Gadulka
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The origin of the gadulka
In ancient times there was a similar musical instrument. It was found in Persia and Turkey, but with a different name – kemene. Even now in Western Bulgaria it is called by this name. Both slow and fast melodies can be played on the gadulka.
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Materials the gadulka is made of and the process
The gadulka is made of cherry, acacia, pear, maple and others.There are three main strings and eleven runners-up. It’s made from a whole piece of wood, which is carved and has a pear-shaped shape. In its upper part, after the neck, the gadulka has a head on which the keys are attached, through which the strings are adjusted. Above the carved part of the body there is a resonator board with two holes, which are eye-catching. At the lower end, the strings rest on a donkey and are tied to a string.
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How to play the gadulka
Only the main melodic strings are touched by the player’s fingers and the strings are never pressed all the way down to touch the neck. The gadulka is held vertically, with the bow held perpendicular in an under-hand hold.
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Variation of names
In some parts of Bulgaria, the gadulka is called kopanka (Dobrudja), gyola (Haskovo region), kemene or kemenche (Western Bulgaria, Upper Thrace). The term “kemenche” and a similar musical instrument are used in Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Iran. Kemenche is a Persian word and means “little bow” from keman and kemandjeh – small bow.
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Body parts
The terms that denote the individual parts of the gadulka are ancient and in many cases originally Bulgarian. The body of the gadulka plays an important role in the sound resonator, the amplifying volume and the change, which is a good timbre. This body is called by the ancient words koruba, kutel, korito, kopanka. At the head of the gadulka are spools around which the ends of the strings are wound to stretch. These spools are called with the words sticks, keys, chivii. The bow of the gadulka is called a chile, and its string, which is most often made of horse tail hair – pirgi. The semantics of the word chile are easily found in Iranian languages. For example, Ossetian sqil, Yagnobili čilik, Kurdish çilak means “curved”.
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The gadulka in Bulgaria
In Bulgaria it’s used in folk traditional and ritual songs.Though apparently crude and unwieldy, this instrument is capable of great heights of technique and sensitivity in the hands of such masters as Nikola Parov, Giorgi Petrov or Mihail Marinov. In Bulgaria it is usually played in ensembles with the kaval (end-blown flute), gaida (bagpipe) and tambura (a type of guitar) or tapan (a large drum). Dance rhythms range from the relatively straightforward 7/8; to the 11/8 Kopanitsa to even 22/16.
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Sources:
Video-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awSCxKy3Rbk
Pictures-https://www.befunky.com/create/collage/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gadulka
Pictures and information-http://www.protobulgarians.com/Statii%20za%20prabaalgarite/Gaadulka.htm
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Published: Nov 9, 2021
Latest Revision: Nov 9, 2021
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Copyright © 2021
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