Kalyuki features and playing on it

About the ancient Russian wind musical instrument called "kalyuka" (as well as "thorn", "distillation" or "grass pipe"), specialists dealing with issues of traditional Russian culture learned only at the end of the 20th century. But now many folklore groups have adopted this musical instrument for their "armament", so there is hope for its large-scale popularization and revival. But once almost all the men of the countryside owned the kalyuka - it was so popular in Russia.

This musical instrument owes its name "kalyuka" to the plant, from the dried stem of which it was usually made - the prickly tartar. The word "prickly" became the defining name for this seemingly and structurally simple flute... It was the flute with the addition of the word "overtone" that this ancient Russian musical instrument began to be called in scientific musical circles.

And although the prickly tartar provides the instrument with a clear and distinct sound, good kalyuks have learned to make from dried umbrella plants (motherwort, hogweed, buckwheat and some others). They say that by the sound of an instrument one can determine the material of its manufacture. This is possible only for experienced kalyuk performers, who, unfortunately, nowadays can only be found in some regions of Russia.

Externally, it is a hollow tube with three holes:

• the inlet (called the "upper"), into which the musician blows air - located from a thicker tube section;
• outlet (called "lower"), located at the other end of the tube and having a smaller cut diameter;
• a whistle (called a "muzzle") located in the lateral surface near the upper opening.

There are no other holes on this instrument. When making a kalyuka, the length of the tube is made for an individual performer. Finished tools nowadays come in the following lengths:

• for children - from 25 to 35 cm;
• for adult musicians - from 45 to 88 cm.

The diameter of the tube can be different - from 15 to 25 cm. The inner empty cavity has a narrowing from the inlet to the outlet (this is how any plant grows: at the bottom, the trunk is wide, at the top, it is much narrower). The diameter of the top hole must be larger than the outlet:

• upper hole diameter - at least 20-23 mm;
• outlet diameter - no more than 14 mm.

The muzzle (a small slot for sound output) has a cut angle within 45 °, and the hole diameter is also selected for an individual parameter (assessed by the sound of the instrument).

The types of kalyuka, in addition to the classification by size (children, adults), also differ in the material of manufacture, on which their period of use depends.

1. Luzhnye - disposable models of pipes made from freshly cut stems of herbaceous plants. They were usually made for one-time use, after which they were simply thrown away.
2. Prickly - these are the tools that were performed by their Tatar. Such items were especially appreciated and kept for a long time. True, their use was quite rare - for an important occasion and big holidays. It was believed that the possession of such a tool was available only to wealthy families.
3. Lykovye - the most difficult pipes to make, which not every craftsman could make. It was necessary to wind a wide strip around the finger from a thin layer of willow or lime bark. But such a product did not have slots and holes for uncontrolled air outlet, which could be observed in disposable pipes.

They also distinguish kalyuks of low, medium and high sound register, which makes it possible to create ensembles from them. On some products, the number of holes on the barrel is adjusted to four (2-4).

To get sounds on the kalyuk, it is necessary to blow air into the inlet and learn how to regulate the air outlet from the lower opening. Due to the energy of the blown air and skillful covering and opening of the exit, the necessary scale is obtained. The air at the inlet is regulated with the help of the lips and the performer's own tongue (in the absence of a special reed device, which is present in perfect models of flutes).

The instrument is held vertically with the right hand at the bottom hole and the left hand in the middle of the tube. The sounds are obtained according to a natural scale, and their timbre - rather sharp - can be attributed, rather, to a rhythmic rather than a melodic character.

For how to play this instrument, see the next video.