An ancient Russian folk pipe - a wooden, reed or cattail pipe with a bell made of horn or birch bark.
Zhaleika is also known as pity.
Origin, history of the pity
The word "pathetic" does not appear in any ancient Russian monument writing. The first mention of pity is in the notes of A. Tuchkov, dating back to the end of the 18th century. There is reason to believe that the pity was present before this in the form of another instrument.
In a number of regions, the zhaleika, like the Vladimir one, 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 we are talking about.
The origin of the word "pity" is unknown. Some researchers associate it with “jelly” or “zhalie”, a funeral rite that in some localities includes playing the jellie.
To study the question of when the tradition of playing pity games arose among Russians, a tool called “ squeakers“, widespread in the southern Russian regions.
Once upon a time, pity was widespread throughout Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Lithuania. Nowadays it can be seen, perhaps, only in orchestras of Russian folk instruments.
Design and types of pity
There are two types of zhaleika - single and double (double-barreled).
Single pity is a small tube made of willow or elderberry, 10 to 20 cm long, into the upper end of which is inserted a squeak with a single tongue made of reed or goose feather, and on the lower one there is a bell made of cow horn or birch bark. The tongue is sometimes cut on the tube itself. The barrel has from 3 to 7 playing holes, thanks to which you can change the pitch of the sound.
Scale pitifully diatonic. Range depends on the number of playing holes. Timbre pitiful, shrill and nasal, sad and pitiful.
The zhaleika was used as a shepherd's instrument; tunes of different genres were played on it alone, in duets, and in ensembles.
Double (double-barreled) pity consists of two tubes of equal length with playing holes, folded side by side and inserted into one common bell. The number of playing holes for paired pity pipes is different; as a rule, there are more of them on the melodic pipe than on the echoing one.
They play both pipes at the same time, extracting sound either from both at once, or from each pipe separately in turn. Paired zhaleiki are used for one-voice and two-voice playing. Single stingers are common mainly in the northern regions of Russia, and double ones - in the southern regions.
In the Tver province, shepherds made zhaleiki from willow, locally called nonsense, which is why they began to call zhaleyki there. The entire body was made of wood, which made its sound softer.
In 1900, V.V. Andreev introduced an improved model into his orchestra, which he called. to his appearance This pity is similar to the folk one, it has a double tongue type. In addition to the usual playing holes, it has additional ones with valves that allow you to obtain a chromatic scale.
Video: Pity on video + sound
Thanks to these videos, you can get acquainted with the instrument, watch a real game on it, listen to its sound, and feel the specifics of the technique:
Selling tools: where to buy/order?
The encyclopedia does not yet contain information about where you can buy or order this instrument. You can change this!
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.
A shepherdess in a green meadow
He made himself a horn from birch bark,
And plays from dawn to dusk,
Even at night the nightingales sing along.
A song flows about how by the river
The girls sat down to weave wreaths for themselves.
And one is so incredibly good
What troubled the shepherd's soul?
And now he can neither sleep nor eat,
And only the sad ringing of songs flows.
Thoughts in my head, and only everything about her,
There is no one in the world dearer to him.
Dark blue girls eyes,
With a bright bow her blond braid,
You hear, hear, beauty, the horn,
The shepherd plays a song for you.
Zhaleika 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 regions. According to its design, the stings are divided into single and double (paired). This instrument is called differently in the regions of Russia; single - horn" (Kursk region); ladusha" (Gorky region); ,pischik"(Belgorod region); ,sipovka"(Penza region); double - doubles" (Vladimir region); zhalankas" (Ryazan region); , canes" (Penza region)
Two-part pity
The principle of sound production is the same for all pity bugs: it is the vibration of the squeaker tongue.
The word, Zhaleika" is not found in any ancient Russian written monument. The first mention of zhaleika dates back to the end of the 18th century. There is reason to assume that zhaleika was present before that in the guise of another instrument. The origin of the word, zhaleika" has not been established. The scale of the instrument is diatonic, the range depends on the number of playing holes. The timbre of the pitiful woman is shrill and nasal, sad and pitiful. They play tunes of different genres on the penny alone, in duets, or in ensembles.
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 we are talking about.
The scale of the instrument is diatonic, the range depends on the number of playing holes. The timbre of the pitiful woman is shrill and nasal, sad and pitiful. The instrument was used as a shepherd's instrument; tunes of different genres were played on it alone, in duets, and in ensembles.
A double pitty consists of two tubes of equal length with playing holes, folded side by side and inserted into one common bell. The number of playing holes for paired pity pipes is different; as a rule, there are more of them on the melodic pipe than on the echoing one.
They play both pipes at the same time, extracting sound either from both at once, or from each pipe separately in turn. Paired zhaleiki are used for one-voice and two-voice playing. Single stingers are common mainly in the northern regions of Russia, and double ones - in the southern regions.
In the Tver province, shepherds made zhaleiki from willow, locally called nonsense, which is why zhaleyki there began to be called “trinkets.” The entire body of the keychain consisted of wood, which is why its sound was softer.
In 1900, V.V. Andreev introduced an improved type of pity into his orchestra, which he called a keychain. In its appearance, this pity is similar to the folk one; it has a double reed of the oboe type. In addition to the usual playing holes, it has additional ones with valves that allow you to obtain a chromatic scale.
Once upon a time, pity was widespread throughout Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Lithuania. Nowadays it can be seen, perhaps, only in orchestras of Russian folk instruments
Making stingers from reeds
Firstly, we need material, that is, reeds. Don’t confuse it with cattail, we don’t need it at all!
The word “reed” refers to many plants, including cattails, reeds, and the so-called “nunts”. We need common reed - a perennial grass, from 1 to 4 meters in height, with panicle inflorescences. It has a hollow, geniculate 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 the reed (for dry (!) reed). Get ready for the fact that your crazy hands can turn into crazy legs, as you will have to walk for a long time. Once in the thicket of this plant, it is necessary, as Kozma Prutkov bequeathed, to look at the root, since it is at the bottom, near the soil, that the thickest knees are located. We are interested in elbows 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 tree (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 cold limbs, let’s begin processing it and making a pipe. We need the following tools - a sharp knife, a round or semicircular file (if you have one, if not, no problem), a long stick (you can take the rod from a pen, etc.) and a match.
First, you need to clear the leaves from the reed. Then we separate the knees strictly at the joint!
Since we are consumed by impatience, we do the simplest option. Take a suitable knee (diameter 7 mm, length 15 cm).
We saw off at the break point (you can use a jigsaw).
Take a needle file or a sharpened match and pierce the membrane.
Inside, the reed stem is covered with a thin film that must be removed. To do this, we take a long stick and clean it inside with a back-and-forth motion, and then blow out 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 reeds. A tongue will appear in the cleaned area. The thicker it is, the more force will have to be applied to make it vibrate. The thinner, the more likely it is to stick. The pitch of the sound depends on the length, thickness and width of the reed. The tongue is the main part of the pipe! We make the tongue 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 positioned the pipe incorrectly in your mouth. The tube should go quite deep into the mouth in order to allow the tongue (not yours, but the pipe) to vibrate. You must close the hole in the membrane with your tongue. Let's try again. If it works, then you’re great! If the pipe does not sound and air does not even pass through, then the tongue is stuck. We take a linen thread and slip it under it like this.
After this procedure, the sound will definitely appear. Now how to make playing holes. We take a knife and cut according to the following pattern: 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. The diameter of the holes is approximately 5 mm. Four holes are enough. In our century there has hardly been a greater scale than tone-tone-semitone-tone. Now you can play and have fun! For those who want to get a little more confused, there is birch bark left. We cut it into strips, coat the edges with glue (as your conscience will allow) and twist the horn. We make a blank pipe with a tongue, but without holes, and attach the horn to it, but not with glue yet. It turns out to be pathetic!
If you are going to build a pittance under a certain tone, then you have unlimited possibilities - a whole bag of cane! The pitch of the instrument will depend on in this case from:
- instrument 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. Tuning is carried out with the horn on. If the sound is low, trim the reed; if it is higher, wind birch bark onto the horn. Having caught the desired note (and this is very difficult to do, because the tongue gets wet and begins to lower, and sometimes stick), we begin to cut holes. They are made according to the same scheme as in a simple pipe. We cut through the first one and adjust it. If it is low, we cut it closer to the tongue, if it is high, to the horn. Having set up the first playing hole, we do all the others in the same way. The holes can be sawed with a semicircular needle file, or even better, burned. It is quite difficult to achieve precise settings, so you will have to “blow” 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 don’t have to rack your brains, but tell others that you have a pathetic untempered system, which is quite historical! True, if you intend to play in tandem with the gusli, they will have to be adjusted to suit 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 making the hornless version allows you to make a pipe even for a child.
To my article yesterday “ Magic duduk"The first comment came from Sergei: “Leonid, who told you what this is?In my opinion more looks like space pop.A “Armenian dUduk” or as you call it “magic duduk”, cannot be compared with a simple Russian “pity”. And no one ever called her divine.“Pity” is simple Russian folk instrument».
To call this music pop and compare it with another instrument... Well, excuse me...
It seems to me that Sergei simply did not listen to her carefully. Instruments have completely different sound timbres and, accordingly, should evoke completely different perceptions.
I had no plans to write about pity, but as a response to this comment I decided to write.
Russian folk musical instrument Zhaleika
IN different sources it is called Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian and even Lithuanian. It would be more correct to call it a general name - an instrument of the Eastern Slavs.
IN Old Russian manuscripts the word does not appear. A. Tuchkov first wrote about it in his notes at the end of the 18th century. Maybe this instrument was previously called something else, for example, a shepherd's horn. The name is associated with “jellies” or “zhaleni” - funeral rites that include playing the zhelei.
They cut a sting from willow or elderberry. A tongue made of reeds or a goose feather is inserted into the upper end, and a bell made of birch bark or cow horn is inserted into the lower end. 3-7 holes are made on the trunk itself. The range of the sound range depends on the number of holes. The timbre turns out to be shrill and nasal, sad and pitiful.
Now the pity is found only in some ensembles Russian folk instruments.
And to finally form your opinion about the pity, listen to its sound. And to make it easier to compare and understand, at the end of the article I have given a few more duduk melodies. Listen and enjoy the playing of instruments that are completely different in sound.
Magic duduk(continuation)
⟩The Zhaleika is a reed wind musical instrument, considered, along with the Chalumeau and the Hungarian Tarogato, to be the harbinger of the modern clarinet. This unpretentious and easy-to-make tool has many varieties. They play tunes of a wide variety of genres on the penny, alone, in duets, and also in an ensemble with other instruments and singing. This musical instrument got its name due to its “compassionate, sometimes... crying” sound. In some areas, two more names have been assigned to the pity - horn and pika. Such names most likely determined the design and material from which the craftsmen made this instrument.
Often the pity is made from a wooden pipe with several holes, into which a goose feather is inserted on one side, and the other side is inserted into a bull's horn (hence the name “horn”). The pischik can also be made not only from goose feathers, but also from reed, walnut, and hazel. Some craftsmen have adapted to making a squeaker out of wood, since reed ones quickly get wet, disrupt the tuning and do not sound at all. The pipe itself can be made of willow, elderberry, maple, reed (sometimes even tin). The five finger holes on the pipe are called “voices” and are numbered from bottom to top. During the game, all the holes are never open. If you close it one by one, a scale system is formed: do, re, mi, fa, salt, etc. The length, size and diameter of the horn into which the second end of the pipe is inserted affects the pitch, strength and timbre of the sound. The horn is usually taken from a bull, since a cow’s horn is ribbed. They sand it, cook it for a long time, drill a hole, and then adapt it to the pipe, sometimes they glue it, sometimes not.
In the villages of Alekseevsky and Krasnogvardeisky districts of the Belgorod region, the double zhaleika, or pishik, was especially common. The pika differs from a simple pity in that it has two pipes, which are again inserted into a well-cleaned bull's horn, so that the walls become thin and glow.
The bell of the horn should be more bent. This affects the strength of the sound. From the stories of folk instrumentalists of the Belgorod region E.M. Saprykina (born in 1905, Afanasyevka village, Alekseevsky district) and M.V. Sychev (born in 1910, the village of Streletskoye, Krasnogvardeisky district), we can conclude that making an instrument is a delicate and scrupulous matter. It requires from the creator not only strict adherence to technology, but also a love of music in general. The method for making a pika is as follows: tongues are cut on the trunks of peeled reeds; both pipes are fastened together and united by one bull's horn bell. Tool barrels are named according to the number of holes there, that is, “tee”, “gear”.
The instrument is tuned so that one peep continues the scale of the other. In general, pikas do not have a standard scale. The structure of the instrument depends on local traditions, repertoire and from individual characteristics performer. Most of the pity players' repertoire consists of dance tunes.
From the materials of folklore expeditions to the Alekseevsky and Krasnogvardeysky districts of the Belgorod region, it became known that at the end of the last century there were few masters of playing the unique traditional musical instrument that was previously widespread here - the double pity. The most famous among folklorist researchers were two of them. This is Voronkov Fedor Grigorievich (born 1914), who lived in the village of Kazatskoye, Krasnogvardeysky district. The names of his tunes have been preserved since the 19th century: “General”, “Steppe”, “Let me come out”, “Petrakova”, “Cruspy”. The leader is also known folklore ensemble“Userd” of the village of Nizhnyaya Pokrovka, Krasnogvardeisky district, Viktor Ivanovich Nechaev (born 1965). He plays the pity and knows the tradition of its making. He also spoke about the design of a modern pitiful car.
However, not only folk musicians play and perform pitifully. Professional musicians began to do this with enthusiasm. Here is the story of V.I. Nechaev about the design and features of modern pitiful:
Nowadays, metal or ebonite tubes are often used, the body of which can have from three to seven holes to change the pitch of the sound. The jingle with seven holes in the tube has a full diatonic scale within an octave. It is usually configured to major scale with a lowered VII level, which is typical for the Russian folk musical tradition. Depending on the size of the stings there may be different systems, which is important in ensemble and orchestral playing. People's exact standards wind instruments they do not, therefore each of them has certain individual qualities (design, tuning, range, timbre).
The most important structural part of the pity is the mouthpiece with the reed. So that the instrument has complete a certain system, a mouthpiece with a reed (reed) should, on its own, without a resonator, produce the fundamental tone of this scale - for example: “D” in D major. On ancient pathetic The craftsman cut the tongue (squeaker) directly on the main tube or on a separate small tube, which was inserted into the channel of the main tube. In this case, the performer had to close the free end of the squeaker tube with his tongue.
Nowadays, the design of the mouthpiece has been somewhat improved. Its free end is made blind; a rectangular narrow cut is made along the mouthpiece towards its blind end, which opens the internal cavity. A tongue (squeaker) is installed above the cut, which is attached at the base of the cut with a ring of polyvinyl chloride tube. This fastening not only makes it possible to securely attach the tongue to the mouthpiece, but also, which is very important, to change the tuning of the instrument, within a quart, by moving the ring in one direction or another. A small tube-cap is placed on top of the main tube of the pity, which protects the tongue from accidental damage, and at the same time, thanks to it, the technical capabilities of the design are expanded. The size and location of the holes on the main tube of the instrument do not have exact dimensions. In folk practice, the distance between the holes is approximately equal to the thickness of the finger (i.e., about 25 mm). The size of the holes (their diameter) is determined when setting up the tool experimentally. The larger the hole, the higher the sound. In addition, the diameter of the main tube bore also affects the size of the holes and the distance between them.
Making sound on a penny requires some effort. The greater this effort, the higher its tuning can rise (within ¼-½ tone), and vice versa. In addition, this instrument can also play intermediate chromatic sounds by partially closing the holes. In principle, it is possible to manufacture instruments in any tuning. The range of the pity usually covers an octave, but can be even wider by a quart. In addition, an experienced performer can expand the range by pressing the base of the tongue with the upper teeth and thereby extract 2-3 additional sounds of the scale. Professor of the Moscow Conservatory A.V. Rudneva notes that in Kursk villages a zhaleika with a small bell made of a cow's horn is called a "horn", and a zhaleyka with a large bull horn and a lower tuning is called a "gudilo".
Zhaleika has an octave diatonic scale in the tuning “A-”, “E-”, “F-”, G major. Pitys of other keys are also used. Lowering the tuning down simultaneously increases the size of the pity and, at the same time, the distance between the finger holes (scale), and vice versa, which creates additional difficulties when playing.
In sheet music, the pity is written in the treble clef, in the first octave. The zhaleika is a primitive instrument. Its endless improvement would ultimately lead to the creation of the clarinet, and then its main amazing originality would be lost.
The pitiful consists of a tube with six holes at the top and one (for the thumb of the left hand) at the bottom, a specially processed cow horn, a squeak with a cane and a mouthpiece. All these five elements “work” in unity, so the thoughtless replacement of one component with another, even looks the same - it is unlikely to bring the desired result.
The pity is held with both hands in front of you at chest level, almost horizontally. Unnamed, middle and index fingers right hand cover the three holes closest to the horn. The right thumb supports the tube at the bottom. Care must be taken to ensure that thumb left hand covered the seventh, lower hole. Otherwise, the column of air inside the tube breaks, and the pity makes one uncontrollable sound. It is very important to develop a feeling for the necessary force of air blowing. When producing higher sounds, more breathing is required and vice versa. When making sound, the metal mouthpiece is not removed from the pity. It’s best to get used to melody by extracting middle notes rather than extreme notes. In this case, the correct feeling of the force of air blowing comes. It is impossible to play the piano on the path. Excessive sound volume is unacceptable. When monitoring by ear, you need to determine this limit for yourself. If the force of air injection is clearly overestimated, the pity will “stick”. It should be remembered that the top two notes do not have precise tuning and, in part, depend on the skill of the performer. Each sound corresponds to a certain number of open and closed holes. Each note has its own fingering. No “amateur activity” is acceptable in this case. If the performer has experience playing the pipe, recorder, etc., then getting to know the pity will not be more difficult for him. The predominant technique of playing the penny is “legato”, in which sounds of different heights are performed in one breath, using a clear and smooth fingering. “Staccato” also sounds good. In this case, the tongue, touching the mouthpiece, cuts off the air supply after each note.
When mastering the pity, you may encounter the following problem: condensation and saliva naturally accompany playing this instrument and interfere with sound production. For trumpeters and other musicians, this problem is solved by the presence of a special valve, which removes excess moisture. There is no such device on the pity, so after a long game you need to carefully remove the aluminum mouthpiece and dry the ebonite peep and reed with a piece of newsprint. This must be done if the abundance of moisture clearly interferes with the game. Without this need, there is no need to disturb the cane again. At the same time, you need to vigilantly ensure that no crumbs of wet paper remain under the cane. Otherwise, the structure of the pitiful will be disrupted.
The sound is produced using a technique that can be conventionally called “dry spitting”. With continued practice, the drying method will be used less and less and, over time, the need for this will disappear. The mouthpiece, pipe and reed must be kept extremely clean. In addition to purely hygienic requirements, you need to know that a crumb of tobacco, for example, or a piece of thread, etc. caught in a cane can nullify all the work. Therefore, when moving, it would be good to wrap each sting in a separate plastic bag. When folded together, they provide excellent shock absorption when transported in a balalaika case along with the balalaika.
Setting up a pity is a very delicate process. The reed is attached with two or three plastic rings, with two rings holding the reed, and the third is used for tuning. Moving the tuning ring a fraction of a millimeter from the horn increases the tuning and vice versa.
The reed should only be replaced if it breaks, although it can last for years under normal use. Changing a cane is a rather capricious process. It is impossible to make two exactly identical reeds, so the new reed will be different from the old one and will need to be “customized”. This operation must be started in good mood, considering that success cannot be achieved in one minute. Having strengthened new cane cambric rings, it must be carefully adjusted. Moving the cane along the slot of the ebonite squeak also gives a good result. In this case, the rings do not move, only the cane moves.
If the sound turns out to be “flimsy” and the reed sticks at the “tops,” you need to free the reed from the rings and carefully trim its working end by a fraction of a millimeter with a sharp knife. This thickens the vibrating part of the reed and thickens the sound. If the sound turns out to be clearly rough, you need to remove the reed, press it tightly against a piece of glass (a mirror, for example) and scrape the working part with a razor blade, reducing it to “nothing.” This makes the vibrating part of the reed thinner. Good recommendations Clarinetists can give instructions on how to make a plastic cane for a pity.
When did the pity appear? Where did the word "pathetic" come from? Why is the zhaleika considered a Russian folk instrument? The history of the creation of the “pity” tool (accessible to children). Description of the musical instrument "zhaleika".
Zhaleika is one of the simple ones musical instruments. Learning to play the penny is accessible to everyone; you just need to put in some effort to master the technique of producing sound on the instrument.
Sound production on a penny requires 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 pity, you should play notes on the instrument from bottom to top with a button accordion or piano “legato” (connected), then two notes each “legato”. After you have achieved a clean, harmonious sound, you need to play intervals, starting from the bottom note from the second onwards (example: Do-Re, Do-Mi, Do-Fa, etc.). Then you can combine intervals from top to bottom. You can also start the exercise with “legato”, then you can move on to “non-legato” and “staccato” (abruptly).
Below is the fingering. The diagram will help you understand the correct position of your hands and fingers when playing the instrument using the example of the C Major penny.
Please familiarize yourself with the diagram of the arrangement of notes on the instrument using the example of the pathetic C Major. Please note that the holes must be closed tightly.
It is advisable not to remove the cap from the pity unless absolutely necessary, so as not to bend the reed and disrupt the structure of the instrument. If it is necessary to adjust the instrument, the upper ring (which is located on the instrument’s squeak and holds the reed), depending on whether the squeak is high or low, should be moved up (if it is low) or down (if it is high) carefully by fractions of a millimeter.