Making a musical instrument for many years is. Musical instruments of the Slavs

Production of a national musical instrument using casting technology. Design work done by Kirillin Innokenty. With. Dyabyla. 2010

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Ministry of Science and Vocational Education

Republic of Sakha Yakutia

State educational institution

Professional Lyceum No. 14

Project work

Production of a national musical instrument using casting technology

Completed by: Kirillin Innokenty

Student of the "Automechanic" group

Head: Bayagantaev P.S.

With. Dyabyla. 2010

• Introduction
• 1. Traditional and modern technologies making Yakut khomus
• 2. Yakut khomus music and its ancient production technology
• 3. Substantiation of the project topic
  • Design specification
• Conclusion
• Bibliography
• Application
• Introduction

The relevance of this design work is that at present there is a problem of serial production of khomuses using modern technologies. Majority contemporary masters works on vintage technology. These technologies are labor-intensive, require the use of physical force and require a lot of time. Based on this, we are faced with the task of facilitating and accelerating the process of working on the main elements - the Khomus hull. Thanks to the introduction of casting technology in the process of making khomus, you can win both in time and in reducing physical exertion. So in eight hours for one casting process, you can get 8-10 semi-finished hulls.

The purpose of this project work is the production of khomus by casting in professional foundry equipment.

Object of study: the process of making khomus.

Subject of study: the process of manufacturing a khomus body by casting.

The main tasks are:

· Propaganda and distribution to the population of a musical instrument - khomus.

· Implementation of the Code of Criminal Procedure at GOU PL No. 14 serial production of khomus cases.

· Inculcation to the original culture of the people of Sakha through the process of making khomus.

The novelty of our project lies in the fact that in the manufacture of the "Khomus" case, the casting method is used on modern foundry equipment (vacuum casting machine), which significantly reduces labor costs and reduces costs.

The problem is that the outdated method of making khomus is too ordinary. Khomuses made by simple technology are not in great demand among buyers. modern khomus is valued not only for its beauty, sound, quality, but also for the fact that it is made of metals such as alloyed steels, brass, bronze, copper, which do not corrode. All khomus makers should be aware of these and other methods of modern technology, since the new technique largely meets modern requirements. It teaches the correctness of the compositional solution, aesthetics, extraordinary sound, in all accuracy, etc. But at the same time, one should not forget the traditional forms of khomus.

When performing the design work, a theoretical method was used, which includes the study of special, methodological literature and a practical, experimental method in the manufacture of the khomus body by casting technology.

Research hypothesis: the introduction of our technology will improve the quality and productivity of khomus production.

Nowadays, the jew's harp has become one of the sound markers of musical expression among the peoples of Siberia. Meanwhile, for many Siberian peoples, this instrument performs a game or production function in culture.

He appears in different periods of development of these cultures and, naturally, had a difference in his design. This musical has come down to our days from time immemorial, the origin of which scientists attribute to South Asia stone age, and in Europe, according to the American musicologist F. Crane, 5 thousand years. Khomus is one of the most popular representatives of the Yakut folk instrumentation. It has attracted the attention of many researchers.

1. Traditional and modern technologies for making Yakut khomus

Handicraft metallurgy of the Yakut blacksmiths and the history of handicraft culture

At the end of the XIX century. The traditional centers of iron-making production were considered in Vilyui: Asykaysky, Odeysky, Kangalassky, Khorinsky, Mentsky, 1 Udegeysky Nasleg. In the Yakutsk Okrug, Khachikatsy, Zhemkontsy of the East Kangalassky ulus, some of the nasleg of the West Kangalassky and Bayagantaysky uluses were engaged in iron smelting.

According to the inquiry questionnaires sent by the Yakut branch of the Russian geographical society 208 addressees of the region, more detailed answers to questions were given from Vilyui. It was 1913. By that time, many smelters were inactive, in particular, the metallurgical centers on the Lena and Aldan ceased to exist. From Verkhnevilyuisk, a local teacher V.G. Monastyrev in the questionnaire-response stated: "Semi-steel is smelted from local ore." Kentik and Satin masters continued the hereditary profession of their ancestors by the beginning of our century. The technology and secrets of craftsmanship were passed down from generation to generation. Under their leadership, close relatives of the smelter or the customers themselves were involved in the smelting process. (22)

A number of factors directly affected the final yield and quality of bloomery iron, including the high enrichment of iron-containing raw materials, high-quality roasting, and coal hardness. At the same time, a lot depended on the individual experience of the metallurgist himself, the ability to manage the course and process of smelting.

The melting furnace is charged like a sleeve with solid fuel and ore material. As the fuel burns, its level drops lower, entering the zone of intense combustion. The temperature reaches 1300-1400 C. The ore melts and goes down, forming a spongy mass. Master, observing the progress of burning coal and smelting furnace. To do this, the ore carrier, with a ladle of about 20 kg, has to climb the stairs and load from above. Benign charcoal contained reducing agents that helped to remove gangue and quickly react the reducing agents with iron oxide.(1)

During the production session, backfilling was carried out 12-13 times. Furriers changed each other every half an hour. The air supply did not stop even during the lunch break. In the final stage of the smelting process, the Yakut domnik released liquid slag through a drilled doorway.

After the smelting was completed, the blooming iron was taken out of the nest. This is a very labor intensive operation. Workers, children, old people, women helped. A frozen long log of small thickness was used as a lever. And they lowered the hot cry along the inclined plane to the place where they hurried to cut it into pieces with steel axes. We tried not to miss the temperature heating of the blank. And after sorting the bloomery iron into “sureh timir” (way of life), “sirey timir” (less steel-like) and “keteh timir” (poor quality), they thanked the spirit-fire and their first ancestor, and then, if possible, they feasted.

Yakut domniks used the tradition of old handicraftsmen to directly reduce iron, bypassing the cast-iron process. In this regard, the Yakut smelting tradition has common typological features with the South Siberian metallurgical culture. It remains a mystery why the Yakut craftsmen did not use a special flux reducer, as other metallurgists did. Only on the Lena, fluxes made of sand, clay and limestone were used by some handicraftsmen. Apparently, benign charcoal contained active reducing agents: limestone, calcium, carbon and hydrogen. There were also a number of distinctive features of local handicraftsmen.

It is interesting to note the final product. Although the Satin handicraftsmen were somewhat inferior to the Kentik smelters, nevertheless, for 8-10 melts per year they received 40-80 pounds of iron. Tamga ironworks in 1753 was able to produce 75 pounds of bloomery iron. By the end of the century, the Yakut smelting business finally fell into decay. Some industrialists produced only in the spring.(2)

Significant information about the metallurgical production of the Yakuts is contained in the works of members of the Second Kamchatka Expedition. The head of this expedition, V. Bering, wrote that the Yakut iron "will be against the best Siberian iron", that "the Yakut people make boilers for themselves from that iron, upholster chests and use it for all sorts of needs."

Head of the Commission for the General Description of the Way of Life of the Peoples of the Irkutsk Viceroyalty R.I. Langans, in the 10th chapter of his work on the Yakuts, wrote in 1789: “Their blacksmiths make axes, scythes, palm trees, knives, flint and scissors, coppersmiths pour a ring with carved patterns to decorate women, also to clean saddles.” (12)

Academician A.F. Middendorf. According to him, in the second half of the XIX century. the annual production of iron in one Yakutsk district reached up to 2000 pounds. His opinion was subsequently confirmed by V. Seroshevsky.

In a valuable ethnographic work by I.A. Khudyakov "A Brief Description of the Verkhoyansk District" describes in detail the shaman costume with all the attributes. It contains the names of iron pendants, metal plaques. Particularly interesting is the information regarding the weight of the costume, which consisted entirely of various iron plates, hanging pendants and bells. The weight of the costume reached up to 3 pounds.

Almost every Yakut family could not do without iron products. Some handicraftsmen achieved considerable perfection and made rifled guns with great accuracy. According to the calculation of Seroshevsky, the annual production of Yakut iron in the 80s years XIX in. reached up to 10 tons. Member of the geographical expedition of Captain I. Billings, G.A. Sarychev in 1786, within the boundaries of Yakutsk, excavated a “spherical-shaped” barrow, in which, in addition to various bone objects, he discovered 4 iron rings, an iron vessel of the 17th-18th centuries. In 1894, Naum Lytkin, a native of the Ust-Aldan region, found 147 oblong plates of armor of a Yakut warrior of the 17th century near Lake Borolooh.

Along with the development of blacksmithing, silversmiths and coppersmiths gained a good reputation. Their works were notable for their cleanliness and high level of artistic processing.

Pre-revolutionary researchers noted a rich set of silver jewelry of the Yakut bride: ilin kebi'er (breast decoration), kelin kebi'er (braid), kemus tuoakhta (round headdress badge), kemus kur (silver belt), kemus biileh (silver ring), kemus ytarZa (silver earrings), beZeh (bracelet). In addition, richly ornamented silver plates, round plaques were sewn on horse saddlecloths and saddle bows. The completeness and richness of the wedding set reflected her social position and noble origin.

Yakut craftsmen made teapots, basins, bits, stirrups, buckles, buttons, rings, needle cases from copper using the hot forging method. In 18th century burials copper objects are better preserved than iron ones. Of the 16 metal utensils of the 18th century recovered from the burials. eleven boilers are made of copper. And the very name "altan olgui" (copper cauldron) also speaks of the purely Yakut origin of these things. According to Seroshevsky, at the end of the 19th century, Yakut artisans produced 2,750 pounds of copper products worth 140,000 rubles in silver. Products of Yakut blacksmiths and silversmiths were exported not only to the regions of Central Russia, but also abroad. (12)

The Yakut region participated in exhibitions organized within the country: in the All-Russian Industrial and Art Exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod (1896), the Polytechnic Exhibition in Moscow (1872), the ethnographic exhibition in Moscow (1885). She also participated in the World: in Vienna (1873) and Paris (1889). At these exhibitions, the products of Yakut masters were presented well. AT Nizhny Novgorod For example, among the various exhibits were models of blacksmithing, women's breast and neck jewelry, men's and women's silver belts, earrings and rings. A rifle, a knife and five pieces of iron ore were sent to Vienna from Vilyui. The accompanying letter to the Yakut-made rifle explained that "the gun was made with a drill and a file." Another rifle of a local master is represented by a police officer from Vilyui. However, this rifle was not exhibited at the exhibition. The Yakut rifle was priced at 50 rubles by the exhibition committee.

E.D. Strelov, the first of the Soviet archaeologists of Yakutia, examined 20 graves and 14 burial mounds. Based on the results of his excavations, he published the articles “Bow, arrows and spear of the ancient Yakut”, “Clothes and jewelry of the Yakut in the first half of the 18th century”, “On the use of iron ore on the rivers Buotama and Lutenge”.

A whole system of areal mineralization spreads over a large area between the Buotama and Lutenge rivers. Since ancient times, local craftsmen-smelters have used them as raw ore. Based on archival data by E.D. Strelov traced the extraction of iron by the Yakuts from the 18th to the beginning of the 20th centuries.

Prominent Yakut historian, ethnographer and folklorist G. V. Ksenofontov in his work “Uraankhay Sakhalar” thought about the southern origin of the Yakut blacksmith craft. In his opinion, the ancient Yakuts were also familiar with the smelting of silver ore. As evidence, he refers to the cycle of legends about the Yakut blacksmiths "Saappa khoyuun" and "Delger Uus". Much folklore information about the Yakut iron craft is contained in another work by G.V. Ksenofontov "Elleyada", dedicated to the legendary history and mythology of the Yakuts. Here, the ancient Yakuts usually act in iron helmets, chain mail, armor, with swords, spears, palm trees. (7)

Iron household items are mentioned: axes, knives, pink salmon scythes, flint, blacksmithing items. Combat horse iron armor (kuyahi), stirrups are mentioned more than once. The names of the heroes who possessed blacksmithing skills are given. Elley Bootur acts as a skilled iron smelter. He made everything: palm trees, pink salmon, axes, knives, tongs, flint and so on. His eldest son was named Tolosoro-Kuznetsa, a close neighbor - Ekesteene-Kuznetsa. In the text of various fairy tales, the Blacksmith OmoZoi, Lebere the Blacksmith, blacksmiths Tarkayy, Mychakh appear. In the collected folklore sources, the presence of iron helmets, chain mail, shells, swords, spears, palem, attributes of horse equipment, iron stirrups, as well as knives and axes is consistently repeated among the Yakuts. (11)

An outstanding collector of historical legends of the Yakuts and their oral folk art, folklorist S.I. Bolo, in his famous work, published a large number of legends of the Yakuts of the period before the arrival of the Russians. They reflect the types and types of weapons, the kuyaks of warriors and horses, blacksmithing accessories. The ancestors of the Yakut tribes, as a rule, had their own blacksmiths. The last ones were Elley Bootur, Tuene MoZol and others. S.I. Bolo, based on the materials he collected, believes that the Yakut blacksmith's craft has ancient roots, that it appeared in the south in the upper reaches of the Lena, in the Baikal and Angara regions, that the ancestors of the Yakuts were making iron from ore in the Southern ancestral home, by the time they arrived in the Middle Lena had a complete set of iron weapons and household items. The Yakut blacksmith made the following types of military armor from iron: helmet (timir bergebe), chest (tues), wrist (bekechchek), shoulder (dabydal), dorsal (kehune), protective shields; weapons: a spear (unu), a palm tree (batyya), a large palm tree (batas), a sword (bolot) and others. S.I. Bolo lists the tools of the ancient Yakut blacksmith, the names of which completely coincide with the late varieties of the inventory of the Yakut handicraftsman.

A.P. turned to the iron culture of the Yakuts more than once. Okladnikov. He studied the monuments of the Kurumchi culture and showed the high iron processing technique of the Kurykans, the probable ancestors of the Yakuts. In this fact, he sees evidence of the antiquity of the smelting and blacksmithing of the Yakuts and their ancestors. In his reasoned opinion, "the glory of the Yakut blacksmiths goes deep into their heroic age - the time of epic heroes." The high appreciation of the traditional craft of the Yakuts is confirmed, in his opinion, by the latest finds of iron culture objects. At the “Kyrgyz site” along the Marzha River, a tall and narrow cauldron with a flat bottom and expanding towards the top was found, made of several small plates of sheet iron on iron rivets.

Such cauldrons, made in "nine places", are mentioned in the olonkho, which in itself speaks of the original Yakut culture. Okladnikov considers two iron helmets and plates of iron armor found in the Ust-Aldan region to be purely Yakut and puts them on a par with Chinese armor in terms of perfection of decoration and elegance of form. Okladnikov puts the metallurgical experiments of the Yakuts higher than those of the people of the early Iron Age of Yakutia, as well as the later northern tribes with their wandering blacksmiths.

The independence and traditional nature of the ore-smelting business was emphasized in his works by S.A. Tokarev. “The Yakuts had blacksmiths,” he argued, “they smelted iron from marsh and mountain ore and forged weapons and all kinds of products for sale and to order from it. Blacksmithing was especially developed in Vilyui. In the yasak documents of the peoples of Yakutia in the 17th century. Tokarev often noticed the Yakut names of blacksmiths. There were such phrases: “Niki Ogoronov is a blacksmith”, “Betyun volost Tyubyak blacksmith”, “Kyaniyana blacksmith”, “I went to the blacksmith Mechiy to forge a horse”. “About the Yakut Yeltyk Kurdyagasov, who complained about the Cossack Dmitry Spiridonov because he took away five palms from him, we said earlier.” Such petitions in documents of the 17th century. there were enough. From this, Tokarev concluded that even before the arrival of the Russians, blacksmithing was a traditional craft of the Yakuts, that the Yakut "blacksmiths were real artisans, commodity producers who worked for the market."

In the postwar period, an interesting article by M.Ya. Struminsky, who expanded the concept of Yakut metallurgy, described the work of local handicraftsmen. He noticed the presence of several centers of ore deposits. He noted the commodity nature of production. He compared the data of two varieties of iron-making metallurgy: the Tamga plant and the smelting furnaces of Yakut artisans. At the same time, he noted the higher productivity of the cheese-blowing method of production and the low cost of metal products. Yakut blacksmiths sold their products one and a half, two times cheaper than imported iron. Therefore, local production has become more widespread. “With the closing of the Tamga Ironworks, the handicraft production of iron and other metal products in Yakutia assumes a fairly large scale, reaching its peak in the second half of the 19th century.” (18)

The main observations of M.Ya. Struminsky in the 19th century. “in terms of retrospective consideration, they may well be applicable to the reality of the 17th century.” - writes V.N. Ivanov, who specially studied the socio-economic relations of the Yakuts in the 17th century. He mainly relied on documentary written sources of the XVII., which makes his messages more convincing and more valuable. (5)

In the 17th century iron becomes one of the main materials for home production of the Yakuts, the production of iron becomes a common phenomenon, blacksmith craft products become the property of every cattle breeder, hunter, and part of the products is sold to the foreign market. At the same time, the range of Yakut blacksmith production is quite wide. All this helped V.N. Ivanov to conclude: “In the XVII century. Thus, the Yakuts made the following types of tools and weapons from iron: a pink salmon scythe, a palm tree or Batu, kuyakh armor, a pick, a spear, arrowheads, boilers, a saw, in addition, Yakut blacksmiths lined various household items with iron material. objects and things. (6)

V.N. Ivanov did not touch upon the blacksmithing of Vilyui, which, as is known, had reached high level development.

In the XVIII century. loses its original meaning military weapon and equipment for them, made of iron. On the other hand, the functional significance of metal products used in the household and in everyday life increases significantly. “Iron scythe,” writes P.S. Sofroneev, who examined this period in the history of Yakutia and specifically focused on handicraft production, played the same role here as a plow with an iron plowshare in agriculture. Indeed, the development of cattle breeding in the Yakut economy was the main stimulus for the development of handicraft production, including blacksmithing. Sofroneev speaks highly of the blacksmiths of Vilyui, notes the further deepening of the process of specialization of blacksmiths.

In the historiographic work of V.F. Ivanov in Yakutia in the 17th and 18th centuries. in addition to other valuable historical and ethnographic information on the material and spiritual culture of the Yakuts, the reports of service people, travelers, researchers who visited Yakutia in different years and noticed the presence of their own metallurgy and blacksmithing among the Yakuts received further confirmation.

Analysis of the socio-economic development of the peoples of Yakutia in the late XIX and early XX centuries. the monograph of the historian Z.V. Gogolev. The author quite convincingly emphasizes the widespread occurrence of ore deposits, the market nature of the Yakut forging industry. In the period under review, despite the importation of agricultural implements (ploughs, mowers, hay-mowers, seeders, winnowers, iron harrows, etc.) to Yakutia, most of the livestock breeding and farming implements “were made in local workshops by Yakut blacksmiths” (3). )

N.K. was interested in Yakut metallurgical terminology. Antonov. Based on the epic creativity of the Yakuts, as well as highlighting from the rich Yakut vocabulary his own names of craftsmen, blacksmith products, hunting tools, everyday life, women's jewelry, Antonov makes a linguistic parallel with its ancient Turkic basis. In his opinion, "the emergence of metallurgical terms, and consequently, of the Yakut metallurgy itself, dates back to ancient times."

For the study of the iron culture of the Yakuts, the materials of their historical folklore are an additional and very useful guide. Their value was repeatedly pointed out by G.V. Ksenofontov, A.P. Okladnikov, Z.V. Gogolev, I.S. Gurvich, G.U. Ergis, P.P. Barashkov.

Among the named researchers of the historical folklore of the Yakuts, a number of interesting statements regarding the antiquity and traditionality of the blacksmith craft of the Yakuts were made by a connoisseur of oral folk art G.U. Ergis. According to him, the ancestors of the Yakuts, the Kurykans, were distinguished by the art of metal processing, that the weapons of their warriors have Turkic and Mongolian parallels, which indicates their southern origin. For example, unuu-shungu-spear; oh-ok-arrow; kylys-kylyt-sword; bybah-bychah-knife.

Having studied the monuments of the Kurykan culture of the Baikal region and historical roots Yakuts, Ergis makes the following conclusion: "The ancestors of the Yakuts brought with them from the south a culture higher than that of the natives - cattle breeding, iron tools, the beginnings of a heroic epic and fine arts."

His conclusions are based on steadily repeating cycles of legends and historical stories Yakuts, containing a list of all the names of weapons, hunting, household items known to this day, made by ancient Yakut handicraftsmen.

Sometimes folklore sources are confirmed by archaeological data. So, in the legends about the ancestors of the Ospetians, it is told about Suor Bugduk, who lived in the time of Tygyn and was distinguished by extraordinary strength, had “an iron kuyak and often traveled in full armor.” Records of his kuyak were found by a local resident N.N. Lytkin at Cape "Barakhsyy", located on the alas "Bereleikh", about 70 years ago. The fact that the smelting and blacksmithing of the Yakuts was their ancient occupation, that there have been no fundamental changes in handicraft metallurgical production over a period of long development, is shown by the materials of the historical folklore of the smelters themselves, as well as local history materials collected over the past decades in the museums of the republic.

Yakut beliefs associated with blacksmithingproduction

The high professional level and all-round skill of blacksmiths created a special social position for them. The respect with which the blacksmith was treated bordered on reverence for him almost as a holy man. This was reflected in folk beliefs and the blacksmith's initiation rite. A skilled blacksmith knows how to process not only iron, but also copper, lead, silver, gold and wood, even fur, he is also familiar with sewing clothes and bone carving. The blacksmith, standing at the highest level of mastery, was also a jeweler who created artistic details for the rich attire of the national costume. The veneration of a skilled craftsman was associated with religion, while the Yakuts for a long time along with the Orthodox religion, elements of the pagan religion were preserved. The success of the work of a blacksmith master jeweler was associated with some kind of supernatural forces. (22)

Therefore, let us dwell on the beliefs of the Yakuts associated with blacksmithing, and on the rite of initiation into blacksmiths.

The Yakuts had a peculiar cult of blacksmiths, who were considered to have supernatural powers, even more than shamans. The blacksmith's craft was inherited and according to the ideas of that time, the more the blacksmith had blacksmith ancestors, the more powerful he was. The ancestors of the blacksmiths, according to legend, was the blacksmith Kudai Bakhsy.

There were various beliefs associated with blacksmithing and other metal crafts. If the blacksmith did not work for a long time, then before starting work he threw oil into the fire, coaxing the timir ichchite (iron spirit) so that the work would be successful. I did the same for each new owner, if the blacksmith works on the side. In addition, at the end of the work, he took a gift from the owners: butter, meat, etc., from which, when he came home, he gave a miniature part to the fire, that is, he threw it into the fire. If you didn’t receive a present and didn’t give it to the fire, then you could expect bad things.

In the old days, the Yakuts had a ceremony of initiation into blacksmiths. A person who wants to become a blacksmith acquires the necessary tools and begins to work. If he was destined to become a real blacksmith, then after a while he and outsiders heard the sound of a hammer and the hiss of bellows in his empty forge at night. This meant that the forge acquires its own spirit - the owner (ichiilener). The future blacksmith continues to work, but after 2-3 years he fell ill. He had non-healing sores (cuts) on his arms and legs, his back hurt. People who did not have blacksmith ancestors fell ill with this disease, there were also people who had blacksmith ancestors, but for some reason did not do blacksmithing themselves. The disease dragged on and did not go away, the night sounds of the forge intensified. Then the future blacksmith turned to the shaman, who determined that the person fell ill from his ancestors and said: Kudai Bakhsy heard the noise and clatter of your hammer and anvil and asks for the sacrifice of a three-year-old black bull (other color is not allowed). The initiated blacksmith finds the required bull and the shaman performs a ritual. He portrayed that he took the "kut" (soul) of the bull and descends with him into underworld. Having reached the place where Kudai Bakhsy lives, he handed a “kut” bull with the words: “I brought you a“ Berik ”(sacrifice) for this person. Don't touch him, but make him a blacksmith."

After the ritual, a live bull was tied up, the stomach was cut open and the heart and liver were pulled out with blacksmith tongs, which were put into the furnace, after which they fanned the fire with blacksmith bellows, then the liver and heart were placed on the anvil. The initiate had to hit them with a sledgehammer. At this time, his assistants, with songs interrupted by groans, described the suffering of the initiate. Depending on how much he crushed the heart and liver, the strength of the blacksmith was determined. And it was believed that if he crushed with one blow, then a good blacksmith would come out of him, two blows - an average one, three blows - a bad one.

For the dedicated blacksmith, a nail was made - an iron plate with holes for punching holes in metal and for making nail heads (called chuolgan in Yakut). A.A. Kulakovsky noted the magical properties of the blacksmith's chuolgan, which marked his strength, his dignity. The best blacksmith should have a nail with nine holes, an average one with seven, and a bad one with five holes.

After the initiation, the blacksmith's illness passed, and he became a real blacksmith. After that, he was in some respects considered even superior to the shaman. The shaman could not harm the blacksmith, who had passed the initiation rite, and with the help of his chuolgan (nail), which has magical properties, he could destroy the shaman. Seeing the approach to the smithy, the blacksmith leaves his chuolgan at the threshold, the shaman steps over this chuolgan, his “kut” (soul) remains in the chuolgan. When the shaman leaves, the blacksmith heats the chuolgan together with the kut, causing the latter to die.

2. Yakut khomus music and its ancient manufacturing technology

The musical instrument jew's harp (Greek ogzhanop) spreads among many peoples of the earth on all continents. It has its own specific size, shape and, depending on this, a peculiar sound. It is made of metal, wood, bone, and in the musical system, according to the method of attaching the tongue of the instrument to its body, it is divided into two varieties: idioglottic and heteroglottic.

Ideoglottic jew's harps (wooden, bone, copper, made of solid material) have a distribution area mainly in Asia.

Heteroglottic (with attachment of the tongue to the base of the body) - in Eurasia, America, Africa.

The age of this musical instrument has not yet been finally clarified, but some archaeological data in Central Asia, Japan, Northern Europe testify that the harp has more than one thousand-year history (P. Fox, V. Crane, V. Baks, L. Tadagawa).

According to the materials of musicologists of our century, this instrument was widely used in the 7th - 8th centuries. in Central Asia and Switzerland, in the XIV - XV centuries. in Switzerland and Romania. in Europe since the 16th century. Until now, the jew's harp occupies a higher place among the hierarchy of musical instruments.

Many historical facts about the performers of the XVII-XIX centuries. They played the jew's harp and were interested in such great personalities as A. Lincoln and Peter the Great. In European countries, the jew's harp had its own "golden age", which lasted until 1850. Since 1765, the Austrian and organist, L. Beethoven's teacher Johann Georg Albrechtsberger wrote several symphonic concertos for the jew's harp. Musicologists of that and later era recognized Karl Eulenstein (1803-1890) as the greatest harp player of all time.

There is a curious observation by hunters that the rattling of a chipped tree trunk attracts the attention of a bear, that is, sometimes a bear deliberately pulls one of the chips of a broken tree trunk and lowers it, after which it stands and listens to the rattle of wood for a long time. Moreover, as it fades, the bear pinches the same chip again and resumes its vibrations. This process, it seems to us, remotely resembles the principle of sound production on a wooden khomus. It is quite possible that the way of playing music on a wooden khomus was suggested to taiga hunters by observations of wildlife.

The living traditions of folk musical culture always contribute to the rapprochement and mutual understanding of people, due to the fact that the language of music is international and by its nature understandable to a person of any nationality. In particular, the enchanting sounds of the jew's harp (khomus), temir komuz, gotuz, parmupil, pymel, kumaz, etc., resounding from different continents of the earth, have like a magical power that unites and sets people up for creative creation.

This musical instrument has come down to our days from time immemorial thanks to our blacksmiths. Since time immemorial, our people have been famous for their skillful blacksmiths. This is evidenced by numerous legends, fairy tales and epics.(21)

According to scientists, already in the X - XII centuries. the tribes that are the ancestors of the Yakuts developed blacksmithing.

In the old days of the Yakuts, up to the 19th century. Various varieties of vargan were widely used: “Kuluun khomus” (reed khomus), “Mas khomus” (wooden khomus). But gradually “Timir khomus” (iron khomus) and “Ikki tyllaah khomus” (bilingual khomus) come to the fore. The first three of them were known only until the middle of the 19th century. And forgotten. The bilingual khomus will also not be widely used, apparently due to the undeveloped manufacturing technology and playing techniques.

From what we wrote, we came to the conclusion that blacksmiths have improved khomus over the centuries since ancient times. (21)

The traditional classic single-tongue iron khomus, widespread in the republic, consists of a horseshoe-shaped rim in the form of a pira with two tapering "cheeks". It is known that the craftsmen chose the material of the case and tongue according to the hardness, which is determined by how much the material lends itself to a file with fine emery, while each craftsman has developed his own sense of metal. The body is usually made by cold forging from a softer material than the tongue. Forging is called from the standpoint of metal science "cold" even when the workpiece is heated to 600°C; below this temperature, the so-called recrystallization processes do not occur, i.e. after processing, the metal continues to retain its obtained properties. From the standpoint of ensuring the sound of khomus, the choice is very important, the material of the tongue must be sufficiently elastic and have a sufficiently high hardness, at the same time not be brittle and have high resistance to small plastic deformations. Yakut blacksmiths in the manufacture of the khomus language follow mainly two ways:

The path that is the most difficult, requiring a pronounced sense of the metal: choose the metal that needs to be forged, hardened in a certain environment, tempered to the required mechanical characteristics;

A metal is selected that already has the appropriate mechanical characteristics, brought to the required size and shape of the tongue (for example, hacksaw blades, scythe metal for mowing grass, etc. are often used). At the same time, minimal heat treatment is required, but again, it requires a sufficiently developed sense of metal. In our opinion, the ancient blacksmiths, the masters, basically chose the first way, since at that time there were no electric grindstones. And a hand sharpener took a lot of time, so they forged and hardened the tongue.

Once the body and tongue are made, it is of great importance to fit them together and how the tongue is attached to the body. Violation of the fit forms, the ratio of gaps between the "lips" of the body and the tongue, the unsuccessful fastening of the tongue to the body can lose all the advantage that was achieved during the mechanical and heat treatments of the tongue and body.

The main requirement for the body of the khomus is its sufficient strength and massiveness of the ring in order to make a reliable fastening of the tongue to it, which should not weaken over time, while it is important to observe the shape and size, proportions of both the body and the tongue, and also very accurately you need to fit the tongue to the "lips" of the body, strictly maintaining a certain gap. The part of the vibrating plate bent at the end into a right angle is called hohuora "bird", on the tip of which there is an eminnekh "round ear". It is this tiny hole (eye) that serves to tune the instrument. A piece of lead is placed in it, and a milligram decrease in its weight by scraping contributes to a change (increase) in the frequency of the tongue vibration. This is how the desired sounding of khomus is achieved.(21)

In recent years, the Yakut khomus has undergone major changes, both in terms of external structural elements and in terms of musical qualities. Various circumstances contributed to this.

Firstly, the virtuoso performers in a relatively short period of time dramatically expanded the range of performing skills, opened up wide scope for creative imagination and compositional activity.

Thirdly, khomus art is being revived in an atmosphere of heightened interest in folklore music. As a result of these positive processes, various variants of solo elements were created: two-toned and tinted khomuses on hinges, completed in a single block, as well as special children's and concert khomuses. Each craftsman creates his own model of a constructive solution in terms of appearance and outward signs khomus, professional performers recognize the handwriting of a blacksmith's master. Individual artisans bring the technique and technology of making tools to jewelry perfection. Among the manufacturers of the Yakut khomus, craftsmen who create "talking" and "melodious" instruments enjoy special respect and honor. Khomuses by M.I. are very popular all over the republic. Gogolev (village of Maya, Megino-Kangalassky district), N.P. Burtseva (village of Sottintsy, Ust-Aldan region), I.F. Zakharova (Vilyuisk, Vilyuisky district), P.M. Borisov (village of Verkhnevilyuysk, Verkhnevilyui district). Each has its own type of modifications, its own method of hardening, only its inherent artistic and aesthetic taste.

I.E. Alekseev, having become a recognized master, began to pay serious attention to the Yakut blacksmiths. A trusting and creative relationship developed between Ivan Yegorovich and recognized old masters. Both Semyon Innokent'evich Gogolev - Amynnyky Uus, and physics teacher Nikolai Petrovich Burtsev, and master jeweler Ivan Fedorovich Zakharov -Kylyady Uus treated and still treat Ivan Alekseev with special respect. They completely trusted the secrets of their craft to a bright talent, besides a scientist, willingly showed the technological methods and secrets of making the Yakut khomus. Ivan Alekseev talks about each of them for hours.

For more than twenty years, Alekseev has been using the instrument of S.I. Gogolev. All records of his well-known performances were recorded with his khomus. With Amynnykky's khomus he visited many countries of near and far abroad. The old khomus makers always valued the opinion of Ivan Yegorovich and therefore I would like to give a professional assessment given by Ivan Yegorovich to three well-known masters of khomus production.

“For more than 50 years, the most talented craftsman Semyon Innokentevich Gogolev, the author of several thousand “singing” traditional khomuses, widely used as a musical instrument in our country and abroad, has been famous. The main advantage of Gogol's khomus is the simplicity of form, while observing the classical proportions of details, which contributes to its "melodiousness". With the name of S.I. Gogolev is associated with the revival of the khomus art in the republic and the harp music in our country, since most of the famous khomus players create their improvisations, compositions, and plays on the Gogol instrument.

The labor teacher of the Sotta school, Nikolai Petrovich Burtsev, was the initiator of the creation of improved, aesthetically

attractive, but at the same time sonorous khomuses. Over the years, his khomuses, based on the calculations of the law of elastic bodies, acoustics, began to be distinguished by a high tonality, and when tuned - a kind of timbre. Khomusy N.P. Burtsev were exhibited at various exhibitions, including in Montreal. The Burtsevo khomuses are mainly played by girls and women; they are very convenient for use in various ensembles.

The well-known jeweler Ivan Fyodorovich Zakharov, developing the ideas and creative experience of his predecessors, devotes all his knowledge and skills to making khomus. First of all, instead of metal forging, he introduced the technology of casting the tool body from brass, silver and iron. And, finally, I.F. Zakharov settled on the optimal case made of brass with iron impurities. Khomus with such a body and a steel tongue makes gentle sounds with soft overtones. And from the aesthetic side, Zakharovsky's khomuses have become very attractive. Ivan Fedorovich is the author of many souvenir khomuses specially made for exhibitions and museums. And his massive solo khomuses are in great demand. In addition to monolingual khomuses, I.F. Zakharov also revived the bilingual one, which is gradually entering the creative arsenal of Yakut khomus improvisers.”

Ivan Yegorovich Alekseev, on the basis of his personal collection of jew's harps of the peoples of the world, repeated meetings with blacksmiths from other countries, studies the technological and structural features of the Yakut khomus. In this complex and delicate matter, he attracts specialists of various profiles as scientific consultants. Particularly fruitful and promising are joint works with Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Chairman of the Scientific Center of Yakutia V.P. Larionov. Vladimir Petrovich explores the metallographic structures of the Yakut khomus, the variability of their design features.

The art of khomus masters is also given serious attention by other scholars, mostly young ones. Apparently, there will be other researchers, perhaps world-class. But in all these scientific and creative research, the role of the first researcher of the Yakut khomus, the scientist I.E. Alekseev.

musical Yakut khomus casting

3 . Justification of the project theme

To substantiate the design work, it is necessary to study not only the Yakut khomus, but also the jew's harps of the peoples of the world.

Khomus Yakut national musical instrument

In the old days, the Yakuts, up to the 19th century, widely used various varieties of the harp "kuluun khomus" (reed), "mae khomus" (wooden), "unuoh khomus" (bone). But gradually “timir khomus” (iron) comes to the fore, eventually displacing other varieties. Apparently, this can be explained by the role of the khomus in the life of the Yakuts, when at the first stages of its existence this instrument served as an accompanying mouth tambourine in ancient cult rites, and then gradually enters into everyday life Yakuts already as an independent instrument. Pre-revolutionary Yakut khomus music was amusingly distinguished by its purely personal, intimate-chamber character of sound.

Firstly, a person turned to playing the khomus in the most difficult moments of grief - “sanaar Zabyllaah tardyylar”.

Secondly, playing the khomus was associated with the tradition of love confessions - “taptyyr kiyitiger khoyuyan tardyylar”. This tradition made it possible to express the innermost feelings of a person in a special form of allegorical pronunciation of the text, echoing the genre of love songs-improvisations-tuoisuu.

Thirdly, people could talk through the khomus.

Fourthly, khomus was considered the favorite instrument of girls and women. They played khomus songs on it, highlighting them in a special dance “Khomus yryata” (“Khomus songs”).

Fifthly, there was also a tradition of collective playing on khomus.

Sixthly, khomus has always adorned Ysyakh holidays along with traditional folk songs and round dances glorifying the arrival of the long-awaited summer after the severe frosts of a cruel winter, praising the nature of Yakutia.

The genre of khomus improvisations in the ancient manner of performing "syyya tardyy" can be defined as the genre of medley - "yrya matyyptaryn tardyy".

In 1918 P.N. Turnin successfully performed in Moscow in the days of the review of amateur art of the peoples of the RSFSR. And from that moment on, Yakut khomus music enters the XXX stage. With a change in the conditions of existence, this instrument becomes a purely concert instrument, directing the development of Yakut khomus music along the path of virtuoso solo and collective performance. At the same time, the problem of making “etigen khomus” (a sonorous, melodious khomus) immediately arises.

The founder of the improvisational-concert style of Yakut music is I.S. Alekseev, who not only developed a whole range of sound-representative techniques on the khomus, which are distinguished by technical perfection, the fantastic timbre colors achieved, but also brought up a whole galaxy of excellent improvisers. In the education of khomusists, the founded I.E. Alekseev in 1961. Ensemble "Algys"

In general, it can be said about the sound-improvised style of the perfect Yakut khomus players that this style enriched the Yakut khomus music with performing techniques, types of compositions close to toiuks, song genres of the “dieretii” osuokhayu style, expanded the overtone range of the Yakut khomus as a concert instrument - “etigen khomus”, and also raised issues of subsidies, i.e. opened the way to professionalism. (eleven)

The technology of jew's harp designs among the peoples of Siberia

Thanks to musical and ethnographic research, which has been going on for more than two and a half centuries, about six dozen national varieties of the harp have been identified among the peoples of Siberia. The whole variety of designs of this tool forms 4 organic types: plastic, arc, plate-arc and angular. The first 2 types are well known to ethno-organology and are quite fully described. They differ among themselves in the form and nature of the attachment of the tongue to the base, hence their division into idioglatic and heteroglatic.

A variety of the spiritual jew's harp is formed as a result of the typology of the arc, which forms a round loop in the region of the attachment of the tongue, either elongated or not having one.

Consider the national types of jew's harps, taking into account the above typology, while at first we will consider the peoples who have only one type of jew's harp, and then the peoples who combine in their culture the practice of intonation on various types of this instrument.

The plastic type of the jew's harp is the only variety practiced by the peoples of western Siberia and the extreme North-East. In other regions of Siberia, this instrument is either combined with the arc type of the jew's harp or opposed to it.

The peoples in whom the arc variety of the vargan was found do not have such a compact area of ​​​​settlement as those cultivating the lamellar one. On the one hand, these are the Taimyr Dolgan Turks, who call this instrument bargavun.

The arc harp as the only variety also exists in the culture of the southwestern Turks of Siberia XXX. For all these peoples, this instrument has a similar name - khamys-khomus-komus.

Among the peoples of the Amur region, three types of harp are known: two lamellar and one arc. Lamellar jew's harps can be either stepped or wedge-toned, both types being common and interacting in the region with equal importance.

Among the peoples of the Amur region, a lamellar harp is made (in addition to those materials that are indicated in connection with the characteristics of the Nivkh harp) from barberry (nanois), cedar and larch (udeche ulchi).

Among the peoples of central Siberia, the lamellar and arc harp is represented by type; lamellar with a stepped tongue, and arc with a round eyelet.

Among the Yakuts, both options are called the term "Khomus". At the same time, when identifying lamellar jew's harps, the Yakuts usually indicate the material from which this instrument is made. "Kuluun khomus" - "reed harp", "mae khomus" - "wooden harp". Both varieties of the lamellar-arc jew's harp - idiogloic and heterolotic, as well as the angular-shaped jew's harp are found only among the Turks of southern Siberia.

Vargans of the peoples of the CIS, Asia, Russia

Almost all nations have their own national musical instruments. Of these, the jew's harp stands in a special place. Firstly, it is a very ancient instrument: and, secondly, forgotten or half-forgotten, and therefore reborn. Almost all regions of the former USSR are marked with dots on the distribution map of the harp. More than 60 names of Vargan in various variants have been found throughout the republics. The most famous varieties of vargan are lamellar and arcuate.

A lamellar harp is a thin, narrow wooden or bamboo, bone, less often a metal plate. Its tongue is cut out in the middle of the plate.

Arc-shaped jew's harps are forged from an iron rod, in the center of which a thin steel tongue with a hook at the end is attached.

The name of the jew's harp contains elements of the most ancient animalistic concepts.

For example: varam-tun (Chuvash) - parmupil mosquito (Estonian) - bumblebee

The musical term “komuz”, which is widespread among the Turkic peoples (in various phonetic variants: kobuz, kobyz, komys, khomys, etc.), denotes, in addition to stringed musical instruments, a jew's harp.

According to Russian written sources, in Russia the jew's harp existed as two different instruments. In the annals and legends of the 11th-17th centuries. spoken in the Russian army since the time of Svyatoslav Igorevich.

Since the 18th century, the name harp has been understood as another instrument. For the first time, it is mentioned in the register compiled by Peter I in the book by I. Golikov "The Acts of Peter the Great", published in 1938 in Moscow. Among the peoples of the Volga region, not all the jew's harps have survived to this day. Among the Bashkirs, kubyz, kumyz is traditional. The Tatar harp called kubyz is made of metal.

The degree of distribution of the harp among the peoples of Central Asia is different, Temir-komuz is found throughout the territory of Kyrgyzstan.

Among the majority of the peoples of Siberia and the Far East, the jew's harp was extremely widespread, and for some it served as almost the only musical instrument. Two varieties of it were used: arched metal and wooden or bone (lamellar). It found different uses among different peoples: and as an attribute of shamanism, used in the performance of rituals.

For the Altai peoples, the cult purpose of the jew's harp is not typical. In the 19th century khomus was a common musical instrument of many Siberian peoples. It was also used for conditional conversation between lovers and at weddings. At times, during the performance of the melody, words were uttered in a barely audible voice, and sometimes entire dialogues.

Tuvans know five varieties of jew's harp - metal temir-khomus and wooden yyash-khomus. A lamellar instrument made of bamboo or reed is called kuluzun-khomus. Each region has its own melody of temir-khomus.

In Buryatia, the harp is now very rare. In the past, it was almost exclusively a cult instrument, especially among the Eastern Irkutsk Buryats, used by shamans, along with a tambourine, when divining and calling spirits. It was called khur or khuur.

Vargans of the peoples of Europe, America

Vargan is distributed not only in Central, Central, Southeast Asia, but also in Europe, America and exists under various national names. It is also made from wood, bone, bamboo, metal.

According to the American professor Frederick Crane, the jew's harp appeared five thousand years ago in South Asia. It spread throughout Asia and Europe, from there it came to Africa, and then to the New World, where it received its new development.

In the 20s of our century, the jew's harp organically entered the "country" style, as evidenced by the gramophone records that Frederic Crane demonstrated during the II International Congress. In combination with singing, playing the banjo and guitar, he creates a special sound flavor.

The first showcase is dedicated to the materials of the 1st All-Union Conference “Problems of Harp Music in the USSR”, held in April 1988 in Yakutsk with the assistance of the Union of Composers of the USSR and the Ministry of Culture of the Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. It discussed multifaceted issues related to archeology, ethnography, folklore traditions of playing the harp among various peoples of the USSR, as well as ways to introduce harp music to professional musical creativity, the possibility of serial production of harp in various regions, republics of the USSR.

Representatives of the USA, Japan, France and other countries in their reports and speeches covered the issues and problems of jew's harp music, the life of the natives of Oceania, Asia, America and Europe.

An interesting report on the jew's harp and jew's harps in Oceania, the Philippines, Taiwan and Japan was made by Leo Tadagawa, a researcher and promoter of jew's harp from Japan.

About the music of the ancient and modern jew's harp (khomus)

The musical instrument vargan is common among different peoples of the Earth on all continents. It has its own specific size, shape and, depending on this, a peculiar sound. It is made of metal, wood, bone, and in the musical system, according to the method of attaching the tongue of the instrument to its body, it is divided into two varieties: idioglottic and heteroglottic. This difference also reflects the scope of the instrument. Idioglottic jew's harps (wooden, bone, copper, made of solid material) have a distribution area mainly in Asia, and heteroglot (with a tongue attached to the base of the body) - in Eurasia, America, Africa.

The age of this musical instrument has not yet been finally clarified, but some archaeological data in Central Asia, Japan, Northern Europe indicate that the harp has more than one thousand-year history (L. Fox, F. Crane, F. Bax, L. Tadagawa, etc.) . In their work, E. Hornbostel and K. Sachs recognize Asian wooden and metal harps as more ancient. Based on the materials of musicologists of our century, this instrument was widely used in the 7th-8th centuries. in Central Asia and Switzerland, in the 14th-15th centuries. in Switzerland and Romania. in Europe since the 16th century. Until now, the jew's harp occupies a higher place among the hierarchy of musical instruments, although the work of K. Sachs mentions that the Asian type of the heteroglot jew's harp precedes the European one, especially in India, Nepal, and Afghanistan. In the epics "Manas" and "Korkurt Ata" the jew's harp called temir komus, kobyz functions as an instrument of virtuoso playing, associated not only with ritual rites but also musical writing. (21)

Behind the secrets of the Yakut khomus

In recent years, the Yakut khomus has undergone major changes both in terms of external structural elements and in terms of musical qualities. This was facilitated by various circumstances.

Firstly, the virtuoso performers in a relatively short period of time dramatically expanded the range of performing skills, opened up a wide scope for creative fantasy and compositional activity.

Secondly, craftsmen began to reveal the technological secrets of old artisans.

Thirdly, khomus art is being revived in an atmosphere of heightened interest in folklore music.

As a result of these positive processes, various variants of solo instruments have been created: double-reeded and tinted khomuses on hinges, completed in a single block, as well as special children's and concert khomuses. Each craftsman creates his own model of a constructive solution. By the appearance and external features of the khomus, professional performers recognize the handwriting of a blacksmith's master. Individual artisans bring the technique and technology of making tools to jewelry perfection. Among the manufacturers of the Yakut khomus, craftsmen who create "talking" and "melodious" instruments enjoy special respect and honor.

About Japanese jew's harps of a thousand years ago

On October 21, 1989, in the city of Omiya, Saitama Prefecture, an iron object was discovered at the archaeological site called "remains of a recess from under dwelling No. 4" of the Shinto shrine of Hikawa, which was later recognized as a jew's harp. Initially, it was suggested that these were several iron spearheads connected together. The item was found in the northwestern corner in an inclined position with the ring part down and two handles up. According to the type and structure of the pottery found together, the age of the object was determined - the first half of the 10th Heian century, when the city of Kyoto was the capital of Japan.

The second similar iron object was found in one of the pits of the remains of the “multi-pillar structure No. 2”, located less than 10 meters north of the excavation site of the first iron object. Unfortunately, the details of the discovery are unknown, except for the fact that it was found in one of the four pits on the north side (16 pits in total). Presumably, the object was buried in a pit of a pillar, removed for some reason, in the first half of the 10th century, which can be explained by the following facts:

from under the floor of this structure, an engi-tsuho coin was found - one of the dynastic coins made in 907, and which was buried, “perhaps as a gift to the spirit of the earth”;

judging by the pits, the structure was destroyed twice around the first half of the 10th century.

Since 1884, the eastern relics of the Hikawa temple have been included in the territory of Omiya Park, but before that they belonged to the Hikawa temple, the largest in the Musashi area (the current Kanto, which includes 6 prefectures and the city of Tokyo). It is to the Shinto shrine of Hikawa that the name of the city of Omiya, which means "great temple", goes back. The distance from the temple to the center of archaeological excavations is small, about 250 meters to the east-northeast. Thus, the Hikawa Shinto shrine is one of the important components in the consideration of archaeological finds.

The excavations were carried out by the Omiya Relics Survey Committee from September 1989 to March 1993, followed by an expansion of the park's baseball field.

Were made x-rays both found iron objects. It turned out that they had a rounded part and two handles, as well as a thin plate located between the handles.

We checked the likelihood that the finds were a pair of iron scissors or keys, but X-rays showed a completely different structure. The point of view that these are several iron spearheads or nails connected to each other was rejected for the following reason: "it is almost impossible to find two identical objects made by chance." It is very fortunate that both objects were found close to each other. In other words, we can say that the two objects were made similar in shape, size and structure intentionally, and not by accident.

Later, a former Chuo University professor, Inao Tentaro, who researched keys and locks, pointed out that the objects found were kuokin jew's harps and this musical instrument was mentioned in the chapter on games of the encyclopedia "Kojiruyen", completed in 1914. Shibato Minao, a former professor at the Broadcasting University, a composer and one of the first supporters of musical archeology, examined the relics and assessed them as jew's harps. However, due to the calling of Sibat, he does not have complete certainty, but only a cautious assumption that they are jew's harps. Even if they are jew's harps, there remains doubt about the reality of their millennial age.

From here we come to the conclusion that it is necessary to make khomus, in the traditional form, but using new technologies.

Design specification

What kind of product is khomus

The end consumer is those who like to play the khomus

What need will be satisfied - playing the khomus.

Functional purpose - receiving musical sounds

Permissible cost limits - 1500-5000 rubles

Mass production

Human factor - khomus should not harm health, convenient when playing

Materials - must meet the specified functions, have an affordable cost

Method of production - in the conditions of the Code of Criminal Procedure at GOU "PL No. 14"

Safety precautions in relation to the consumer must be safe when playing and transporting

In relation to the manufacturer, the conditions during manufacture must comply with safety requirements.

The appearance should be aesthetic, beautiful and have a good design.

Moral values ​​harm to the environment, should be less than the benefit to society.

Conclusion

Having worked on the design work in the manufacture of the Yakut khomus using casting technology, we came to the conclusion that the use of bronze for the body, stainless steel for the tongue improves the aesthetics, hygiene, practicality and durability of the instrument.

Foundry technology allows you to change the shape, size of the body blanks. The finished workpiece is technologically advanced for further finishing, engraving, soldering, inserting overlays.

Recently, not only musicologists, performers, propagandists of folk music, but also specialists in other branches of knowledge, including metallologists, chemists, have shown interest in a musical instrument - a jew's harp.

The technology of making khomus is constantly being improved, craftsmen skillfully turn khomus from a musical instrument into a beautiful product of arts and crafts, i. it should be not only aesthetic, but also unusual in sound.

We believe that the goals of the design work have been fulfilled, various manufacturing technologies for the Yakut khomus have been studied, and a khomus with a body made by casting on a vacuum casting plant has been made.

Bibliography

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Bolo S.N. The past of the Yakuts before the Russians came to Lena. - M., 1938.

Gogolev Z.V. Yakutia at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. - Novosibirsk, 1970.

Gotovtsev I.N. Saham khomuhugar sanany - New technologies of the Yakut khomus. Yakutsk, Sakhapoligraphizdat, 2003.

Ivanov V.N. Socio-economic relations among the Yakuts of the 17th century. - Yakutsk, 1966.

Ivanov V.F. Historical and ethnographic study of Yakutia in the 17th-18th centuries - M., 1974.

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22. Utkin K.D. Iron-making production of the Yakuts. - CIF "Citym", Yakutsk, 1994.

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The village of Shikhovo was first mentioned in the cadastral book of 1558 as the property of the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery. Behind the monastery, the village was located for several centuries until the secularization of church lands in 1764. Description of the end of the 18th century. notes Shikhovo as part of the "economic" Pokrovskaya volost.

It is located at the confluence of the Ostrovny River with the Moscow River, through which a raft was arranged. There were 125 male and 144 female souls in 33 courtyards. The peasants were engaged in timber rafting along the Moscow River, and in winter - its export. According to the data of 1852, Shikhovo was in the State Property Department. In 57 courtyards of the village, 199 male souls and 206 female souls lived, rural reprisals were located.

Since the end of the 18th century, the production of wooden musical instruments has been established here. According to legend, the local peasant Emelyanov, who worked in Moscow in a gusel workshop, learned how to make guitars there and, returning to Shikhovo, organized their production. Soon, musical instruments began to be made in the surrounding villages. The guitars of the Shikhov masters Krasnoshchekov and Polyakov won particular fame among the musicians.

The statistics of 1890 recorded 544 residents in Shikhov, and according to the 1926 census, there were 116 farms, where 601 people lived, a primary school, and a village council. Six decades later, the 1989 census recorded 154 households and 406 permanent residents in the village. In Novoshikhov there were 19 farms and 39 people, in the village of the Institute of Atmospheric Physics - 173 farms and 400 inhabitants, and in the village of station 192 km - 15 farms and 26 people. AT Soviet time a music factory was built in Shikhovo.

For a long time, serial guitars, balalaikas and domras produced at the factory were of good quality. But by the end of the 1990s, the situation changed dramatically. The quality became so-so, the number of instruments produced was sharply reduced, and the factory began to make furniture and rackets.

Shikhov guitar factory closed

Known throughout Soviet Union Shikhov factory of musical instruments near Zvenigorod was closed. This plant, at one time one of the leaders in the production of guitars (up to several tens of thousands of instruments a year), turned out to be unprofitable. In the near future, most likely, it will be demolished - already now the land around has been given over for the construction of cottages. Perhaps this is an economically sound decision: in our time, no one buys domestic factory guitars if there is an opportunity to purchase, for example, an inexpensive Spanish instrument.

However, do not forget that Shikhovo is a kind of historical monument. In the village of Shikhovo, guitars, balalaikas, domras have been produced since the end of the 18th century. Their quality was such that Shikhov's instruments were known even abroad. For guitars masters Krasnoshchekov and Polyakov came from Europe, even from Spain. The history of mass production of musical instruments dates back to 1929, when a factory was built in Shikhovo. Homeworkers were invited to lead the production. Unfortunately, even if an investor is found today who agrees to revive the factory, it will not be easy to do this: the old generation of craftsmen has already died, and the young ones have left in search of work.

Musical moment.

The village of Shikhovo is not far from Moscow, in the neighborhood of Zvenigorod. Nothing special from other villages does not differ, passing by, you will not pay attention. But it was here that we came to see how balalaikas and domras are born - sincerely sounding masterpieces, without which not a single orchestra of Russian folk music can do today.

The prehistory of the case is as follows: several years ago, prominent cultural figures, among them were laureates of All-Union and international competitions, honored artists, heads of special educational institutions, loudly spoke about the fact that the skill of our performers had significantly outgrown the capabilities of the music industry.

In other words, good musicians have nothing to play on. In addition, domras and balalaikas that came off the assembly line, not warmed by the touch of the hands of true artists, due to their unpretentious quality, significantly reduced the level of training for beginners, and often simply scared students away from classes. folk music jeopardizing the further development of the performing arts.

Balalaika and domrist players were all the more offended by the fact that by that time the Moscow Experimental Factory of Musical Instruments had begun to produce concert accordions "Jupiter", "Russia", "Appassionata", which allowed Soviet accordionists to participate in the most representative international competitions. And not just participate, but regularly win prizes, most often the first....

But here we will pause to return to the beginning. It's time to tell how the musicians themselves, apparently desperate to get their hands on high-class plucked instruments, not only raised the alarm, but intervened in production affairs, helping to overcome the protracted perestroika. One of these restless people is the honored worker of arts of the RSFSR, the former long-term director of the school named after. October revolution Aram Nikolaevich Lachinov.

It was he who first came to the factory with a proposal to organize a group of homeworkers with her - hereditary Zvenigorod craftsmen who can make domras and balalaikas, which you can dream of. It was he who went to the houses of Zvenigorod and the surrounding villages and urged the craftsmen to make not ten balalaikas and domras, but only three, but those that could be proud of. At first, the masters grunted and figured out the conditions for a long time: who would give the material, how much they would pay.

We agreed as follows: the first tools are prepared from the materials of their stock and presented to the expert council, which will evaluate them. When, after the most captious acceptance, Fyodor Ilyich Simakov was told that his domra was the creation of the most exquisite forms, and when they announced that it cost 250 rubles, all the craftsmen understood: the conversation about quality is quite serious, you can get down to business for real.

Over the past year, homeworkers have given the factory 1,300 instruments, the quality of finish and sound is incomparably higher than those produced before. This, of course, is more than nothing, and still not enough: the demand for them is also huge. But the factory cannot yet increase the number of homeworkers: the economic standards that apply equally to the production of balalaikas on the assembly line and to the creation of genuine works of art, which, according to experts, are the products of Shikhov's masters, do not allow.

The material they use is expensive, the most valuable species of wood. Their productivity is low, they don’t think about quantity, they work with jewelry scrupulousness, each domra is “licked” for weeks. And although homeworkers' products are cost-effective, they are certainly at a disadvantage compared to mass-produced products. And handmade button accordions - the pride of the music industry - are also still dependent on mass-produced instruments, which now provide the factory with the bulk of the profits and therefore hold back the production of custom-made products ...

MATERIALS FROM A.N. and S.N. LACHINOV
(1974-1982)

On the organization of home-based production at the Moscow experimental factory of musical instruments.

In 1974, a resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR “On the revival, preservation and further development of folk art craft” was issued, and the Main Directorate of Rosmuzprom decided to organize a home-based production at the Moscow Experimental Factory of Musical Instruments for the manufacture of high-quality stringed folk instruments for professional performance. The Russian music industry did not produce instruments that would meet the requirements of professional musicians.

Solo and orchestral folk instruments created by the master artist S.I. Nalimov under the guidance of V.V. Andreev, as well as the instruments of the Soviet musical masters of the older generation Burov, Sotsky, Savitsky, Grachev, Starikov, remained unsurpassed and unique. The Directorate of MEFMI decided to organize a home-made production of instruments that would not be inferior in terms of parameters to the instruments of outstanding masters of the older generation.

The task of organizing this was not an easy one, and the practical implementation of it fell to my lot. In August 1974, together with my brother S. N. Lachinov, a professional folk musician, we went to the village of Shikhovo, Odintsovo district, Moscow region, where the musical craft was passed down from generation to generation. First, we turned to the oldest authoritative master Fedor Ilyich Simakov, who helped us, and in a short time we managed to get acquainted with the wonderful dynasties of the Simakovs, Starikovs, Shibalovs and other masters, of which eleven people agreed to cooperate with the factory.

Here are their names: Simakov F.I., Simakov B.I., Simakov A.I., Shibalov N.I., Starikov A.I., Elistratov V.M., Letunov A.Ya., Polyakov V.V. ., Savelyev M.I., Savelyeva M.I., Surov S.A. At the end of August 1974, the Shikhov craftsmen arrived in Moscow to meet with the director of the factory Ginzburg A.K.

At the first meeting, the tasks of organized home-based production were determined, a monthly norm for making instruments was set - 3 domras or balalaikas per month for each master and one guitar per month for a guitar master and a guaranteed salary of 300 - 400 rubles for three high quality instruments. All eleven Shikhov masters were enlisted for permanent work as musical masters of the factory's home production.

The first month of work - in September 1974, this group of masters, consisting of 11 people, provided the factory with 12 instruments: 10 small domras, 1 prima balalaika and 1 six-string guitar.

The craftsmen were constantly in close creative collaboration with the expert council of the factory, which included professional musicians, and, listening to their advice, instructions and requirements, achieved significant success. Every month, the factory began to receive from Shikhovo more and more high-quality instruments, which received high marks from the expert council, professional musicians, as well as the State Commission, which awards the instruments with the “Quality Mark”.

V. M. Elistratov was born on April 12, 1931 in a peasant family in the Ryazan region. His father, who played the balalaika, instilled in him a love for Russian folk instruments. Victor at the age of eight began to play the balalaika, and then became a self-taught tinkerer. First, he repaired his balalaika, then some of the instruments of the school orchestra, in which he played for 3 years. Carried away by the craft, Viktor Mikhailovich in his youth began to make new balalaikas on his own and supply his peers with them.

After serving in the army, he moved to the village of Shikhovo and since 1956 began working at the Shikhov factory as a machine operator, making guitars, developing various innovations and introducing them into the production of the factory, as well as making guitars and three-stringed small domras in his workshop. To the question - who was the first teacher who taught how to make musical instruments, Viktor Ivanovich answered: "Life itself and love for folk instruments taught me how to make folk instruments close to my heart."

With a kind word and gratitude, he remembers the masters Sergei Surov, Boris Simakov, who, with their advice and consultations, helped him improve his skills. In 1973, he went to work in the music workshop of the VHO production plant as a home master. Viktor Ivanovich's wife, Tamara Grigorievna, who worked for many years at the Shikhov factory as a master for preparing soundboards for serial guitars, helped her husband in his work. In 1974, V. M. Elistratov became a master of home-based production at MEFMI. By 1982, V. M. Elistratov made about 600 different solo instruments, of which more than 200 three-stringed small domras and balalaikas were approx.

I.V. Emelyanov is a bright and versatile musical master producing 3 and 4 string domras, balalaikas from piccolo to double bass, guitars. Born March 8, 1930 in the village of Shikhovo in the family of a hereditary music master Vladimir Pavlovich Yemelyanov. My father made domras, balalaikas and guitars. He worked at home and at the Shikhov Factory of String Instruments. Mother - Maria Ivanovna was a member of the collective farm "Paris Commune".

Father's uncle - Matvey Fedorovich Burov - one of the most famous masters from the Burov dynasty, who has been making mandolins, domras and balalaikas for more than a century. In 1959 the family moved to Golitsino and then to Nakhabino. From the age of 9, Igor helped his father in the workshop and looked closely at the work of his father and relatives - the brothers Sergey and Matvey Burovs, Evgeny Grachev and other masters. At the age of 17, he made the first 4-string domra on his own.

From 1947 to 1974 he worked in the VHO. In 1974 he moved to MEFMI as a home master. Over the years of his activity he has made more than 2500 solo and orchestral instruments. Many of these instruments sound in the hands of concert musicians, in famous ensembles and are distinguished by a high level of workmanship, beauty of timbre and brightness of sound. I.V. Emelyanov was awarded bronze and silver medals of VDNKh of the USSR for the high quality of his instruments and was awarded the title of laureate of the 1st All-Russian Competition of Musical Masters in 1977.

A. Ya. Letunov was born on November 17, 1928 in the village of Shikhovo. His father, according to tradition, was engaged in musical craft, made folk instruments. Anatoly graduated from the Zvenigorod production and technical school in 1944, where he received the specialty of a musical master of the 5th category in the manufacture of balalaikas. He improved his skills at home in his father's workshop. In 1945, Anatoly Yakovlevich entered the Shikhov factory.

Here he performs various works on the manufacture of parts for folk musical instruments and makes his own balalaikas and domras. In 1970, he began to work as a homeworker at the Moscow Experimental Workshop of the Ministry of Culture of the RSFSR and began to make three and four-string domras from piccolo to bass.

In September 1974, A. Ya. Letunov willingly joined the Shikhov masters and began working at MEFMI. By 1982, he had made more than 600 instruments, of which about 300 were high-quality three and four-string domras. He was awarded the bronze medal of VDNKh of the USSR.

V.S. Pavlov was born on January 2, 1947 into a peasant family in the village of Terekhovo, Ruzsky district. His father Stepan Semenovich was a cooper and forester. In 1963, V.S. Pavlov entered the Zvenigorod toy factory as an apprentice locksmith. He was constantly among the musical masters of Zvenigorod and Shikhov, and he developed an interest in musical mastery. He often came to the village of Shikhovo to his son-in-law, musical master Yury Vasilievich Polyakov, and began to learn from him how to make instruments.

The first instrument he made was the alto balalaika. In 1971, he entered the Moscow Experimental Music Workshop as a musical master for making balalaikas. Since 1977, he has become a home master at MEFMI. Listening to the advice of the masters, he made, reworked, experimented, and, in a relatively short time, was able to become a musical master producing high-quality balalaikas.

By 1982, Viktor Stepanovich made about 500 instruments. Pavlov's balalaikas were repeatedly shown at All-Russian exhibitions, where they were highly appreciated. In 1982, Viktor Stepanovich was awarded the bronze medal of VDNKh of the USSR.

Yu. V. Polyakov was born on February 22, 1933 in the village of Shikhovo in the family of the musical master Vasily Timofeevich Polyakov. His father made guitars. At first, he worked as a handicraft at home, in his small workshop, then he moved to the Shikhov music factory.

During the Great Patriotic War he died. His grandfather was also a guitar maker. Yuri graduated from elementary school, at the age of 14 he began to master the craft, first with his older brother, and then at a music factory.

His wife, Zinaida Stepanovna, is also a musical master, she worked for many years at the Shikhov factory. In 1959, Yuri Vasilievich moved to the Moscow Experimental Musical Workshop, where he worked as a home-based craftsman for 16 years. In 1976, he became a homeworker at MEFMI. By 1982, Yuri Vasilievich made 1125 different solo and orchestral instruments.

M. Ya. Pytin was born on January 2, 1930 into a peasant family, in the village of Shchulgino, Zaoksky district, Tula region. His father, Yakov Yegorovich, and his mother, Praskovya Alekseevna, were members of the collective farm. Kirov. Mikhail was orphaned early - his father died at the front. After serving in the Navy, M. Ya. Pytin settled in the village of Shikhovo. In 1956 he entered the Shikhov music factory. Here, at the age of 26, he completed a six-month training course, then became a master.

I learned how to make a four-string domra on my own. His teacher was the music master Alexander Ivanovich Starikov, then the masters Simakov, Shibalov and others provided considerable assistance. So since 1966, Mikhail Yakovlevich became a musical master, independently making four-string prima domras. In 1978, he began working as a homeworker at MEFMI, and in 4 years of his work he made 112 four-stringed domras approx.

The wife of Mikhail Yakovlevich, Valentina Dmitrievna, was also a musical master at the Shikhov factory, where she worked as a master for 34 years, performing various operational work on the manufacture of domras and guitars.

MI Savelyev He was born in 1915, in the family of a worker - a locksmith, in the village of Shikhov. During his school years, he began to look closely at how his older brother Nikolai Ivanovich, (b. 1902), makes domras, balalaikas, mandolins and guitars. In 1928, together with his brother, he went to work in the music workshop of the Shikhov industrial collective farm.

In 1935, he began to make instruments on his own.

In 1947, he went to work at the Moscow Experimental Music Workshop of the Ministry of Culture of the RSFSR, having worked there for 23 years. For 35 years of his independent work, he has made more than 2000 different solo and orchestral musical instruments. From 1974 to 1976 - home master MEFMI.

Mikhail Ivanovich passed on his art craft to his son Vladimir Mikhailovich, born in 1952. Vladimir early began to make bold experiments: he narrowed the klets, the heel of the neck and the bodies located under the bellows and thereby improved the playing qualities of the instrument, created the conditions for free play on the balalaika bellows to the last fret.

In 1977, he participated in the All-Russian competition of craftsmen who made folk instruments, where he was awarded the title of laureate of the competition. In November 1982, he quit the factory due to moving to a new place of residence.

N. F. Savelyev was born in 1922 in the village of Shikhovo. At the age of 13, he became interested in the skill of Shikhov's musical masters and began to actively master this craft. His teachers were Krasnoshchekov V.I., Burov F.I. who gave knowledge on the manufacture of three and four-stringed domras. From 1935 to 1940, Nikolai Filippovich worked at the Shikhov music factory.

During the Great Patriotic War from 1941 to 1946 he was in the ranks of Soviet army. He has medals for the defense of Moscow and for the victory over Nazi Germany. Upon returning from the army, he entered the Moscow musical workshop of the Committee for Art of the RSFSR.

Then, in 1959, he began working in the music workshop of the All-Russian Art Association, and in September 1974, from the first days of the organization of home-based production for the manufacture of musical instruments at the Moscow Experimental Musical Factory.

Over the years of his activity, Nikolai Filippovich produced about 2000 domras. The successor of his business is his son Vladimir Nikolaevich, who also works at the MEFMI factory as a homeworker.

Fedor Ilyich Simakov is a bright representative of the famous Shikhov music craftsmen. His father - Ilya Ivanovich (1880-1916) and grandfather - Ivan Semenovich Simakov, in parallel with the peasant economy, were engaged in their favorite musical craft. They mainly made guitars for private shops in Moscow, Gorky, Ivanov and sold the surplus at fairs. Fyodor Ilyich's wife, Vera Yakovlevna, worked for 40 years at the Shikhov factory of musical instruments, where she performed jewelry work on mosaics and inlays of folk musical instruments.

Her father, Yakov Ignatievich, born in 1890, as well as the grandfather and great-grandfather of the Shkunyovs, were also musical masters who mainly made seven-string guitars. Fedor was born in January 1912 in the village of Shikhovo. At the age of 3 he lost his father. His elder brother Ivan Ilyich, a music master, who became his first teacher, was his trustee.

At the age of 13, he began to make musical instruments. At the age of 16, he began to make domras and mandolins on his own. In 1928 he became a homeworker for the artel of the Zvenigorod cooperative musical partnership. Since 1929, he was a musical master of the Shikhov factory organized on the basis of a cooperative musical artel, he was one of the active organizers of this factory. In the period from 1947 to 1959, he was the head of the workshop for serial stringed folk instruments.

In 1966 he became a homeworker in the Moscow workshop of the All-Russian Art Association. Here he makes solo and orchestral 3- and 4-string domras, performing a big production plan from 6 to 10 different instruments per month. Since 1974, he has been a homeworker at MEFMI. Over the years of his creative activity he made over 1200 solo and orchestral instruments. His sons Vyacheslav and Viktor are worthy successors of their father's work.

A. G. Simakov was born on March 13, 1926 in the village of Shikhov, in the family of a musical craftsman. My father made guitars. He graduated from the 4th grade of the Shikhov school. As a child, he was fond of music, played the chromatic harmonica. His fate was somewhat different than that of many masters. After leaving school, Alexei Grigorievich began working as an apprentice carpenter at the Shikhov music factory and helped his father make musical instruments at home. In 1942, at the age of 16, he began to make boxes for mines on a military order at the factory, worked as a carpenter at a Moscow shipyard.

In 1948 he returned to the Shikhov factory and became a guitar maker. The first teacher was my father, who worked in a factory and made guitars at home. At the factory, Alexei Grigorievich learned how to make serial orchestral balalaikas. Since 1967, he has been working at the Moscow Experimental Music Workshop, where he began to make high-class prima concert balalaikas. For 7 years of his work, Alexei Grigorievich made 420 different orchestral balalaikas, for the same subsequent period he made 265 high-quality solo concert balalaikas.

His prima balalaikas at VDNKh of the USSR were awarded a bronze medal. His wife, Zinaida Alekseevna, who worked for many years as a music master in the workshops of mass-produced musical instruments, is also a homeworker. Their son Viktor Alekseevich is the successor of his parents' work.

B. I. Simakov is an active and talented successor of the noble cause of his father - Ivan Ilyich, uncle - Fedor Ilyich, grandfather and great-grandfather Simakov. Born on January 24, 1932 in the village of Shikhovo. My father worked as a music master at the Shikhov factory, was the head of the mandolin workshop. In 1942 he died in the war. Boris in 1944 entered the factory as an apprentice in the processing of fretboards of musical instruments.

The first teacher was his brother Alexei, who also worked at the factory. At the factory, he mastered the manufacture of all parts of instruments, working as a master of the mandolin and guitar workshops. From 1962 he became a master of the experimental workshop of the Ministry of Culture of the RSFSR, and from September 1974 he became a homework master at MEFMI. By 1984, he had made 1,500 solo and orchestral instruments, including 300 solo concert balalaikas. B. I. Simakov - laureate of the 1st All-Russian Competition of Musical Masters in 1977, awarded the bronze medal of the VDNKh of the USSR for a three-stringed domra.

A.I. Simakov, like his older brother, Boris Ivanovich, is an active successor to the noble cause of the great Simakov dynasty. Alexander was born on March 17, 1939 in the village of Shikhovo. Father Ivan Ilyich and mother Irina Nikolaevna were members of the collective farm "Paris Commune". My father was engaged in the production of folk musical instruments by inheritance in his home workshop. Then he entered the Shikhov music factory as a music master and later became the head of the mandolin workshop.

He died in 1942 at the front. Sasha moved to the care of his mother and two older brothers Alexei and Boris, he graduated from the 7th grade of the secondary school in the Zvenigorod region. At the age of 16, he entered the Shikhov factory of musical instruments as a student of crafts and polishing guitar necks. Since 1966, simultaneously with work at the factory, he began to make three-stringed small domras on his own under the guidance of his older brother Boris Ivanovich.

After a six-month study, he enters the Moscow Experimental Music Workshop of the Ministry of Culture of the RSFSR as a master. For 7 years of work, he made about 400 three-stringed domras. These domras were of average quality. In 1974 he switched to MEFMI. His level of skill has grown significantly, on January 1, 1982, he made about 300 high-class three-stringed small domras. A.I. Simakov is the Laureate of the first All-Russian competition of musical masters in 1977.

A.I. Starikov was born on September 24, 1931 in the village of Shikhov. Father - Ivan Konstantinovich was a musical master all his life, who inherited this craft from his father. He made domras, balalaikas, guitars at first at home, and then at the Shikhov factory of musical instruments, where for many years he was a leading musical master. Alexander from a young age began to join the interesting, fascinating profession of his father.

In 1947, after graduating from the 7th grade of a secondary school in the Odintsovo district, he entered the Shikhov factory as an apprentice on a conveyor belt for domrams and guitars, and after four months he switched to independent work on the manufacture of various parts for instruments. After serving 3 years in the army, in 1955 he began working as a master of the music workshop of the WTO production plant. Since September 1974, Alexander Ivanovich, among the first Shikhov craftsmen, became a homeworker at MEFMI.

He constantly experimented, improved his skills, and was distinguished by purposefulness. His solo three- and four-string domras and high-class balalaikas for professional performance were highly appreciated by the expert council of the factory. For all the years of his independent creative activity, Alexander Ivanovich made more than 2000 different instruments.

A.I. Ustinov was born in 1949 in the city of Zvenigorod. His father Ivan Dmitrievich Ustinov worked mainly at home, he made all the folk instruments included in the domra-balalaika orchestra, as well as mandolins. For several years he was an instructor at the Zvenigorod two-year music vocational school for training personnel for the production of musical instruments. Mother Claudia Vasilievna was a housewife.

Alexander, after graduating from the 8th grade of the school, became addicted to his father's craft and became a balalaika master. Since 1970, he began working in the music workshop of the VHO in Moscow, in 1976 he switched to permanent work as a home-based music master at MEFMI. In 1977, Alexander Ivanovich took part in the first All-Russian competition of musical masters of folk instruments and guitars. At this competition, Ustinov's balalaika won a prize, and he received the title of laureate. By 1982, he made about 500 balalaikas, 100 of them were recognized as high quality and recommended for professional performance. His balalaika basses and double basses are especially highly regarded. Alexander Ivanovich's wife, Tatyana Ivanovna, works with him as a home-worker at the factory.

A. P. Uchastnov was born on January 30, 1939 in the village of Belozerovo in the family of a musical master. Anatoly's father, Pavel Nikolayevich, made excellent guitars, three- and four-string orchestral domras, and balalaikas. At first he worked at home, then he was an instructor at the Zvenigorod vocational school for the manufacture of musical instruments. From the first days of the Great Patriotic War until 1947 he served in the ranks of the Soviet army. From 1947 he worked in the village of Alyaukhovo in a music workshop as a music master.

From 1952 to 1955 he worked at the Shikhov music factory as a homeworker. Later, and until the end of his life, he worked as a homeworker in the music workshop of the WMO. Anatoly Pavlovich was a musical master not only by his father, but also by his paternal grandfather, maternal grandfather, maternal uncle and three paternal uncles. Anatoly, after graduating from a 7-year-old secondary school, decided to become a professional master. His own father was a teacher and mentor.

For the first year of his independent work, Anatoly Pavlovich worked in the music workshop of the All-Russian Artistic Organization, then in 1976 he entered the MEFMI as a master of home production and began to specialize in small three-string domrams. For 7 years of his work at the factory, A.P. Uchastnov handed over to the factory more than three hundred excellent small domras. He attracted his wife, Valentina Mikhailovna, and son Yuri, to his craft, who also became musical masters.

In addition, Anatoly Pavlovich passed on his skills to three more lovers of folk art: Sergeev Evgeny, Kapitonov Alexander and his brother Uchastnov Mikhail, who became masters of the factory's home-made production.

N. A. Fedorov was born on December 16, 1925 in the village of Shikhov into a peasant family. Mother was a housewife, father was a home-based musical master, he made various domras, which he handed over to the Moscow factory of musical plucked instruments. Nikolai graduated from the 7th grade of the Savvinskaya secondary school. From a young age, he developed an interest in music, taught himself to play the harmonica, and from 1941 learned to make musical instruments.

His father was his first teacher and mentor. Balalaika prima was the first instrument made by Nikolai himself. In 1975, Nikolai Andreevich went to work as a home-based music master at MEFMI. For all the years of his activity, Nikolai Andreevich made about 2,500 different solo and orchestral domras and balalaikas. Nikolai Andreevich is a laureate of the 1st All-Russian Competition of Musical Masters. His alto domra took second place in the competition.

While working at the factory as a homeworker, Nikolai Andreevich taught his daughter and son-in-law, Alexander Pavlovich Shvedov, to make three-stringed domras and they successfully work at the factory as homeworkers, continue the noble work of their teacher and mentor Nikolai Andreevich Fedorov.

N. S. Filippov was born on September 9, 1930 in the family of a musical master in the village of Shikhov. Father Semyon Mikhailovich worked as a music master at the Shikhov factory, he made guitars.

Mother Alexandra Alexandrovna was a member of the collective farm "Paris Commune". Nicholas began early to look closely at his father's work and help him. After graduating from school and college in 1947, he entered the Shikhov music factory, where he made four-string domras and mandolins.

After serving in the army, he was restored at the Shikhov factory, a year later he went to the state farm to work as a driver. In 1959, he entered the music workshop of the production plant of the Vkhoz as a master, where he mainly made small three-stringed domras. In 1975 he moved to work at MEFMI.

During his career, Nikolai Semenovich made 1130 different solo and orchestral three and four-string orchestral domras. The wife of Nikolai Semenovich, Anna Filippovna, is also a musical master. The successor of Nikolai's work is his eldest son Anatoly Nikolaevich.

V. I. Khromov is a bright, talented and versatile musical master. Born on March 12, 1932 in the village of Kapotnya, Ukhtomsky District, Moscow Region, in the family of musical master Ivan Efimovich Khromov. The family of the Khromovs lived for many years in the village of Shikhov. Here Victor graduated from elementary school and 2 classes of the evening school for working youth during his work at the Shikhov factory.

From the age of 13, he began studying and working at the Shikhov music factory, where from 1945 to 1955 he worked in various operational jobs: he sawed mandolin decks out of plywood, processed instrument heads and glued them to the necks, worked on assembling mandolin bodies, then three, four-string domr.

Here at the factory, he learned a lot and became a tool maker. Returning from the army, he entered the WTO music workshop as a master of three-stringed small domras. Here great help was rendered to him by an experienced Shikhov master Sergey Aleksandrovich Surov.

After the reorganization of the WTO workshop and its transfer to the VHO system, a new musical workshop of the WTO production plant was formed, where he moved to work in the same position. In January 1975, he entered the Moscow Experimental Factory as a homeworker.

Until 1982, Viktor Ivanovich made about 1600 different solo and orchestral instruments. Viktor Ivanovich Khromov is a veteran of the factory's home-based production. In 1965 he was awarded the bronze medal of VDNKh of the USSR, and in 1982 a silver medal for domra, which received high praise. Viktor Ivanovich's wife, Nina Pavlovna, also works at the factory.

A. N. Shibalov is the successor of his father, Nikolai Ivanovich. Anatoly was born on April 28, 1941 in the village of Shikhov. Mother Claudia Ivanovna was a member of the collective farm "Paris Commune" and for many years worked at the Shikhov music factory.

Having received knowledge from his father, Anatoly Nikolayevich entered the Shikhov music factory in 1959 as a mandolin assembler. From 1961 to 1964 he served in the ranks of the Soviet army.

In 1964 he entered the Moscow Musical Workshop of the Artistic Combine of the All-Union Artistic Organization. In January 1975, he switched to a permanent job at MEFMI as a homeworker. Anatoly Nikolaevich has a number of commendable diplomas for success and achievements in the field of manufacturing folk musical instruments.

For 18 years of his independent creative activity, he made about 700 different folk musical instruments. Together with Anatoly Nikolaevich, his wife Taisiya Vasilievna also works.

A. N. Shibalov is the younger brother of Anatoly Shabalov, and the successor of the work of his father, teacher and mentor Nikolai Ivanovich Shibalov. Alexander was born on January 18, 1946, received an 8-grade general education. He graduated from the Zvenigorod Musical School with a degree in bayan-accordion. From 1962 to 1965 he worked as an accordion player in the House of Culture, but the traditions of the Shibalov dynasty of musical masters took over and Alexander decided to learn the art of making three-stringed small domras.

His father was his first teacher. From 1965 to 1972 he served in the army, and upon his return from the army, he first entered the Shikhov factory, then went to work in the music workshop of the All-Russian Art Association. Since 1974 he has been working as a homeworker at MEFMI. Alexander Nikolaevich is a laureate of the 1st All-Russian Competition of Musical Masters. Over the years of his activity, he has made more than 700 different orchestral and concert instruments. The wife of Alexander Nikolaevich, Natalya Vladimirovna, also works at a musical instrument factory.

E. S. Shibalov was born on July 20, 1936 in the village of Shikhov in the family of a hereditary musical master. His father, grandfather and great-grandfather were Shikhov's musical craftsmen and made mainly seven-string guitars. Mother Evdokia Vasilievna was a member of the collective farm. Evgeny Sergeevich received an 8-grade general education. His first teacher was his father. In 1956, Evgeny Sergeevich entered the Shikhov music factory. Here he worked until 1957.

Upon his return from the army at the age of 20, he entered the music workshop of the VHO production plant as a musical master for the production of three and four-stringed domras. Good-quality instruments came out of his hands here, which were very successful in musical institutions. After 16 years of work in the VHO workshop, in January 1975 he moved to the MEFMI as a homeworker. By 1982, Evgeny Sergeevich made 1585 solo and orchestral three and four-string orchestral domras. His wife Galina Sergeevna is also a musical master.

Nicolo Amati (Italian Nicolo Amati) (December 3, 1596 - April 12, 1684) - one of the most famous masters of the Amati family. Creator of many string instruments, including cellos. The teacher of such illustrious masters of creationstring instruments like Antonio Stradivari and Giuseppe Guarneri.

Biography

Nicolo Amati born December 3, 1596 in Cremona. His father was Girolamo (Jeronimus) Amati, the son of Andrea Amati, the founder of the violin school. He, like his entire family, lived and worked in Cremona. Nicolo is the most famous representative of the family.

Amati brought the type of violin developed by his predecessors to perfection. In some large-format violins (364-365 mm) of the so-called Grand Amati, he enhanced the sound while maintaining the softness and tenderness of the timbre. With the elegance of form, his instruments make a more monumental impression than the work of his predecessors. The varnish is golden yellow with a slight brown tint, sometimes red. The cellos of Nicolo Amati are also excellent. Very few violins and cellos, created by the most famous of the masters of the Amati family - Nicolo, have survived - just over 20.

Also one of his students was his son Girolamo Amati II (1649-1740). But he did not justify the hopes of his father, and under him the famous school was closed.

STRADIVARI, Stradivarius Antonio (c. 1644-1737) - Italian violin maker, student of the famous N. Amati. From a young ageyears before last days life Stradivari worked in his workshop, driven by the desire to bring the violin to the highest perfection. More than 1,000 instruments have been preserved, made by the great master and distinguished by the elegance of form and unsurpassed sound qualities. Stradivari's successors were masters C. Bergonzi (1683-1747) and J. Guarneri (1698-1744). The famous violin maker I. A. Batov was called the “Russian Stradivarius”.

Ivan Andreevich Batov(1767 - 1841, St. Petersburg) - the first famous Russian master of musical instruments.
He was a serf of Count N. I. Sheremetev. He studied in Moscow with the master Vladimirov. He made musical instruments on the count's estate near Moscow for his orchestra. From 1803 he lived in St. Petersburg. Sheremetev wished that Batov also learned a new craft for those times - piano making. Batov learned this from Master Gauk. Sheremetev allowed him to take orders only from musicians. According to legend, Batov made the violinist and balalaika player Prince Potemkin from an old coffin board a balalaika, for which Count A. G. Orlov offered a thousand rubles. Batov repeatedly repaired instruments for the musicians of the royal court. In 1822 he received from D. N. Sheremetev a free, according to the stories, for the cello of his work. I. A. Batov achieved special skill in the manufacture of stringed instruments - guitars, violins, cellos. He considered the manufacture of double basses to be a thankless task, he made them only in Vladimirov's workshop.

During his life, Batov created 41 violins, 3 violas, 6 cellos and 10 guitars. He restored many old violins of Italian work. Batov paid special attention to the quality of wood for tools. He did not spare money to purchase it and often bought old doors and gates for the material.

Krasnoshchekov I. Ya.
Ivan Yakovlevich (30 I (10 II) 1798, Znamenka village of Zaraisky near Ryazan province - 19 (31) VII 1875, Moscow) - Russian. instr. master.He studied from 1810 with M. Dubrovin in Moscow, where in 1824 he opened his own. workshop. Produced premium. 7-string guitars as well as violins. The instruments of his work were played by almost all prominent Russian. guitarists. He was friendly with M. T. Vysotsky, he used his advice. Instruments K., distinguished by a soft silvery timbre sound and fine arts. decoration, highly valued. In 1872, the guitar of his work was awarded a gold medal at the Moscow. Polytechnic exhibition.

Semyon Ivanovich Nalimov(1857-1916) - an outstanding Vilgort master of stringed Russian folk instruments, who created wonderful samples of balalaikas, domras and gusli of various sizes and systems and gained fame as "Komi Stradivari".

In 1886, S. I. Nalimov made his first domra, a musical instrument that had long been out of use.Nalimov gave this instrument new life. S. I. Nalimov made over 250 instruments. The tools made by the master were highly valued by specialists and were awarded a bronze medal at world exhibition in Paris in 1900 and a gold medal at the Musical World exhibition in St. Petersburg in 1907. Outstanding Master for the manufacture of stringed Russian folk instruments, who created wonderful samples of balalaikas, domras and gusli of various sizes and systems. He worked with the Great Russian Orchestra of V. V. Andreev, in a workshop specially equipped for him in the estate of V. V. Andreev (the village of Maryino, Bezhetsky district, Tver province).

“The technique for making balalaikas and domras by Semyon Ivanovich Nalimov was unattainable, which, in connection with the selection of the bestmaterial makes each instrument released from his hands - the ideal of perfection, ”wrote Nikolai Privalov in the article“ Balalaika Stradivarius ”. In addition to excellent musical and acoustic data, Nalimov's instruments are distinguished by their rare elegance in shape and the beauty of their external finish. In addition to a label pasted inside the case indicating the master's name, date and serial number, all Nalimov's instruments have a special mark in the form of a coat of arms inlaid with colored wood in the upper right corner of the head. “The Great Russian orchestra would never have been brought to the present degree of instrumental perfection if Andreev had not been lucky enough to meet and recruit S. I. Nalimov for himself.” The joint work of Andreev with Nalimov and other masters and musicians led to the fact that Russian folk musical instruments gained worldwide fame.

http://slovari.yandex.ru

ARHUZEN Robert Ivanovich(born October 4, 1844, St. Petersburg, - died January 20, 1920, Moscow), is a famous Russian guitar master. The son of the famous instrumental master I.F. Arhuzen, younger brother of F.I. Arhuzen. Received home education. From the age of fourteen he studied the art of making musical instruments from his father. He worked first in St. Petersburg, and since 1875 - in Moscow. He was one of the best Russian guitar masters. The instruments of his work, distinguished by the strength and variety of sound, the beauty of the timbre, the elegance of the finish, were highly valued and awarded at the All-Russian Industrial Exhibitions in 1871, 1872 and 1882. He began his activity with the manufacture of inexpensive guitars - 25 rubles apiece, and at the insistence of V.A. Rusanova began to design them of very high quality, in connection with which the price also rose - up to 200 rubles. Designing one guitar took up to a month of work. The best guitar R.I. Arhuzen is considered to be a large guitar, presented to him in the summer of 1908 by V.A. Rusanov. Among the best tertz guitars is an eleven-string instrument made in 1908, made by order of V.P. Mashkevich. Of the family of guitar makers, Arkhuzenov enjoyed the greatest fame.

ARKHUZEN Ivan (Johann) Fedorovich (born 1795, Copenhagen, Denmark, - d. February 21, 1870, St. Petersburg, Russia), is a famous instrumental master. Father of guitar makers R.I. and F.I.Arkhuzenov. From the age of three until the end of his life he lived in St. Petersburg. In his youth, he worked at the Brel tool factory. In 1818 he opened his own workshop for the manufacture of harps, guitars and pianos, where he made good, but expensive instruments (guitars for 40 rubles apiece and more). In 1856, one of the guitars of I.F. Arkhuzena was awarded the second prize (500 francs) for the best instrument at the International Guitar Competition in Brussels, organized by N.P. Makarov (the guitar of the Austrian master I. Scherzer received the first prize).

ARKHUZEN Fedor Ivanovich - guitar master, son and student of I.F. Arhuzen, elder brother of R.I. Arhuzen. After the death of his father, he worked with his brother in St. Petersburg, and after the latter left for Moscow in 1875, he continued to work independently. Instruments F.I. Arhuzen are distinguished by solid construction and clean work. The master imitated the Scherzer model, but made guitars with a very large scale - 66.0 - 66.5 cm with a body length of 46.5 - 48.0 cm, and also went his own way, making various experiments. This is evidenced by the guitar of his work in 1890 with four soundboards (upper, two lower and one inside the body)

http://guitar-nsk.ru/

Guitar masters. Austria

* Scherzer, Johann Gottfried (Scherzer, Johann Gottfried). – Vienna.

Renowned guitar maker. He apparently came from Vogtland. In addition to guitars, he designed mandolins and violins. A very cultured craftsman who introduced many innovations (metal rod inside the body, second bottom soundboard, hidden ivory mechanics, etc.). Designed guitars in three sizes: quart, tertz and large. All the time he strove to enhance the tone of the instrument and in this regard increased the size of its body. Scherzer introduced the Ferrari ten-string guitar into Austria, designed the Petzval harp guitar, kept in the collection of the Vienna Friends of Music Society, and, commissioned by M.D. Sokolovsky, a seventeen-string guitar. He independently set up several experiments on acoustics and contributed a lot to physicists and scientists, willingly going towards the implementation of their ideas. He lived first at 65 Gundstromstrasse and then at 99 Margaretenstrasse.

F. Buek in his book "Die Gitarre und ihre Meiser" says the following about Scherzer:

“Johann Gottfried Scherzer /1834-1870/ seems to have been a student of Johann Georg Staufer. He had his workshop at Gundsturmstrasse, No. 65, and later at Margaretenstrasse, No. 99. His guitars were noted for their large format, clean workmanship and strong tone. He was the first to introduce additional basses on six-string guitar, and also used mechanics instead of wooden pegs. The Russian virtuoso guitarist Makarov, who found and ordered many guitars from him in Vienna, called him the best guitar maker in Germany and preferred his instruments over all the instruments of that time. Therefore, Scherzer's guitars went to Russia in large numbers, and they were used mainly by professional guitarists and virtuosos. The Russian virtuoso guitarist Sokolovsky owned a Scherzer guitar, as did his followers Solovyov and Lebedev. In Brussels, at the Makarov competition, Scherzer received the First Prize for a guitar with three additional basses. The virtuoso guitarist Sokolovsky ordered Scherzer a guitar with fifteen basses. When this instrument passed the Russian border, the customs did not know what to call it, since guitars of this shape and volume were not known. Due to the fact that this instrument could not be attributed to an ordinary guitar, they gave it the name "harp guitar" and considered it a transition from a harp to a guitar. A peculiar pear-shaped guitar with a very wide body and a scale length of 59 cm also belongs to Mr. Kern from the Munich Guitar Quartet. This great sounding and cleanly made instrument is one of the solo guitars that originated in Vienna, were made for small hands and later rebuilt by instrument maker Lux and others. These guitars, which are always pear-shaped, have the same pitch as a prim guitar. Scherzer guitars, as concert guitars, have fallen out of use by modern artists, since the bass character makes them unsuitable for solo playing, and the neck does not meet modern requirements. As an accompaniment instrument, these guitars are of great service, as Sepp Summer testifies."

This note requires some adjustments, namely:

1.) If 1834 is indicated as the date of Scherzer's birth, then this is a mistake, since it cannot be that he worked as an apprentice under the age of 16 with Staufer, who died in 1850. Makarov, who found Scherzer in 1852. does not call him a young man.

2.) The introduction of additional basses on a six-string guitar is attributed to the Italian master and guitarist Giambattista Ferrari, who worked in Modena in 1853-1889, although already L.Legnani in 1808 performed in concerts on the guitar with two additional basses (6 + 2) . Ferrari is considered the inventor of the ten-string guitar.

3.) Even before Scherzer, Staufer and Panarmo used mechanical splitters.

4.) The guitar of M.D. Sokolovsky had twelve, not fifteen additional basses.

5.) Buek's opinion of Scherzer's guitars is bewildering. Most of the best instruments of this master went to Russia, and it may be impossible to judge their quality by the guitars preserved in Austria and Germany. But to declare that Scherzer's guitars are unsuitable for solo performance in concerts "due to their bass character" and "narrowness of the neck" is unreasonable, since by selecting basses of the appropriate thickness, you can achieve the same sound of core and bass strings, and the neck can be expanded or changed to a wider one. After all, he allowed the modernization of the fretboard of his tertz guitar by F. Schenk!

31.12.2015 16:19

Traditionally, musical instruments are made from materials with high quality resonating properties, aged in the natural environment for many years to maintain acoustic qualities and a stable structure. The resonance tree is harvested exclusively in the cold season. Spruce and fir are unique in their musical properties.

To create a deck in almost every musical instrument, spruce or fir is taken. Specialists with particular care choose the so-called resonant wood. The tree trunk should not have flaws and be with equally wide growth rings. Wood dries naturally for ten years or more. In the manufacture of musical instruments, the resonant properties of wood species are of exceptional importance. In this case, the trunk of spruce, Caucasian fir and Siberian cedar is more suitable than others, since their radiation power is the greatest. For this reason, these types of wood are included in GOST.

One of the necessary requirements when creating musical instruments is the choice of wood. For many centuries, resonant spruce species have been of the greatest interest to craftsmen. It was difficult to acquire raw materials of the required quality, so the craftsmen had to independently harvest wood in the manufacture of tools.

Quite a long time ago, the places of spruce growth with the necessary properties became known. The chief violin maker of the Russian trend of the 20th century, E.F. Vitachek, marked in his works the territories where spruce grew. In the Saxon and Bohemian species, a large amount of resin was ate, it cannot be used in the manufacture of instruments of the highest class ... Spruce from Italy and Tyrol was considered the best raw material ... Luten makers ordered Tyrolean wood from the city of Füssen, which is between Bavaria and Tyrol, and Italian view from the port of Fiume on the Adriatic.

In the mountains near Fiume in Italy, forests practically do not grow. Therefore, we can assume that the spruce was not from Italy, but from Croatia or Bosnia. There was also an additional territory from where spruce was brought for craftsmen from Italy - these were the Black Sea port cities - spruce from Russia, the Caucasus and from the Carpathians. As Vitachek wrote, since N. Amati worked, spruce is more often used on the outer decks of instruments, which is heavier, denser and rougher, while maple, on the contrary, has a low density. This is a very good combination: the sound becomes similar to the sound of a human voice. Italian masters have always used just such a combination of maple and unctuous wood.

However, spruce can have such properties only if it grows at the right level relative to the sea surface, that is, in the Alps or in the Caucasus. A variety of the Picea orientalis breed, which grows in the highlands of the Caucasus and Asia Minor at an altitude of one to two and a half kilometers, is similar in its qualities to the best types of spruce in the European highlands. As a rule, it grows next to Nordmann or Caucasian fir (Abies nord-manniana), which also has excellent acoustic characteristics. The famous Russian violin makers of the early 20th century, in most cases, used spruce from the Caucasus to create their instruments.

Types of wood used in the manufacture of musical instruments

When creating low-cost plucked tools, it is possible to use waste from woodworking factories, beams and boards of houses intended for demolition, parts of furniture and waste containers. But these materials need special drying and selection. When creating high-quality tools, it is required to use uncommon types of trees.

Spruce

Instrument decks and other parts are made of resonant spruce. Different subspecies of spruce grow almost everywhere in Russia. Spruce is taken as a resonant one, mainly in the central part of Russia. The firs of the north of Russia are more popular and better in terms of their physical and mechanical qualities. One of the best of merit is the presence of small growth rings, making the tree elastic and suitable as a resonant one.

Resonant trees are selected from the main amount of prepared sawn timber in forestry warehouses. These logs go to sawmills where they are sawn into 16mm boards. In order to acquire more wood, logs are sawn in six steps.

On wood for musical instruments there should be no knots, pockets with resin, sagging and other flaws. This is a strict quality requirement. Spruce wood is white with a slight yellow tint, and when exposed to open air becomes quite yellow over time. Layered planing and scraping of spruce occurs without problems with a clean and glossy cut. Sanding gives the wood surface a velvety finish and a slight matte sheen.

Fir

In addition to spruce, to obtain resonant wood, you can take fir growing in the Caucasus. It does not have many differences from spruce, both externally and when checking physical and mechanical parameters.

Birch

Birch forests make up two thirds of the total forests in Russia. industrial production warty birch and downy birch are used. Birch wood is white in color, sometimes has a yellowish or reddish tint, and is easy to process. During tinting, the dye is absorbed evenly, and the tone is even. If birch wood is dried evenly and aged for a sufficient amount of time, then it can be used in the manufacture of such parts of musical instruments as fretboards and staves. In addition, plywood is made from birch, which is used for the production of guitar bodies. Tools are trimmed with clean or painted birch veneer.

Beech

Beech is often used in the manufacture of musical instruments. Parts of the necks, stands and bodies of the harp and other parts of the plucked instruments in the music industry are made of beech wood. Beech grows in the southeastern part of Russia. The color of the beech wood is pinkish with a mottled pattern. The good resonant properties of beech make it suitable for instrument making. Beech wood is processed and polished by hand. When stained, stripes remain on the surface, which are visible when finished with a clear varnish.

Hornbeam

To imitate ebony, dyed hornbeam is used in the manufacture of necks and bodies. Also, hornbeam wood has a solid and durable structure. The hornbeam grows on the Crimean peninsula and in the mountains of the Caucasus. Hornbeam wood is white with a gray tint. The wood is planed well, but it is difficult to polish.

Maple

Maple is just as in demand in the creation of expensive musical instruments as resonant spruce. Maple wood stringed bodies give a good sound. Maple species sycamore and holly are used most widely. These species grow on the Crimean Peninsula, in the foothills of the Caucasus, and in Ukraine. Maple wood bends well, and its wood pulp has a significant density and viscosity. The texture is stripes of dark color on a pink-gray background. When applying varnish on sycamore maple, a beautiful mother-of-pearl surface is obtained. If staining is done correctly, this property of maple is enhanced.

The Red tree

This name bears several types of wood with different shades of red. Basically, this is the name of mahogany, which grows in Central America. This type of wood is also used for the production of necks, as it has good mechanical properties. If you cut the trunk across and make a transparent finish, then it will look very beautiful, although it is inconvenient for processing.

rosewood

These are several breeds that grow in South America. Rosewood wood lends itself well to cutting and polishing, but in this case it is necessary to fill the pores and polish. During processing, a special sweetish smell appears. Rosewood has very hard and strong fibers, purple to chocolate color, it is used in the creation of stringed instruments.

Ebony

A type of ebony tree that grows in South India. The best necks and bodies are made from ebony wood. The highest mechanical qualities of wood provide the tools with the necessary strength and hardness. With a greater weight of the neck when using ebony wood, the center of gravity of the instrument shifts towards the neck, this is very much appreciated by professional performers. The ebony carapace, when properly polished, avoids overtones if the plectrum jumps off the string. Ebony fretboards are abrasion resistant and provide excellent fret grip.

Musical wood is hardwood and softwood that is used to make musical instruments. Wood differs from each other in a number of ways. It is necessary to distinguish between the concept of a tree, that is, a growing tree, and wood, a material obtained from a tree cut down and peeled of branches and bark. The trunk gives the main amount of wood, which is 50-90% of the volume of parts of a growing tree ...

Choosing wood for guitars

The sound of a guitar is determined primarily by how it is made. plays a decisive role: how stable will the characteristics of the instrument be, will the neck “lead”, and most importantly, will the future instrument sound decent? The careful selection of guitar materials is the first and one of the most important tasks that guitar makers have to solve.

Among the huge amount of wood that is harvested for, not every board is suitable for making a musical instrument. The best option for the choice of wood are natural drying blanks. Despite the fact that natural drying of wood requires an order of magnitude more time than artificial drying, only it allows preserving the structure of pores and fibers, on which the resonant characteristics of the material depend. It is also necessary to take into account the profile of the cut, the direction of the fibers and their curvature, the presence (or, in our case, the absence) of knots, curl and other nuances. That is why we carefully select each piece and even keep dried wood in warehouses for at least a year.

Ash for guitars

Ash for guitars is a traditional material. Its transparent and sonorous sound is familiar to us from Fender guitars.

Swamp Ash is a light and strong wood with large pores, perfect for solid body guitars. White ash is slightly heavier and slightly "squeezed" in acoustic characteristics, but has more interesting decorative characteristics due to the good contrast of different layers of wood. White ash is suitable for making a guitar top from another material.

Scope: mainly the manufacture of bodies and tops for guitars.

Alder for guitars

Alder is one of the most popular woods for making electric guitars. Almost all well-known manufacturers (Fender, Jackson, Ibanez, Washburn and many others) have alder guitars in their product line, with the possible exception of Gibson conservatives. Excellent resonant characteristics over almost the entire frequency range (slightly more pronounced at the top) practically do not limit the range of use of alder for the manufacture of electric guitars.

Linden for guitars

Linden is a bit similar to alder, but has a somewhat muffled sound due to the softer and looser wood. Until recently, it was considered suitable only for inexpensive student instruments, but the Japanese Ibanez, in tandem with Joe Satriani, erased this myth to powder, showing the whole world how a basswood guitar can sound with good electronics and in the hands of a master.

Scope: production of cases of electric guitars.

Mahogany for guitars

Mahogany is a common name for many different types of wood, ranging from inexpensive woods such as agathis, which is used to produce student electric guitars with very mediocre characteristics, to excellent examples of Honduran and African mahogany. Redwood is characterized beautiful drawing with a pronounced longitudinal swirl, deep and rich colors, from dark beige to red-brown. The acoustic properties of mahogany - a pronounced lower middle, giving the sound a "meaty" density. In the manufacture of mahogany guitars, they are often used with various tops that emphasize the high-frequency component of the guitar range.

The main types of mahogany used in guitar building are Honduran and African mahogany.

Honduran mahogany is a charismatic breed from which virtually all American mahogany guitars are made. Quite rare in our area - firstly, because of the expensive transportation, and secondly, because today the Honduran mahogany is listed in the Red Book. One of its closest relatives is the even more valuable Cuban mahogany, which, for obvious reasons, does not find its way into the United States.

African mahogany (kaya) is the common name for some related subspecies of mahogany that grows in Africa. They differ slightly in their characteristics, mainly in density. The commercial name "Kaya" (Khaya) is usually applied to lighter (0.56-0.57 g / cm3, like Honduran mahogany) varieties, heavier varieties are usually referred to as "mahogany". According to its acoustic parameters, this tree is similar to the Honduran mahogany.

There are also other types of mahogany suitable for the production of guitars - sapele, cosipo, merbau and others. The density of these rocks is quite high (from 650 g/cm3 to 900 g/cm3), the pores are smaller than those of kaya or Honduran mahogany, and the tools from them are quite heavy.

Korina for guitars

Korina is also often found under the names ofram or limba. It is as "korina" that this tree became widely known by the legendary Gibson Korina Flying V. Dense and light wood, has a pronounced fibrous structure, reminiscent of the structure of mahogany, but without bright streaks, a beige-yellow hue. In commercial classification, it is subdivided into white and black corina due to the different color of the interlayer - from light beige in white to gray-brown in black. Apart from the color of the picture, there are no fundamental differences between them. The sound of corina guitars resembles that of mahogany guitars, but the peak of the acoustic range is shifted to the upper frequencies.

Scope: production of necks and cases of guitars.

Maple for guitars

For the manufacture of guitars, mainly American (hard maple) and European maple is used. Unlike European maple, American maple has a denser structure and specific gravity (approx. 750 g/cm3 versus 630 g/cm3 for the European colleague), more rigid and brittle. With certain reservations, we can say that maple, like wood for making guitars, is valued not for acoustic, but for mechanical and decorative properties. Excellent hardness and elasticity allows maple to take the place of the main material in the production of electric guitar necks, and a variety of textured patterns makes maple indispensable in the manufacture of decorative tops. In addition, the maple top allows you to enrich the sound palette of the base material of the soundboard with a high-frequency component. It would be unfair to say that its use is limited to this - for example, everyone knows Rickenbacker guitars, which are almost completely made of maple.

Scope: production of fingerboards, fingerboards, tops, guitar bodies.

Wenge for guitar

Wenge is very well suited for the production of fretboards for guitar necks.

Wood-guitar.ru is a store specializing in the sale of material for the manufacture of musical instruments, mainly guitars. We strive to offer our customers a wide variety of woods for making different guitar parts. In order to provide convenience in choosing a product, our entire range is divided into subgroups by type: material for necks, decks, etc.

In our store you can buy wood for guitars of high quality and at an affordable price in the quantity you need.

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What wood are guitars made from?

A well-known instrument, the guitar, is very unique in its sound. In the hands of a virtuoso, she gives out sounds that involuntarily make a person laugh and cry, rejoice and worry, freeze and come to life. And if, in addition, this musical instrument is of high quality, a good one is able to hide some flaws of the performer, then a low-quality guitar can ruin the most talented and professional game. The sound quality of a guitar is largely determined by the type of wood its body is made of.

The wood in this instrument plays a decisive role: if the wood produces “dead” sounds in terms of sound, then no matter how hard a great musician tries, no matter how hard he puts in good and beautiful music, he will not succeed. Alder is considered the highest quality and most popular instrument. About how to tune the guitar.

And the most sonorous guitars are obtained from ash and maple. Maple and ash have a "glassy" wood than other woods, these materials concentrate sound very well, high frequencies are clearly and vividly expressed. It goes without saying that wood is of great importance in the excellent sound quality of a guitar. But, everyone should remember that a tree is everywhere and there is a tree, and it would be a mistake to forget, and even more so to place high hopes on it.
Only a musician with a capital letter will be able to turn a guitar made from a piece of wood into a real instrument that will become an extension of his soul and hands. And then a truly real and beautiful melody of music will flow.

The origins and features of the manufacture of wooden musical instruments

Even in ancient times, people made primitive wooden musical instruments. They were used both for hunting and for moments of rest.

Over time, interest in music and musical instruments has increased. As a result, a science arose and such a science is musical acoustics. The ancient Greeks played an important role in its development. One of the first known musical instruments was the monochord, which is mentioned in the writings of Euclid. The guitar appeared much later. This peculiar stringed musical instrument is known from oral translations and written sources of many peoples of the world.

According to the playing technique, the guitar belongs to the group of plucked musical instruments. It consists of a resonating body, a neck with a fingerboard and strings stretched parallel in the plane of the soundboard. The neck is usually made of hardwood and is separated by metal nut. Nuts are structurally placed in such a way that the gaps between them (frets) form a chromatic sequence of sounds. By pressing the strings to the frets, the musician limits the length of the frequency of its vibration, allowing you to get a sound of a certain height.

The birthplace of the guitar is Spain, where two of its types were widespread - Mauritanian and Latin. From within centuries. Information about the evolution of the guitar, its properties and role in musical life are becoming much more complete and accurate.

The Moorish guitar has an oval shape, the lower soundboard is convex, the strings are metal, fixed on the base of the body. They play the Moorish guitar with a plectrum, which causes the sharpness of the sound. Unlike the Moorish, the Latin guitar is more complex in shape: the oval lower part has a narrowing in the direction of the fretboard and a flat bottom soundboard. latin guitar in terms of design and sound features, it is very similar to a modern classical guitar: a flattened, slightly elongated body at the “waist”, a resonant hole is located in the middle, a neck with a fingerboard has nut.
A significant period in the development of the guitar is the 16th century. If before this period the guitar took pride of place next to Viola, Rebecca, harp and lute, now it is ahead of everyone. Very quickly "guitar" fashion is spreading in Western Europe, conquering Flanders, England, Italy, except for Spain. The development of the guitar was influenced by the evolution of the lute. The number of strings of a guitar, like a lute, increases to eleven. The nature and specificity of the instrument is determined by its system. The fifth row attached from the side of the high string gives a system like: G, K, Mi, La, Re, but as a result of the influence of the lute, the fifth row will be added to the bass strings. Therefore, in Europe until the end of the XVIII century. the most common was the five-string guitar. The first five-choir guitar known today belongs to the Museum of the Royal College of Music in London. Made in Lisbon in 1581 by Melchior Dias, it is intermediate between the 16th century guitars from which it inherited the proportions and the 17th century guitars. Diaz's guitar construction: the body (bottom and sides) is carved (hollowed out) from solid rosewood wood; the bottom is convex; the top deck is supported internally by only two springs.

For the manufacture of exquisite, highly artistic, many ornamented classical guitars, the masters used valuable materials: rare (black-ebony, ivory, tortoiseshell. The lower soundboard and sides are decorated with inlay. The upper soundboard remains simple and is made of coniferous wood (spruce). Resonance hole and the edges of the body are decorated with a pattern of wood plates of various species.An important decorative element is a resonant hole decorated with embossed leather, which not only harmonizes with the beauty of the whole body, but also softens the sounds.Ivory plates, fixed with narrow veins of brown wood, adorn the entire body.Such instruments in Europe are considered a rarity.From the beginning of the 1600s, new design features of the guitar were determined.Their dimensions increase, the body becomes more voluminous, high strings are made of sinew, and low ones are made of copper or silver.Dimensions did not exist, they were determined by the master.Before our days she received a beautiful example of a guitar (preserved in the museum of the Paris Conservatory), dated 1749, and apparently intended for the royal court. The instrument was made in the "royal guitar" workshop of Claude Boivin, decorated with tortoiseshell plates and inlaid with mother-of-pearl.

In the last years of the XVII century. there are significant innovations that define an important stage in the gradual formation of modern guitar design. The proportions change, the body curve is accentuated and appearance. The master of musical instruments tried to emphasize the natural beauty of rosewood wood for expensive instruments, and for instruments of moderate cost, wood of cypress and local species (elm, maple, fruity. Nuts become fixed and inserted into the fingerboard, they are made of ivory. In Spain, masters of musical instruments emphasizing the increased acoustic properties of the fan (from the noun "fan") top soundboard spring placement. It is not known who was the author of this invention, but José Benedict de Cadix was one of the first to use this method as a new design principle. An instrument that came out of his workshop in 1783 year and is kept in the Museum of Musical Instruments in the Conservatory of Barcelona has three springs, placed in this way.Later, the master with the same surname Cadix, Juan Pages, makes an instrument whose top soundboard is supported by five springs, in another guitar (1797) of their already seven.These improvements that have been introduced ren in practice by Spanish masters, are innovations in the development of the guitar.

The second important stage of evolution is the instrument's tuning, which becomes fixed. Thus, it can be assumed that guitars with six single strings are practiced in different parts of Europe. Masters of musical instruments worked in Europe and America. Musical instruments are created in the workshops of Louis Panorama from London, Georg Staufer from Vienna, KF Martin from New York, JG Schroder from Pittsburgh. To these we must add the brilliant Spanish school, which made itself known in the last decade of the 18th century. In France, one can note the emergence in Mirkouri of a provincial center for the manufacture of musical instruments, which over time became famous for its violins, as well as for the achievements of two Parisian lute masters René Lakota and Etienne Laprevote.

The creative activity of Rene Lakota, who was the master of the famous guitars of that time, took place in Paris. He communicates and collaborates with all the then outstanding virtuosos - performers: Carulli, Carcassi, Shame. At their request, he conducts numerous experiments in the development of guitars. For Fernando Sor, he creates a model with seven strings. In collaboration with Carulli, he produces the decachord, a special instrument with five additional strings located on the outside of the neck. He invented a mechanism for fixing the pegs, raised the neck relative to the body, thanks to which it continues to the resonant hole, on which there are 18 brass nut.

Étienne Laprevote specialized first in the manufacture of violins, but his further activity was directed to the manufacture of guitars. Improving the design and constantly seeking to improve the sound, Laprevot, like Rene Lakota, modifies individual structural elements. The lower deck takes the form of a violin, the resonant hole is made in the form of an oval, and the body is rounded.

In the second half of the nineteenth century. in much of Europe, the guitar was supplanted by the piano. The only exception was Spain. Among the Spanish masters - Antonio de Torres (1817-1892), is still recognized as one of the best guitar makers not only on the Spanish peninsula, but also in Europe, where he is called the "Guitar Stradivarius", and the instruments made by him became famous in all over the world. The guitars he designs from the early 1850s are quite modern. Like all great masters, Torres experiments and seeks to improve the quality and power of the guitar sound. It offers new design parameters of the guitar, in particular: it increases the volume of the body, making it wider and deeper; sets the length of the vibrating string (65 cm); fingerboard continues to the resonant hole; leaves a threshold on the stand; determines the optimal number (seven) of fan springs and a new principle of their placement (according to the scheme of an irregular pentagon with the base of the transverse spring to the resonant hole). These instruments have all the hallmarks of the modern guitar.

At the end of the XVIII century, when the gypsies received the right to settle in the cities of Spain, the art of flamenco emerged from obscurity. A kind of musical performance brings together two or three singers, three or four dancers and two guitarists on a small stage. The performance includes dancing, singing and playing the guitar at the same time. It is known that at present there was no difference between the classical guitar and the flamenco guitar. Both of them have six rows of double strings, and the sound should be both expressive and short and clearly percussive. Therefore, the craftsmen who made such instruments were forced to choose special woods, such as spruce for baking trays and Spanish cypress for the body. The creation of the flamenco guitar model is associated with the name of Antonio de Torres. One of the first guitars made in his workshop (1860) was like a classical guitar with six single strings, but its parameters were somewhat modified.

The structure of the flamenco guitar is characterized by a lightweight design. The deck is only supported by five fan-placed springs. The rosewood neck (rather than ebony, which reduces its mass) is made longer and narrower, the strings are set lower, thus creating a peculiar timbre.

For many centuries, masters of musical instruments have been working within the framework of a tradition that has developed using the achievements of their predecessors. The creation of a modern classical guitar requires a subtle skill and high skill from the master. There are two ways to compose a guitar. In the first case, the shape of the body is first produced, which is the basis for compiling the tool from various parts, in the second case, on the contrary, the assembly process begins with the compilation of internal parts. To compose the body, the master makes sidewalls connecting the upper and lower decks. Both identical sides are made from the same wood as the bottom deck. By heating the sidewalls to the appropriate temperature, the master gives them the necessary shape by bending. Lastly, a neck is made, which ends with a heel in its lower part, and to which the body is attached. A head with peg mechanics is attached to the upper part of the neck. The process of drawing up the neck and body is carried out using the Spanish or French methods. In the first method of drawing up, the neck is glued to the top deck. Then the sidewalls are glued to the upper deck, at the same time they are inserted into the grooves of the heel shank. Therefore, the body is closed with the bottom deck. They finish by gluing the neck to the neck, on which the plates and the nut are installed.

The French way of drawing up differs significantly from the Spanish one in that the body is first made up, and then the neck with the neck is installed. Whichever method of composition is chosen, the process of making the instrument ends with varnishing, gluing the base to the soundboard and stringing. By the middle of the XX century. in classical guitars, gut strings were used for high registers, and low strings were made of untwisted silk wrapped around a thin metal wire. Since about 1945, nylon (synthetic) strings have been widely used. However, the use of these strings leads to the loss of the special purity of sound inherent in gut strings.

With the development of the market, especially in countries with cheap labor, factory-made guitars began to be in great demand. Today the leading place among such manufacturers is occupied by Korea and Japan. Firms Hondo (Korea); Yamaha, Aria, Kohno, Tekimura (Japan) supply most of the world market with their products, displacing such developed European countries such as Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic, Hungary, as well as Ukraine, Russia, etc. However, handmade tools, masterfully made by individual craftsmen, continue to come traditionally from Spain and the USA. In some cases, handicraft production of musical instruments forms the basis of small provincial enterprises, they export their products even to the United States.

Among the many well-known masters of world significance in Ukraine is the Chernigov master Nikolai Ivanovich Yeshchenko, who made almost a thousand instruments, and he considers Pyotr Golubok to be his best student, who, together with his son, makes violins using the technology of ancient Italian masters. In the selection of wood, the master prefers maple and spruce - they have a singing soul. Maple boards win with mother-of-pearl waves, shades of a unique combination. Actually, for the manufacture of guitars, or rather the bottom deck, you need exactly wavy maple, for the top deck - light spruce, for other details - ebony and exotic rosewood. Although there were well-known masters in the former Soviet Union, there was no school of their own.

The violin is the only instrument that acts as a good resonator, and at the same time is equated to an artistic picture. Wood is beautiful when there are annual growths (rings), core rays. When everything is varnished - this is a picture. Mikhail Bondarenko believes that he has not yet made his best violin. Now the master's collection includes more than 50 stringed bowed musical instruments.

Obviously, because this instrument has always been and remains in an aura of mystery, and therefore has never been fully known by anyone. Stradivari was born in 1644. He perfected the violin. His violins have 13 overtones. Our masters reach nine. But there is one temporal pattern here: the more years the violin is, the better. That is, the violin itself is getting better and better over time. As more than 300 years ago, Stradivarius had his own secrets of making violins, so today Bondarenko has his own. A secret

Stradivari - at work. To make one violin, the master needs half a year, or even a year, you need to be able to do a lot, know, have willpower. Today Mikhail Bondarenko is an honored master of folk art, has honorary distinctions and awards. At the same time, he is not considered a master, since there is no profession of a violin maker in the register of the state list of professions.

This situation looks somewhat different in neighboring Russia, where in 1996 Professor V.I. Its technical base and a team of scientists made it possible to launch a new specialty "Standardization and certification in the wood chemical complex", as well as to open a major department "Wood and environmental certification.

In Ukraine, the training of highly qualified specialists in the composition of wooden musical instruments can begin today on the basis of the Faculty of Woodworking Technology of the Ukrainian State Forestry Engineering University, specializing in "Technology of production of wooden musical instruments". To do this, the university has the proper material and technical means and the appropriate teaching staff, and has been conducting research on the physical, mechanical and acoustic characteristics of wood for a long time. According to the results of research works, dozens of works have been published, candidate dissertations have been defended, copyright certificates have been received.

The Lvov factory of musical instruments "Trembita", which employs well-known masters, can serve as a base for practical training. So, under the leadership of the factory director M.V. Kuzemsky organized serial and individual production of musical instruments: banduras (designed by Professor Gerasimenko) and guitars (designed by Gritsiv, Deinega, Varenyuk, etc.). This allows them to develop their mass production and meet the demand in domestic and foreign markets.

Wood at all times has been and remains the main structural material regarding the specification of physical, resonant, mechanical and technological properties of musical instruments.

When choosing a material, it is important to take into account the ecological environment of tree growth and its influence on the formation of wood properties. For high-quality musical instruments, folk craftsmen choose wood from tree trunks growing in shaded places on the rocky banks of mountain rivers. In such conditions, trees grow slowly, so that their wood is formed evenly. According to a long tradition, craftsmen start harvesting coniferous wood at the end of April, when the new moon appears. In a felled trunk during this period, the wood is white, light (not saturated with moisture), "healthy", pleasant smell, does not darken, does not get wet, does not rot and does not lend itself to a wormhole. Spring wood, according to music masters, has good resonance characteristics and is easy to process. Masters harvest hardwood trunks in late September - early October, again at the time of the new month. The wood of an autumn log house is heavier than spring wood (contains more moisture), does not rot, does not have a wormhole, dries longer, and is easy to process. With hardwoods, masters prefer middle-aged trees - from 20 to 30 years. Their wood is harder, the middle of the tree trunk (dry) than its sapwood, contains less oily substances, "lean". In felled trees, craftsmen cut off that part of the trunk that was returned to the sun, it is of better quality, white, has thicker and softer annual growths, is resistant to changes in temperature and air humidity, and does not deform.

Sycamore maple has good physical properties: hardness - 67 MPa, elastic modulus 9400 MPa, radiation constant - 8.9 m4/kgf. There are known ways to improve the quality of wood resonances by soaking it in an alkaline environment, in water with bacteria, as well as the natural exposure of wood in places of its felling. Exposure and periodic moistening of wood in the places of its felling contributes to the washing out of the growth substance from the sapwood part and thereby ensures the openness of the pores.

Thus, in the process of moisturizing it, the stresses formed during growth are removed and the appearance of stresses from drying out is prevented, which shortens the process. An improvement in the resonant characteristics of wood is observed when it is extracted in ether, alcohol or acetone, followed by drying. In the process of extraction, it loses turpentine and other extractive substances, which leads to a decrease in density. The most efficient wood extraction is the method using organic solvents. The assessment of the suitability of spruce wood resonances is studied on the basis of measurements of physical and acoustic characteristics by various methods. Modern equipment based on a laser interferometer makes it possible to evaluate these characteristics. The effect of ultrasonic vibrations with a frequency of 20 kHz on the passage of liquid through wood has a positive result in increasing its resonant characteristics. In sapwood, this phenomenon is more pronounced than in mature wood and characterizes the degree of penetration of liquids through the wood during the extraction process. Using the evaluation of physical and acoustic characteristics for the production of high-quality classical or concert musical instruments, select material from different parts of the barrel with the desired properties. For a comparative evaluation, high and low quality spruce and maple woods are examined for suitability in the manufacture of musical instruments. Resonance low-quality wood was selected from different regions of the Eastern Alps (Slovakia) at an altitude of 800 to 1900 m above sea level, in the Carpathians from 800 to 1200 m above sea level, as well as on the northern slopes of the mountains, where growth conditions during the year are approximately the same same.

Traditionally, spruce wood, which is most suitable for making soundboards, is selected by craftsmen according to the external signs of trees: the bark is of little appearance, has a gray color, etc. With the help of Presler borers, the width of the annual growth is determined.

The best resonance characteristics are wood from trunks over 150 years old with a width of annual increments of 0.5 - 0.8 and 4.5 - 5.0 mm. Natural atmospheric drying of resonant spruce should be at least 18 months. And for resonant wood intended for expensive musical instruments, the atmospheric drying period is much longer, usually 20 years or more.

The influence of wood on the sound of wooden musical instruments

Many of the acoustic systems and wooden musical instruments are made of wood, and for the manufacture of various parts and assemblies of musical instruments, various tree species are used. So, for the manufacture of soundboards for stringed wooden musical instruments, I use conifers: spruce, fir, cedar pine.

Of these, the main breed that is widely used is still spruce, and the best is snow-white spruce, which is grown in the Alps, from which soundboards of expensive high-quality musical instruments are made. Other parts and assemblies of wooden musical instruments (lower decks, sides, necks, etc.) are made of: maple, poplar, black walnut, rosewood, mahogany and ebony.
Of these, the best is Indian ebony, which has unique acoustic properties. Unlike hardwood with a straight grain structure, mahogany wood has a special difference - it is a uniform tangled fiber structure, which requires additional study. It should be noted that the requirements for resonant wood have always been and will be relevant.

The wood should be straight-grained with a uniform width of annual increments and without such defects as knots, cornea and fiber slope, which adversely affect and drastically reduce the propagation of sound vibrations. Each of the above is characterized by its structure, density, porosity and viscosity, which significantly affect its acoustic properties.

Therefore, when manufacturing wooden musical instruments, it is important to evaluate its acoustic properties, since the sound quality of a wooden musical instrument depends on them. Many wooden musical instrument makers evaluate the acoustic properties of different types of wood subjectively (by ear), in particular, by its response to tapping on it.

However, in the mass production of wooden musical instruments, the objective acoustic characteristics of wood are necessary, which could be determined using measuring instruments and equipment.

Musical is a hardwood and coniferous wood, which is used for the manufacture of musical instruments. Wood differs from each other in a number of ways. It is necessary to distinguish between the concept of a tree, that is, a growing tree, and wood, a material obtained from a tree cut down and peeled of branches and bark.
The trunk gives the main amount of wood, which is 50-90% of the volume of parts of a growing tree, and only the wood of the trunk is suitable for making parts of musical instruments.
The water and gas permeability of wood in the conditions of manufacturing musical instruments is primarily interesting when staining and especially dyeing, and thermal when bending parts of musical instruments. The unique sound properties of wood have made it an indispensable natural material for the manufacture of musical instruments.

The most interesting sound characteristic of wood is the speed of sound propagation in the material. This speed is different in different directions, but it is highest along the wood fibers. So, for example, sound propagates along the fibers at a speed of 4-5 thousand m/s, which is close to the speed of sound propagation in metals (copper has 3.7 thousand m/s). In other directions, the speed of sound is on average 4 times lower.