Musical instrument zhaleika: description, history. Zhaleyka - an old Russian folk wind wooden musical instrument Origin, history of zhaleyka

Zhaleika refers to simple musical instruments. Learning to play the zhaleyka is available to everyone, you just need to make some efforts to master the technique of sound production on the instrument.

Sound production on a zhaleyka requires a stronger air pressure than, for example, on a recorder, where the principle of sound production is completely different. In order to understand the necessary air pressure for the harmonious sound of the zhaleyka, you should play notes on the instrument from the bottom up with the button accordion or piano on the “legato” (connected), then two notes on the “legato”. After you have achieved a clear, harmonious sound, you need to play intervals, starting from the bottom note from a second onwards (example: Do-Re, Do-Mi, Do-Fa, etc.). Then you can combine intervals from top to bottom. Also, start the exercise on "legato", then you can move on to "non-legato" and "staccato" (jerky).

Below is the application. The scheme will help you understand the correct position of the hands and fingers when playing the instrument using the example of the C Major pitty.

Please familiarize yourself with the layout of the notes on the instrument using the example of the zhaleyka in C Major. We draw your attention to the fact that the holes must be closed tightly.

It is advisable not to remove the cap from the zhaleyka unless absolutely necessary, so as not to bend the reed and not to disturb the instrument's order. If it is necessary to adjust the instrument, the upper ring (which is located on the beep of the instrument and holds the reed), depending on whether the blade is high or low, must be moved up (if it is low) or down (if it is high) gently by a fraction of a millimeter.

Is a pity. It is a wind reed musical instrument, which was very popular among the population of Slavic peoples. There is an opinion that the progenitor of such a reed wind instrument with a single reed, like a clarinet, was the same pity. However, this is attributed to both the Hungarian tarogato and the medieval chalumeau.

general description

Musical instrument zhaleyka is a tube, the material for which is a reed or reed plant, with a bell at the end, made of upper layers birch bark or animal horn. Sometimes willow or elderberry was used for the main tube.

There are zhaleyki (the description is presented in the article) according to the configuration, they are bifurcated or single-tube. The length of the instrument ranges from 10-20 cm, while the number of holes on the tube for extracting sound can be from three to seven. In some southern territories of Russia, the local population fastened a bell to a forked pity.

The musical instrument zhaleika is quite easy to use. Anyone can handle it, as it does not require trained breathing or any other special musical skills.

This wind instrument can be used in solo program, play melodies in a duet or be part of an ensemble.

Etymology of the instrument

Initially, the tool was positioned as a shepherd's pity, as it was used to attract attention and collect livestock and sheep by the shepherd himself. Zhaleika became widespread in the territorial regions modern Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania. To date, it can be seen only at concerts held by folklore folk ensembles.

Russian zhalomeyka is also known as zhalomeyka. The writer and publicist Vladimir Mikhnevich draws the attention of the public to the similarity of the root in the words "sorry" and "sorry". The Novgorod people called the ancient pagan burial mound type a pity. Another meaning of the word is associated with ancient cemetery or graveyard. In this regard, V. Mikhnevich suggested that the instrument was used during rituals that were held in memory of the deceased after burial or at certain times of commemoration.

Historical digression

Wind musical instruments were the most important component of Russian folk music and an integral part of the national culture. The first musical instruments were reliably noticed by scientists as early as the thirteenth century BC. First appeared percussion instruments, and then wind, various pipes and whistles. IN Ancient Rus' musical instruments were widely used among shepherds and court buffoons: pity, flutes and horns.

Also, these musical devices have found application in military squads. Kievan Rus. At the princely courts, the sound of pity could be heard during various solemn meetings and fun.

Some Russian tsars tried to destroy the culture of these musical instruments, persecuted musicians and imposed bans on the use of music. At that time, the national Russian folk music suffered heavy losses in musical culture. But the nationwide love for musicians and their creations did not allow the beloved traditions and instruments to disappear.

folk instrument

At the end of the nineteenth century, Russian society grew interested in its own history and national culture. This happened thanks to some researchers in the field of various folk instruments. At the same time, the Russian musician, composer and virtuoso balalaika player V. V. Andreev, organizer and leader of the first folk instrument orchestra in the history of Russia, conducted successful work on the revival of Russian instruments and their modernization. Simultaneously with these works, attempts were made to improve the zhaleyka, flute and key chains.

By the way, a keychain is one of the names of a zhaleyka used in the Tver region. There, the instrument was made of willow, or, as they called locals, nonsense. This is where the name of the keychain comes from. Unlike the zhaleyka, which was used by the shepherds, the keychain has a more gentle and delicate melodic movement. This is due to the fact that musical subject made entirely of wood.

In different regions of vast Russia, zhaleyka and its derivatives are known under various titles. So, in the Kursk region it is called a horn, in the Gorky region - ladusha, in Belgorod region - a squeaker, in Penza region - sipovka. Forked pity in Vladimir region called dvuchatki, and in Ryazan - zhalanki, in the Penza region it is called a cane.

Varieties of pity

The musical instrument zhaleyka is subdivided by design into two types:

• Single pity.
• Two-part.

Sound from the pity different type extracted in the same way. It consists in vibrating the tongue of the beeper. The instrument has a seven-sound sound system, there is a reproduction of the notes "re", "sol", "la", less often - "do", "fa", "mi". Sound range similar to high singing voice. To the ear, the sound of the pity seems sad and very pitiful, the melodies come out dreary, but with proper skill they can be quite cheerful.

Zhaleika is widely used in folk orchestras and is a very common musical instrument. The double-barreled zhaleyka is still very similar in sound to the bagpipe. Its lower tones sound at the same height, performing the function of a bourdon. Some minds believe that the pity came from the bagpipe. There is a noticeable similarity between the pipe of the bagpipe and the tube of the miserable one in a constructive way. There is also a sound similarity of the nature of the sound.

Single zhaleyka

This musical object looks like a small tube up to 20 cm long, made of willow, elder or reed cane. On one side of the tube is a squeaker, which has a goose feather (or reed) tongue in its design. At the other, lower end, a bell made of birch bark is attached. Often the material for such an element is the horn of a large animal, such as a cow. It happens that the tongue on the tube itself is cut.

To receive a melody, holes are located on the zhaleyka tube. Their number varies from 3 to 7 pieces. Single zhaleyka range can be soprano, alto or bass.

Two-piece or paired zhaleyka

It is paired tubes of the same size, each with its own playing holes, the number of which can differ dramatically from each other. One tube can be leading, the other - secondary, and the first, respectively, will have more holes. Tubes are inserted into one common socket.

You can extract the melody of their two-part zhaleyka both in turn from each pipe, and simultaneously from two.

Such a musical instrument is intended mainly for two-voice melodic playing.

Zhaleika is an old Russian folk wind wooden musical instrument - a wooden, reed or cattail tube with a bell made of horn or birch bark.

On a green meadow, a shepherd
From birch bark he made himself a horn,
And plays from dawn to dusk,
Nightingales sing along even at night.

A song is pouring about how the river
The girls sat down to weave wreaths for themselves.
And one is so unspeakably good,
What went into the shepherd's soul.

And now he can neither sleep nor eat,
And only songs flow sad chime.
Thoughts in my head, and only everything about her,
No one in the world is dearer to him.

Dark blue girls eyes,
With a bright bow, her blond braid,
You hear, hear, beauty, horn,
The shepherd boy is playing a song for you.

Zhaleyka is the name of a folk wind musical instrument belonging to the reed group. This is a traditional shepherd's instrument. Zhaleika was used mainly by residents of Smolensk, Voronezh, Kursk, Pskov, Tver, Novgorod, as well as Moscow, Ryazan and Tula region. According to its design, the zhaleyka is divided into single and double (paired). This tool is called differently in the regions of Russia; single - "horn" (Kursk region); "ladusha" (Gorky region); , pishchik "(Belgorod region); , sipovka" (Penza region); double - "double" (Vladimir region); "zhalanki" (Ryazan region); , canes" (Penza region)

Two-piece zhaleyka

The principle of extracting sound is the same for all pitfalls: it is the vibration of the squeaker's tongue.
The word "Zhaleyka" is not found in any ancient Russian monument writing. The first mention of zhaleika dates back to the end of the 18th century. There is reason to believe that the zhaleyka was present before that in the form of another instrument. The origin of the word, zhaleyka" has not been established. The instrument's sound range is diatonic, the range depends on the number of playing holes. The timbre of zhaleyka is piercing and nasal, sad and pitiful. Tunes of different genres are played on the zhaleyka alone, in a duet, ensemble.

In a number of regions, the zhaleika, like the Vladimir horn, is called the "shepherd's horn". As a result, when a written source speaks of a "shepherd's horn", we cannot know exactly what instrument it is.

The instrument's sound range is diatonic, the range depends on the number of playing holes. The timbre of the pitty is piercing and nasal, sad and compassionate. The instrument was used as a shepherd's instrument, tunes of various genres were played on it alone, in a duet, or in an ensemble.

Double zhaleyka consists of two tubes of the same length with playing holes, folded side by side and inserted into one common socket. The number of playing holes for paired pitfalls is different, as a rule, there are more of them on a melodic pipe than on a second one.

They play on both pipes simultaneously, extracting sound either from both at once, or from each pipe separately in turn. Paired zhaleyki are used for one-voice and two-voice game. Single zhaleyki are distributed mainly in the northern regions of Russia, and paired - in the south.

In the Tver province, shepherds made zhaleyki from willow, local nonsense, because zhaleyki there began to be called "brelki". The whole body of the keychain consisted of wood, which is why the sound of it turned out to be softer.

In 1900, V. V. Andreev introduced into his orchestra an improved zhaleyka, which he called a keychain. His appearance this pity is similar to folk, it has a double oboe-type tongue. In addition to the usual playing holes, it has additional ones with valves that allow you to get a chromatic scale.

Once zhaleyka was widespread in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Lithuania. Now it can be seen, perhaps, only in orchestras of Russian folk instruments.

Making a cane jar

First, we need material, that is, reeds. Do not confuse it with cattail, we absolutely do not need it!

The word "reed" means many plants, including cattail, and reed, and the so-called "nurse". We also need an ordinary reed - a perennial cereal, from 1 to 4 meters in height, with panicle inflorescences. It has a hollow cranked stem. Reed grows along the marshy shores of lakes and rivers, in swamps.

So, we take a backpack, a knife, put on waterproof shoes and go for a reed (for a dry (!) Reed). Get ready for the fact that your crazy hands can turn into crazy legs, as you have to walk for a long time. Once in the thickets of this plant, it is necessary, as Kozma Prutkov bequeathed, to see into the root, since it is at the bottom, near the soil, that the thickest knees are located. We are interested in knees with a diameter of 7 mm and a length of 15 cm. If you are planning to make a pity, you will also need birch bark from a fallen birch (it is easier to remove the bark from it, and in general you need to protect nature!). Now that you have collected a lot of suitable material and warmed up your chilled limbs, let's start processing it and making a pipe. We need the following tools - a sharp knife, a round or semicircular needle file (if there is, if not, it does not matter), a long stick (you can take a rod from a pen, etc.) and a match.

First, you need to clean the reed from the leaves. Then we separate the knees strictly at the point of articulation!

Since impatience eats us up, we make the simplest option. We take a suitable knee (diameter 7 mm, length 15 cm).

We saw off at the break point (you can use a jigsaw).

We take a needle file or a sharpened match and pierce the membrane.

Inside the reed stalk is covered with a thin film that must be removed. To do this, we take a long stick and clean it inside with reciprocating movements, and then blow through the barrel. Using a sharp knife, remove a thin layer from the edge where the membrane is.

Here you will understand for the first time why you need a whole bag of cane. A tongue will be cut in the cleared place. The thicker it is, the more effort will have to be applied in order to make it vibrate. The thinner, the more likely it is to stick. The height of the sound depends on the length, thickness and width of the tongue. The tongue is the main part of the pipe! The tongue is made approximately 2.5 cm long and 4 mm wide. Like this.

Now you can try to extract the first sounds. Does not work? You may have misplaced the pipe in your mouth. The tube should go quite deep into the mouth in order to allow the tongue (not yours, but the pipes) to fluctuate. With your own tongue, you must close the hole in the membrane. Let's try again. If it worked out, then you are great! If the pipe does not sound and even the air does not pass, then the tongue is stuck. We take a linen thread and put it under it like this.

After this procedure, the sound will definitely appear. Now how to make play holes. We take a knife and cut it out according to the following scheme: 1st 3 cm from the edge, 2nd 3 cm from the first, 3rd 1.5 cm from the second, 4th 3 cm from the third. Hole diameter approx. 5 mm. Four holes is more than enough. In our century, there was hardly a larger system than tone-tone-semitone-tone. Now you can play and enjoy! For those who want to get confused a little more, there is birch bark left. We cut it into strips, coat the edges with glue (what your conscience will allow) and twist the horn. We make a blank of a pipe with a tongue, but without holes, and fit the horn to it, but not yet on glue. It turns out to be a pity!

If you're going to build a pity for a certain key, then you have unlimited possibilities - a whole bag of reeds! The pitch of the instrument will depend on this case from:

• tool length with horn
• tongue
• the force with which you blow

We have already written about the tongue above. Length: The longer the instrument, the lower the sound and vice versa. The tuning is carried out with a dressed horn. If the sound is lower, cut the reed; if it is higher, wind the birch bark on the horn. Having caught the desired note (and it is very difficult to do this, because the tongue gets wet and starts to lower, and sometimes stick), we begin to cut holes. They are made in the same way as in a simple pipe. We cut through the first and adjust. If it is low, we cut it closer to the tongue, if it is high, to the horn. Having set up the first game hole, we do the rest in the same way. Holes can be sawn through with a semicircular file, or even better, burned. achieve fine tuning quite hard, so you have to “finish” with your breath. The harder you blow, the faster the tongue vibrates, i.e. the sound is higher, but the degree of sticking increases. But you can not rack your brains, but tell others that you have an untempered system on your pity, which is quite historical! True, if you intend to play in tandem with the harp, they will have to be adjusted for you.

The existence of this type of instrument has been proven ethnographically, and its existence in the 9th-11th centuries. seems very likely, because the simplicity of manufacturing a hornless version allows you to make a pipe even for a child.

Zhaleika is an old Russian folk musical instrument belonging to the group of woodwinds. The exact origin is not known, the first mention of zhaleyka is in the records of the late 18th century.

The instrument is a small tube - about ten, twenty centimeters, made of wood or reed. There are several holes in the side walls of the tube, clamping them with your fingers, you can extract sounds of various heights - strong, somewhat harsh.

If we compare pity with related instrument- with a shepherd's horn, then his tube expands and ends with a bell, and in the case of a pit, the lower end of the cylindrical tube is a separate part and is inserted into the bell. The bell for the instrument is usually made of cow horn or birch bark.

There are two types of tool: single and double zhaleyka. The single one was described above, the double one includes two tubes of the same length with playing holes, which are next to each other and are inserted into one common socket.

Previously, zhaleyka was widespread in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Lithuania. Today, this Russian folk instrument can be seen, most likely, only in orchestras of this theme.

Interesting Facts:

• Zhaleikas differ in size and pitch: piccolo, soprano, alto and bass. The number of playing holes can also vary, which is why the range of the instrument changes.

• Zhaleika has many names, it is called duda, flat, squeaker, keychain, sipovka, stinger, squeaker, okladushy or just a horn.
• It is possible that the sound of a zhaleyka is heard at a distance of six kilometers. Previously, with the help of a pity, shepherds easily collected animals, for example, even a lost cow found its way to the herd by the sound of a familiar instrument.
• One of the songs of the artist Valentina Tolkunova is named after the instrument - "Zhaleyka". Also, the name of the instrument is present in the lines of another piece of music artistes: "I can't help it."

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

1. Musical dictionary in stories / Comp. L.V. Mikheev. Moscow, 1984.
2. Internet resources: https://eomi.ru/, http://soundtimes.ru/.

Musical instrument: Zhaleika

At one time, Grigory Alexandrov's wonderful comedy "Merry Fellows" about the funny adventures of the talented and cheerful shepherd Konstantin Potekhin was very popular in our country. The film has such comic episodes that caused uncontrollable laughter from the audience.

Bones' pets: cows, sheep and pigs, having heard the familiar sounds of their shepherd's instrument, which during dinner party asked to play some music, broke into the main hall and committed a grandiose pogrom there. Animals, even those related to livestock, are quite intelligent creatures, distinguishing well and always following a familiar sound, so many shepherds used to skillfully play folk wind instruments, as this helped them a lot in their work. Shepherds enjoyed special respect for the flute, horn and zhaleyka - an old Russian folk instrument, originally used in Rus' in funeral rites. Her interesting name, comes either from the word pity, or from the word regret.

The history of pity and many interesting facts read about this musical instrument on our page.

Sound

The sound of a pity can be characterized by such words as loud, shrill, assertive and even noisy. It is practically devoid of overtones and dynamic shades are almost beyond its control. The timbre color of the instrument has a compassionate and slightly nasal tone.

The sound of the instrument is the result of the vibration of the reed, which occurs under the influence of the air blown in by the performer.

Zhaleika, which mainly has a diatonic scale, can also be chromatic.

The range of the instrument, depending on the number of sound holes, is very small and includes only one octave.

It is not easy to play the zhaleyka, since accurate intonation on the instrument requires great skill from the performer.

Photo:

Interesting Facts

• Zhaleika is probably the only instrument that has so many names in one country. It is called duda, flat, squeaker, keychain, sipovka, zhalomeyka, squeaker, okladushka or just a horn.
• The sound of the pity is so loud that it can be heard at a distance of six kilometers.
• In Rus', the shepherd in the village was considered very important person whom everyone respected. He got up before everyone else with the first rays of the sun and played the awakening signal on his instrument. Passing by a house, the shepherd performed a certain tune, the hostess, having heard him, knew that it was time for her to drive out the cow.
• The best performers on the zhaleyka in Russia were not professional musicians, but shepherds.
• The shepherd, playing his instrument, could easily collect the animals. Even a lost cow found its way into the herd by the sound of a familiar instrument.
• A whole generation of lovers Soviet stage the name of the wonderful singer Valentina Vasilievna Tolkunova is well remembered. The very diverse repertoire of the artist included two very popular songs in which the old Russian instrument zhaleika was displayed very poetically.

Design

A rather simple design of a zhaleyka includes a tube, a bell and a mouthpiece (beep).

• The tube, whose length varies from 10 to 20 cm, has a cylindrical shape. If earlier shepherds for its manufacture used mainly reed cane, willow, maple and elderberry, today the material used is very diverse. This is apple wood, mahogany, as well as ebonite and aluminum. On the tube shaft there are usually from 3 to 7 sound holes.
• The bell, which acts as a resonator, is attached to the lower end of the tube. For the most part, it is made from cow horn or birch bark. The junction of the pipe and the horn is usually decorated with a ring, which is usually made of brass.
• The mouthpiece, called the squeaker, is located at the top of the instrument. This is a small tube of a certain size and shape, made of wood, ebonite, metal or plastic. A single cane (tongue) made of reed or thin plastic is attached to the squeaker with the help of two so-called cambric.

Varieties

The zhaleyka family is very diverse and includes instruments that differ in size, pitch, tuning and design.

Zhaleyki, differing in size and pitch: piccolo, soprano, alto and bass.

Tools that differ in design are a keychain and a double zhaleyka.

The key fob, unlike the zhaleyka, has a softer sound, since the bell is made not of cow horn, but of birch bark, and a double tongue is used instead of a single tongue.

Double stinger - a tool, the design of which consists of two tools connected together. It is possible to perform two-voice melodies on a double zhaleyka.

Story

Today, unfortunately, we cannot trace the history of zhaleyka from the very beginning of its occurrence. Wind instruments have existed on Russian soil since time immemorial. In the era of Kievan Rus, they were necessarily used in military affairs: they warned of danger by making the so-called protective sounds, and also appeased princes at feasts and amused ordinary people at festive festivities. Unfortunately, accurate description no one gives us the instruments that our ancestors played, and even in the ancient chronicles there is almost no mention of them.

We also know very little about zhaleika, only information has come down to us that she was an indispensable participant in funeral rites, called "zhaleniya". Perhaps because of this worldly custom, the instrument has such strange name. Also, zhaleyka was very loved by the shepherds, who used it not only in their direct work, but also to amuse people at various holidays. In addition, the instrument was in demand among amusing people popular in Rus' in the 15-17 centuries - buffoons, whose performances were very fond of the common people. However, the performances of these wandering artists often contained caustic attacks on secular and ecclesiastical authorities, causing them serious discontent. As a result, in the middle of the 17th century, during the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov, buffoons were disgraced and persecuted, and their tools were ruthlessly destroyed, as a product of demonic forces. At that time, Russian national musical culture was dealt a severe blow, and it suffered heavy losses. But, nevertheless, the shepherd's pity continued to sound and traditionally meet the first rays of the rising sun with its sound.

The era of the revival of interest in national culture came at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries. Thanks to true patriots, including V. Andreev, N. Privalov, O. Smolensky, G. Lyubimov and other enthusiasts, many Russian folk instruments received a second life. They were not only restored, but significantly improved, and then introduced into the first orchestra of Russian folk instruments under the direction of V. Andreev. Zhaleyka, and to be quite precise, its variety - the keychain has also undergone some changes and has also found its rightful place in the orchestra. The keychain, in contrast to the zhaleyka, had a softer sound, as it was made entirely of nonsense - a variety of willow tree, hence the name of the instrument. Improvement of the zhaleyka continued, in the workshops of musical instruments created in Moscow by G.P. Lyubimov, an ethnographer, musician, performer and conductor, an attempt was made to create an instrument with a chromatic system. In the future, the soloist of the Great Russian Orchestra conducted by V. Andreev O.U. Smolensky, a harpist and a pitiful player, constructed instruments of various sizes: piccolo, soprano, alto and bass, which were later used in the pitiful quartet, and then in the famous "horn choirs". To date, zhaleyka as a solo instrument is used very rarely, mainly its sound is used in Russian orchestras. folk instruments, as well as ensembles performing folk music.

IN Lately attention to the old Russian folk wind instruments, including the zhaleyka, is constantly increasing. Many musicians enthusiastically try to master the art of performing on them. This trend suggests that interest in national culture is growing, and with it, in the musical instruments that our ancestors played. Ancient folk wind instruments and not only will not be forgotten, but will be preserved performing arts on them.

Video: listen to pity