BALALAIKA

COMPLETE BALALAIKA BOOK. CD TAB.

Product Description:
The balalaika is most often associated with Russian folklore. In this comprehensive method book, concert and recording artist Bibs Ekkel shares his extensive knowledge of the balalaika as taught in Russia today. This 160-page book is divided into four sections: an extensive Foreword, the Tutor, A Brief History of the Balalaika, and a Repertoire Section. Unlike many Mel Bay books, the Complete Balalaika Book does not begin with the rudiments of music notation. Rather, the 20-page Foreword offer insights on the tunings of all the instruments in the balalaika family, hand positions, string sources and height adjustment, and chord shapes. The author even describes how to make a bass balalaika pick from shoe leather. The Tutor or instruction segment is written for the 'prima balalaika' which is correctly played with the fingers only rather than with a pick. The Tutor jumps right in with exercises and tunes in quarter, eighth, and sixteenth-note values with occasional dotted notes and syncopation. Perhaps half of the music in this section is shown in both standard notation and tablature. A glossary of musical signs and Russian musical terns is included. A Brief History of the Balalaika is well written and nicely illustrated. Very few Mel Bay books contain such a comprehensive historical overview of the subject instrument. The Repertoire Section offers a valuable resource of Eastern European folk tunes. All but two selections in this section are written in both notation and tab with suggested guitar chords, the exceptions being an arrangement for balalaika and piano, and a balalaika orchestra score. More than simple melody chord leadsheets, these are the author's own arrangements of tunes for solo balalaika and balalaika orchestra. A companion CD with selections performed by the author completes this highly effective instructional package.

Format: Book/CD Set
162 PAGES

Contents:
Foreword
Finding the Right Strings
Tuning & Bridge Position
Bridge
Adjustment of Strings
Tuning of Orchestral Instruments
Strings for the Balalaika Orchestra
Picks for orchestral Instruments
Chord Shapes for Prima (and Alto) Balalaika
Balalaika Diagram

Tutor
Strings
Tuning
Holding The Balalaika
The Balalaika Fingerboard
The Left Hand
Strumming With The Thumb
Left Hand: Using The Thumb
Right Hand: Plucking With The Thumb
Strumming With The Index Finger
Annotation of Strokes
Tremolo
Tremolo on 2nd and 3rd Strings Only
Double Pizzicato
Single Pizzicato
Pizzicato & the Left Hand
Tremolo on One String
Vibrato
Tremolo With Vibrato
Rolls
Syncopation
Left Hand Pizzicato
Glissando
Harmonics
False Harmonics
Triads
"Guitar" Techniques
Guitar Tremolo
Guitar Pizzicato
Forward Guitar Pizzicato
Straight-Fingered Guitar Pizzicato
Guitar Picking
Tricks and Special Effects
Some Extra Difficult Strokes
General Advice on Practicing
Glossary of Musical Signs
Russian Musical Terms
Short Introduction