Slavic Helmet-Shaped Gusli 18 Strings – Bundle

Meet a unique musical instrument – a helmet-shaped gusli with 18 strings! Don’t be frightened by the number of strings – the gusli is intuitive even for those who have never played a musical instrument in their lives! And its pleasant, soft timbre will bring you to a mental balance in a matter of minutes. Think it’s impossible? See for yourself!

Here you can listen to the sound of the helmet-shaped gusli:

Scope of Delivery:

Helm-shaped gusli 18 strings

Soft suitcase

Tuning key

Spare strings set

Hooks for attaching a strap

 

3 years warranty

Shipping included (within Europe / For delivery to third countries excl. Shipping; please contact by e-mail)

 

Technical Part

Specs:

Body: alder

Soundboard: spruce

Other details: beech

Pegs: metal

 

Body Dimensions:

Length: 905 mm

Width: 302 mm

Thickness:  80 mm

Weight: 2,2 kg

 

(Size, color, wood structure, and weight can vary slightly, as the instruments are handmade) 

 

Tuning:

G3 A3 B3 C4 D4 E4 F4 G4 A4 B4 C5 D5 E5 F5 G5 A5 B5 C6

G-major (↓7)

 

String Diameter:

G3 – 65 mm

A3 – 55 mm

B3 – 50 mm

C4 – 45 mm

D4 – 45 mm

E4 – 40 mm

F4 – 40 mm

G4 – 40 mm

A4 – 35 mm

B4 – 35 mm

C5 – 35 mm

D5 – 35 mm

E5 – 30 mm

F5 – 30 mm

G5 – 25 mm

A5 – 25 mm

B5 – 25 mm

C6 – 25 mm

 

Required Length of Replacement Strings (cm):

G3 – 91 cm

A3 – 89 cm

B3 – 86 cm

C4 – 81 cm

D4 – 78 cm

E4 – 74 cm

F4 – 71 cm

G4 – 67 cm

A4 – 65 cm

B4 – 61 cm

C5 – 59 cm

D5 – 55 cm

E5 – 52 cm

F5 – 48 cm

G5 – 45 cm

A5 – 41 cm

B5 – 38 cm

C6 – 34 cm

You can find replacement strings here.

 

Tips&Tricks

To play music on a gusli you don’t need to understand musical literacy or have skills of playing other musical instruments! You only need the gusli itself, a tuning key and a tuner.

How to Tune a Helmet-Shaped Gusli?

For tuning you will need an instrument itself, a tuning key and a tuner. A tuner is a device for tuning musical instruments. It can either be purchased separately at a music store or you can download an app. We use CarlTune app, which is available both on  Google Play and App Store.

The gusli is tuned as follows: we start with the first string from the bottom. The first string is tuned to the note G. Turn on the tuner, pluck the string and check if the tuner arrow is on the note G. If the arrow does not reach the note, i.e. sounds lower, it means that the string needs to be tightened, so we take the tuning key and smoothly turn the first string peg clockwise.

As you turn the peg, the sound will get higher and the arrow will get closer to the desired note. As the arrow hits the note and lights up blue, it means that the string is tuned. Accordingly, if the string is overtuned, i.e. sounds higher than the desired note, the peg should be turned counterclockwise to loosen the string tension and lower the sound. Pay attention to the figure next to the note: the figure is the number of the octave we need. The number next to the G note should be 3.

The process of tuning the remaining strings is similar to the process of tuning the G string. the second string is tuned to the note A (3), the third to the note B (3), the fourth to C (4), the fifth to D (4), the sixth to E (4), the seventh to F (4), the eighth to G (4), the ninth to A (4), tenth – B (4), eleventh – C (5), twelfth – D (5), thirteenth – E (5), fourteenth – F (5), fifteenth – G (5), sixteenth – A (5), seventeenth – B (5), eighteenth – C (6).

How to Hold a Helmet-Shaped Gusli?

There are two ways:

• Vertically: the lower, longer part of the body is located on the lap, and the back deck is leaned against the belly. You can play the gusli both sitting, putting the instrument on your lap, and standing, hanging the gusli on a special strap.
• Horizontally: placing the gusli with its back deck either on your lap or on the table.

How to Play?

The basic way of playing the helmet-shaped gusli is considered to be the plucking technique. The right hand leads the main melody, while the left hand plucks the lower, bass strings, performing harmonic accompaniment.

Example:

Often the plucking is combined with the technique of chord playing, which consists of placing the fingers on certain strings, i.e. forming chords with the left hand and then extracting the sound with the right.

Example:

In addition, the helmet-shaped gusli can be played in the same way as the wing-shaped gusli, i.e. using the strumming or hooking techniques (more information: How to play the wing-shaped gusli?).

Historical Information

The basis for the creation of the instrument was partially formed by a sample of the Udmurt krez (a folkloristic music instrument of the Udmurt people).

Distinctive features of the instrument are as follows:

• Despite the number of strings, even a beginner can play this instrument!
• Thanks to the expanded sound order, your repertoire can consist not only of simple melodies, but also of complex compositions – you can even perform pieces that were originally created for the piano!
• Soft, but at the same time, rich timbre puts both the musician and the listener into a trance state, gives a feeling of inner peace – that’s why the helmet-shaped gusli is best for meditation.

History:

For a long time, it was believed that helmet-shaped gusli were of ancient Russian origin. However, after a while, suggestions began to appear that an instrument of this type would have been borrowed from the peoples of the Volga region (information about this can be found in the works of Rimma Galayskaya or Vladimir Koshelev).

At the same time, some experts (Vladimir Povetkin) do not deny the close relationship of helmet–shaped gusli with the Western European psalterium – the constructions of the gusli and psalterium have a lot in common. Russian historian Alexey Novoselsky also spoke about the connection between the European psalterium and the Russian helmet-shaped gusli: in his opinion, Russian musicians borrowed this type of gusli and their name (psaltery) from Western European peoples.

The helmet-shaped gusli began to appear in Russia in the 14th century. Initially, the instrument had two body shapes: triangular and oval, with rounded corners. Gut strings were stretched parallel to each other on the body. Soon the gusli became one of the favorite instruments among professional musicians.

The number of strings did not have a fixed number, and therefore varied significantly.

For example, in the West, the most ancient helmet-shaped gusli could have 6, 10, 12 or 15 strings; later their number could reach up to 32, and sometimes even up to 72. In Russia, the number of strings ranged from 18 to 30.