. Significant works in Chinese music are the Cantata on the Yellow River and the Movement for the Rise of Production by the composer Xi Xing-hai (1905-1945), which had a great influence on the further development of Chinese music. What is new in the revolutionary song is its concreteness, political sharpness, simple language, sharp expressiveness. revolutionary song characterized by brevity, clarity and clarity of thought expressed in the text, swiftness, assertiveness, strong-willed rhythm, bright beautiful melody (“Praise to Lenin”, “Song of Workers and Peasants”, “May 1”, “Brother and Sister Raise Virgin Soil”). New content and new form they did not take away its national color from the song, it remained a Chinese folk song and thus 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. In the works of the first years it is sung people's power, which gave land to the peasants, made a woman a free and equal member of society, etc. Song and dance musical art is developing. New genres of music are being explored. Thus, a group of students from the Shanghai Conservatory wrote a concerto for violin and orchestra "Liang Shan-bo and Zhu Ying-tai", " Youth Concert". The greatest Chinese composers Ma Si-tsun and He Lu-ding are working fruitfully. Composer Wu Tseu-chiang wrote the music for national ballet"Beauty-fish", with great success on the stage of the Central Opera and Ballet Theater in Beijing, staged by P. A. Gusev.

The All China Music Workers' Association and the Chinese Writers' Union are working together to collect, record, organize and study folk music. The study and teaching of folk music is carried out in conservatories and music schools. After 1949, almost every enterprise, in the village, in the educational institution created its own amateur art group, local ensembles national song and dance, musical drama, etc.

The musicians are trained by Beijing 1 and Shanghai Conservatory. Along with such great masters as the violinist Ma Si-tsun, those who have advanced in last years young musicians, including laureates International Competition them. P. I. Tchaikovsky Liu Shi-kun and Ying Cheng-tsun, as well as Li Ming-chiang (student of Prof. T. P. Kravchenko). Guo Shu-ying, a pupil of the Moscow Conservatory, successfully performs in opera performances. In 1957-1958. created the Central Symphony Orchestra ( chief conductor- Li De-lun, graduate of the Moscow Conservatory, student of prof. N. P. Anosova). Successful concert activities are conducted by numerous orchestras of folk instruments. A large number of performers collect annual music festivals"Shanghai Spring".

Soviet music has an enormous influence on the development of Chinese musical culture. WITH Soviet music The Chinese people got to know each other through the fighting, mass Soviet song, which began to penetrate China already during the years of the revolution of 1925-1927. Soviet songs "March of Budyonny", "Song of the Motherland", "Katyusha", "Hymn of the Democratic Youth of the World", " Moscow Nights» and others are well known 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 in building a new musical culture, national in form, socialist in content.

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

Well, then listen to one of the best dutar players, Abdurahim Khait, an Uighur from Xinjiang, China.
There is also a Turkmen dutar. The strings and frets of the Turkmen dutar are metal, the body is hollowed out of a single piece of wood, the sound is very bright, sonorous. The Turkmen dutar has been one of my favorite instruments over 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 have little time, then watch at least starting at 2:30.
From 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 originated. Al-ud - lute, lute - do you hear? The usual oud has no frets - the frets on this specimen from my collection appeared on my initiative.

Listen to how a master from Morocco plays the oud.

From the Chinese two-stringed erhu violin with a simple resonator body and a small leather membrane, the Central Asian gidjak originated, which in the Caucasus and Turkey was called kemancha.

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

The rubab has five strings. The first four of them are doubled, each pair is tuned in unison, and the bass string is one. The long neck has frets in accordance with the chromatic scale for 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? Does its shape remind you of a sheep'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 all the 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-out body made from a single piece of wood and a membrane made from fine fish skin. Six paired strings: two steel strings, followed by a combination of steel and thin copper, and the next pair is tuned to an octave - a thick copper string is tuned an octave below the thin steel. The Iranian tar has forced frets made of veins.

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

Azerbaijani tar has not six, but eleven strings. Six of the same as the Iranian tar, an additional bass string and four unplayed strings that resonate when played, adding echoes 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 13:50. You have never heard such a thing and could not imagine that such a performance is possible on this instrument. This is played by the brother of Imamyar Khasanov - Rufat.

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

Recently, when I talked about the electric cauldron, they reproached me - they say, I take out the soul from the cauldron. Probably, about the same thing was said to a person who, 90 years ago, guessed to put a pickup on an acoustic guitar. About thirty years later, the best examples of electric guitars were created, which remain the standard until today. A decade later, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and Pink Floyd followed.
And all this progress did not interfere with the manufacturers. acoustic guitars and classical guitar players.

But musical instruments did not always spread from east to west. For example, the accordion has become unusually popular instrument in Azerbaijan in the 19th century, when the first German settlers appeared there.

My accordion was made by the same master who made instruments for Aftandil Israfilov. Hear what this instrument sounds like.

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

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

Here 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. Karnay-surnay is a stable phrase denoting the beginning of the holiday.

Interestingly, an instrument related to karnay exists in the Carpathians, and its name is familiar to many - trembita.

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

Listen to how Alikhan Samedov plays the balaban.

We will return to the balaban, but for now I want to talk about what I saw in Beijing.
As far as you understand, I collect musical instruments. And as soon as I had a free moment during my trip to Beijing, I immediately went to the musical instrument store. What I bought myself in this store, I will tell you another time. And now that I did not buy and what I regret terribly.
In the window there was a pipe with a bell, the design exactly resembling a zurna.
- How does is called? I asked through an interpreter.
- Sona, - they answered me.
- How similar to "sorna - surnay - zurna" - I thought aloud. And the translator confirmed my guess:
- The Chinese do not pronounce the letter r in the middle of a word.

You can read 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 sona instrument was another instrument - the guan or guanji. Here's what it looked like:

Here's what it looks like. Guys, comrades, gentlemen, but this is the duduk!
And when did he get there? In the eighth century. Therefore, it can be assumed that it came from China - the timing and geography coincide.
So far, it is only documented that this tool spread to the east from Xinjiang. Well, how do they play this instrument in modern Xinjiang?

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

And let's eat Additional information in independent sources, for example, in the Iranian encyclopedia:
BALABAN
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 the Azerbaijanis? Well, the TSB also says that the word duduk is of Turkic origin.
Azerbaijanis and Uzbeks bribed the compilers?
Well, well, you definitely won’t suspect the Bulgarians of sympathy for the Turks!
on a very serious Bulgarian site for the word duduk:
duduk, dudyuk; duduk, dudyuk (from the Turkish düdük), squeaker, svorche, glasnik, additional - Naroden darven is a musical instrument of the aerophonite type, half-closing pipes.
Again they point to the Turkish origin of the word and call it their folk instrument.
This tool is widespread, as it turned out, mainly among the Turkic peoples, or among the peoples who had contact with the Turks. And every nation reasonably considers it to be its national, national instrument. But only one takes credit for its creation.

After all, only the lazy did not hear 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 an unprovable past. But the facts and elementary logic show that this is not so.

Go back to the beginning of this article and take another look at musical instruments. Almost all of these instruments are played in Armenia too. But it is quite clear that all these tools appeared in much more numerous nations with a clear and understandable history, among which the Armenians lived. Imagine a small people living in dispersion among other peoples with their own states and empires. Will such a people create a complete set of musical instruments for an entire orchestra?
Frankly, I also thought: “Okay, those were big and complex instruments, let’s leave them aside. But at least the Armenians could come up with a pipe?” And it turns out that no, they didn't. If they came up with it, then this pipe would have a purely Armenian name, and not the poetic and metaphorical tsiranopokh (the soul of an apricot tree), but something simpler, more popular, with one root, or completely onomatopoeic. So far, 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 distribution from Central Asia.
Well, let's make one more assumption and say that the duduk came to Xinjiang from ancient Armenia. But how? Who brought him there? What peoples migrated 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 spread this tool in the Caucasus, and on the territory of modern Turkey and even in Bulgaria, as the documents indicate.

I foresee one more argument of the defenders of the version of the Armenian origin of the duduk. Like, a real duduk is made only from an apricot tree, which in Latin is called Prúnus armeniáca. But, firstly, apricots in Central Asia are no less common than in the Caucasus. The Latin name does not indicate that this tree has spread throughout the world from the area bearing geographical name Armenia. Just from there 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 apricot ones, which I also have and are made just in Armenia.

Listen to how I learned to play this instrument in a couple of years. Participated in the recording National artist Turkmen Gasan Mammadov (violin) and People's Artist of Ukraine, my countryman from Fergana, Enver Izmailov (guitar).

With all this, I want to pay tribute to the great Armenian duduk performer Jivan Gasparyan. It was this man who made the duduk an instrument known throughout the world, thanks to his work a wonderful school of playing the duduk arose in Armenia.
But talkin' Armenian duduk" is valid only about specific instruments if they are made in Armenia, or about the type of music that arose thanks to J. Gasparyan. Indicate Armenian origin duduk can only those people who allow themselves unsubstantiated assertions.

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