Russian Classes: Exploring traditional Russian musical instruments

Pavel Kuzmichev, Mikhail Alaeddin/Sputnik; Masterskaya Serebrova

Привет!
Let’s explore traditional Russian musical instruments today. I’m sure you already know the balalaika! But what about the others?

Gusli is one of the oldest traditional Slavic instruments. It is played, among other people, by Sadko - a musician and merchant from Novgorod and a famous bylina character.

Russian accordion - or 'garmon' - is also called ‘garmoshka’.

Ratchet and wooden spoons, meanwhile, only seem easy to play! It all depends on the twist of the wrist.

In order to say "play a musical instrument", use the construction "играть + на + noun in the accusative case".

Here are some more phrases for you:

• Я играю на пианино.
• I play the piano.

• Я бы хотел (хотела) научиться играть на гуслях.
• I’d like to learn to play the gusli.

• Мне было бы интересно попробовать поиграть на деревянных ложках.
• I would be interested to try to play the wooden spoons.

Check out more lessons in our Telegram channel, using the tag #russianclasses!

Dear readers,

Our website and social media accounts are under threat of being restricted or banned, due to the current circumstances. So, to keep up with our latest content, simply do the following:

• Subscribe to our Telegram channel
• Subscribe to our weekly email newsletter
• Enable push notifications on our website
• Install a VPN service on your computer and/or phone to have access to our website, even if it is blocked in your country

If using any of Russia Beyond's content, partly or in full, always provide an active hyperlink to the original material.