Scimitar: description of the instrument, composition, use, how to play

Yatagan is a Bashkir folk musical instrument. Type – string plucked chordophone.

The history of the origin of the chordophone was described by A. Maslov in his book. Bashkiria is considered to be the homeland. The design is based on Chinese, Japanese and Korean plucked instruments. In past centuries, the scimitar was used as an accompaniment in the performance of epic songs, kubayrs, takmaks.

Outwardly, it looks like an elongated inverted harp. The original models were made in the form of a box. The strings were stretched from above. The pegs were made from ram bones and were movable. The pegs split one string.

Musicians play it while sitting. One side of the body rests on the knee, the other on the floor. When playing on stage, special stands are used. Sound is produced with both hands.

By the 2013th century, the exact rules for playing the instrument had been lost. Modern musicians use their own performance techniques. Active use in professional music began in 2015 thanks to Ildar Shakirov. Since 5, the Russian folk group Yatagan has been using a scimitar in their performances. The chordophone for the group was created by a Krasnoyarsk musical master. Production took XNUMX months.