Traditional Russian Folk Instruments T-Shirt | Accordion, Balalaika, Lozhki, Gusli | Gift for musicians, music lovers, folk lovers

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T-shirt with Russian Traditional Folk Musical Instruments. This unique design have four of the most famous instruments: accordion, balalaika, lozhki, gusli.

Russian folk orchestras are well known around the world. The authentic traditional music is played on many specific folklore instruments originated from Russia.

Accordion
In Russia, there are several kinds of instruments of accordion family: the garmon (garmoshka), the bayan and the accordion. They appeared in Russia, according to different sources, in the late 18th or early 19th century. Russians play them for singing folk songs and retelling romances.
The accordion has piano-like keys on the left, instead of buttons. The garmon is the most compact among them and the easiest to learn. If a guy played a garmon, he could easily become the real star among the ladies!

Balalaika
This instrument, most probably, originated from the words “to talk”, “to babble”. Musicians would play the balalaika and “babble” some folk lyrics - it was a rather popular leisure among peasants. Balalaika became a world-famous Russian instrument - and one of the most recognizable symbols of Russia.

Lozhki (Spoons)
Lozhky players, ‘lozhkari’, performed solo, accompanied singing and dancing, or were part of various ensembles.
Lozhki are made of harder wood than regular table spoons, often have longer handles and the ladle part has a polished surface. Sometimes jingles are attached to the handle.
There are many techniques and tricks for playing lozhki. To play them, put two between the fingers of your left hand, and hold the third one in your right hand. Hit the first two spoons with the third one. Slide each strike from one spoon cup to another, then clap the two left hand spoons together.

Gusli
When you hear a gusli sound, you imagine you are walking in a forest, hugging a birch tree and enjoying the birds singing.
This ancient musical instrument has been around since the 9th century. It has from 5 to 60 strings, and the player, a guslyar, can use both fingers and a mediator, depending on the gusli’s size. Actually, it was often used as an accompaniment to telling fairy tales (gusli means “hum”, “buzz”).