What is domra and how to play it?

How the Russian folk instrument domra arose is not known for certain. It is also not clear to the end whether it is a primordially Russian piece of music or whether its fate is more complicated and the "family ties" of the domra indicate a different origin. One way or another, the history of the instrument is interesting, as are its capabilities.

Domra is a stringed plucked instrument corresponding to a subgroup of folk and inherent in the southern Slavs. The structure of domra is similar to balalaika and khomes, as well as the style of playing these instruments have in common. If a special guitar pick is used to pick the strings, it is a plucked instrument. Domra is used for solo, less often it is part of an orchestra or ensemble.

Where did the name come from: most likely, the history of the word lies in the Turkic languages, for example, in Tatar there is the word dumbra, which translates as "balalaika". But in the Crimean Tatar dialect there is a word dambura, which translates as "guitar". In Turkish, the guitar will sound like tambura, and Kazakhs call the balalaika dombira.

The first official mention of the heroine of the theme is found in the palace records of the 16th-17th centuries, which speaks of domrachi, that is, musicians playing the domra. It was a common instrument among buffoons and itinerant musicians, easy to use and sounding good. The string product was distinguished by rich timbre possibilities, which helped the artist to play along with himself when singing or in any other kind of performance.

For a certain period, records about the instrument in the archives are not found at all, and only in the 19th century it is again mentioned in written sources. Such "oblivion" is apparently connected with the ban on buffoons and the introduction of censorship, but, as already mentioned, the upper and middle class did not actually recognize the instrument.

But at the beginning of the 20th century, Vasily Andreev, who directed the first Soviet Orchestra of Folk Instruments, restored the historical form of domra, was able to reconstruct its sound to one degree or another. All this was not quite close to the source, because the musician was guided only by the old domra found in the Oryol region. But the first, breakthrough step in the new time for domra happened.

Today it is a national instrument that is actively used in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. Its exotic sound attracts people from other cultures, West and East, as authenticity is in demand today more than ever.

A typical case is the confusion of domra and dombra. Everything is simple here: domra is a Russian folk instrument, and dombra is a Kazakh one. Domra has 3 strings (less often - 4), and dombra has 2. Finally, the domra is more round, and its Kazakh “sister” has a drop-like shape.

Differences from the balalaika are also significant. The body of the balalaika is triangular, the bottom is ribbed and slightly convex, made up of riveted plates. The balalaika has 3 strings, its sound is often called "loud", while in domra it is softer. Experts say the instruments are two modifications of the same piece of music.

Another tool, the difference between which and domra is not so obvious to the layman, is the mandolin. Its progenitor was the lute, which is very popular in Europe. The mandolin has 4 double strings (that is, a total of 8), and it looks different, its top is curved. But instruments are similar in that they are played primarily with a pick. Domra and mandolin can be called distant relatives.

Before moving on to the types of tools, it is worth considering its design. So, domra consists of a body and a neck. The body, in turn, includes the body and the deck. The body is made of curved rivets that form a hemisphere. The rivets can be rosewood, birch or maple. The tailpiece holders are fixed to the body, they are called buttons. The deck is the front part of the body; it is a flat oval that covers the body. Along the edge, it is framed by a shell.

In the center of the soundboard there is a voice box, that is, a resonator in the form of a figured rosette. A shell is applied to the deck, which serves as its protection from injury. The stand lifts the strings, it is installed in a clearly marked place. Deco is traditionally made of fir or spruce (special resonator), the stand is made of maple. The shell will be stronger if it is made of hardwood, but synthetics are sometimes used as well.

A neck is attached to the body, it is crowned with a head with a tuning mechanism, which is needed for string tension. A fretboard with sills is fixed to the neck, they form a fret system, and are arranged chromatically. There is a nut between the headstock and the neck, which affects the string level of pitch.

Well, the sound from the domra comes out under the influence of a pick, that is, a modest oval plate, the dimensions of which should correspond to the dimensions of the instrument. There is no better tortoiseshell mediators (they are made from the shell of an animal). Truth, now a more humane alternative is being proposed - worthy mediators are also produced from polymers.

This domra is considered a type of construction by Andreev (the above-mentioned reenactor of the folk instrument). In the orchestra, such a product will be called a small domra, it has a quarter tuning. The group of three-stringed domras includes bass, alto and piccolo. Much less often they use three-string double-bass domra, tenor and mezzo soprano.

According to Lyubimov's construction, this type of instrument is characterized by a quint system - this is similar to a violin. This group has bass, alto, piccolo, and contrabass and tenor are also rare.

A few terms:

• piccolo - the instrument of such a device sounds light, bright, expressive, it will adorn the orchestral voice;
• viola - used, as a rule, to accurately fill the gap between the upper and lower voices, sometimes a soloist;
• bass - has a rich and velvety sound, the voice is heavy, it is thick, weighty.

There are no significant differences in the process of making the species. The four-stringed instrument is more often preferred by modern musicians, since its resemblance to a bass guitar is obvious, that is, playing it during a performance is as comfortable as possible.

Usually musicians order sets of strings for the device, focusing on the material of manufacture and manufacturer. Every performer has a favorite pick, maybe even a whole collection of these. And, of course, it's hard to do without a protective case. It is not difficult to find all these components on sale, they are inexpensive and there are a lot of choices in music stores.

There are several universal guidelines to help you choose the right tool. What the experts advise:

• the main reference point is the beauty of sound;
• even timbre along the entire length of the neck;
• extraneous sounds during the game should be absent;
• the neck should be located strictly straight;
• the duration of the sound is also important to pay attention to;
• the playing of the instrument should be heard in most cases and in a large hall.

All of the above can be checked upon purchase.

And now about those companies that supply the best product to the musical instrument market. These manufacturers today include the following.

1. "Bass". The three-string models of this domestic brand are made of sycamore maple, the neck is made of black wood, rosewood and wenge. Lacquered coating on shellac with mother-of-pearl interspersed. The top model has 19 frets. The tool is expensive.
2. "Muzprom". Represents different handcrafted models. There is no doubt about the quality of the workmanship. Also, models are decorated with mother-of-pearl. There are concert domras with 26 frets.
3. Chora. Produces four-stringed instruments that will be a good choice for beginners. The popular music product M1084-3 weighs only 900 g and costs about 17,000 rubles. Manufactured in Romania.
4. Forest. Another budget small domra, the seven-riveted body of which is highly artistically decorated.
5. Doff. Domestic brand that has been producing guitars and folk instruments since 2002. Quality control and material selection are impeccable. He manufactures both expensive and budget products.

Even before starting the training, it makes sense to work with the preparatory exercises - 2-3 lessons are enough for this. For example, sitting on a chair, exactly in the middle, you can bend your slightly lowered right hand at the elbow and twirl it until it contacts thick cardboard in the wrist area. His - cardboard - will be held by the other hand. However, a book can be used. This is an exercise for controlling competent hand movement.

The success of his game depends on how the Domrist is sitting. You should sit exactly on the half of a chair, your back should be straight, the body is slightly tilted forward to hold the product. The right leg is placed on the left, it rises to such a height at which the body tilt will be minimal for pressing the tool. What will be the height of the headstock is determined by the status of the left hand, which bends at the right angle at the elbow.

If the headstock position is very high, it will negatively affect the sound, because the angle of contact between the pick and the string changes. The plane of the instrument deck is not verticalized, but slightly tilted so that the musician, looking at the neck, has control over all three strings.

What does the left hand position consist of?

1. The main point is the simultaneous development of exactly four fingers (the third and fourth are especially important, because they are not so mobile and frankly weaker). It is equally important to find a hand position that provides freedom of movement for the fingers. When stretching them, by the way, you should be especially careful. It happens that if you overload them, the fingers can become constrained, and this is even fraught with soreness, the development of pathologies.
2. At the beginning of training, it is important to work not with a pick, but with your finger, that is, learn how to take pizzicato. Placing the palm on the bar is accompanied by pressing it against the bar, and the player must see it well. The arm in the wrist area should be slightly bent away from you. Press the string with your fingertips, which work like hammers.
3. For beginners, it is important to learn how to place the fingers in the major scale, and then in the first position. Then the position will be consolidated not only in traditional exercises, but also in the study of the simplest works. You can do this according to a self-instruction manual, such a play as "Whether in the garden or in the garden" is suitable - it is easy to play it not with two fingers, but with four. The sequence of sounds is chromatic.
4. This is followed by hand coordination and stroke play. When the movements of each hand are fixed in the exercises, you can combine their actions. The sound is produced by the so-called pick throw.

For this process you may need:

• the tool itself;
• fork;
• another instrument (tuned guitar, piano);
• telephone.

Algorithm of actions.

1. You will need a sound source that matches the A note of the first octave. A tuning fork with a frequency of 440 Hz is suitable. There is no tuning fork, you can take a piano, guitar or even a clarinet. If this is not the case, take an ordinary mobile phone, the sound of the beep in which is almost identical to the sound of a tuning fork (400 Hz). The main thing is to clearly tune the strings relative to each other.
2. Open strings that are not pressed against each other are tuned by quantum intervals. First, the first string is tuned - at the domra-pickalo it will sound like the "la" of the second octave. But in the tenor domra, the sound of this string is two octaves lower. The second string of the instrument should be clamped at the 5th fret and tune in unison with the first, and the third with the second (also clamped at the 5th fret).
3. It is customary to tune open strings of a four-stringed domra in fifths. Only the contrabass domra will be an exception, its tuning is done in quarts. In the primra domra, the first tuned string is equal to the second, clamped at the seventh fret, sounding in unison with the tuning fork. The second open string is clamped at the same seventh fret, tuning in unison with the first.

The main techniques for playing this representative of strings are:

• single movement of the mediator down or up;
• alternating movement of the mediator down or up;
• tremolation.

To produce a sustained sound on the domra, a tremolo is played. Ideally, it should sound absolutely even with the upper and lower movement of the record. The cleaner it is, the more the musician has.

Tremolo is the vibration of the hand and forearm, combined with the activity of the shoulder muscles. The wrist and ulnar joints are free. The hand itself should become, as it were, an oscillating string with knots in the form of joints. Also, at an early stage of training, legato, staccato, non-legato, as well as harmonics and a permanent stroke are practiced. First they are played on scales with one octave, then - with two. E major and A major are prioritized for the first lessons.

And so, step by step, reception after reception, the game will be mastered. Notation can be studied in parallel (if the person has not mastered it before).

How long the training will last depends on the age of the student, the level of musical training, free time and the way of teaching. With a mentor, things will go faster and better. But if a person already has experience of playing musical instruments, then independent mastery of playing domra is definitely within his reach.

For more information on how to play domra, see the video below.