Kazakh folk musical instruments have a long history, as evidenced by the ancient legends, legends, heroic tales, confirmed by archaeological researches, materials, written sources and field trips. Kazakh musical instruments can be divided into wind, string and percussion ones.
Dombra
Dombra is a musical stringed instrument which exists in the culture of the Turkic peoples. It is considered as a folk instrument of the Kazakhs. It is used as accompanying and solo, as well as the main instrument in the Kazakh folk music. It is used by modern artists. It has a pear- shaped frame and a long neck, divided into frets. The strings are usually tuned to a quart or quint. This tool has its counterparts in many nations. By written monuments of the Eurasian continent, we can conclude that Dombra and the related instruments of other nations on the continent are well known for a long time. In the monuments of different periods lln Eurasia, we learn that the presence of a plucked instrument, in particular of the Saka monuments is of Hun origin.
Asatayak
Asatayak is an ancient Turkic Kazakh percussion instrument. The shape of a rod or stick
with a flat head is decorated with ornaments and metal rings, pendants. Asatayak had an open and sharp sound. To enhance the sound of an instrument, the baks used konyrau - bells, which were attached to the head of asatayak. When shaking the instrument konyrau, a sound was complemented by the metallic sound.
Dabyl
Dabyl is a Kazakh national percussion instrument such as kettle-drums, it looks like a ring with a handle, covered with the leather on both sides. One version of dabyl has a copper helmet frame. A dabyl resembles a pan. Dabyl has a loud sound and was used to supply military signals in the past, for example, for the attack signals. In ancient 4imes, percussion instruments were commonly used by the Kazakhs - dabyl, dauylpaz and shyndauyl were also used for hunting, during religious ceremonies, with a notice of the upcoming movements.
Zhetygen
Zhetygen is a Kazakh ancient seven-stringed plucked instrument, resembles a harp or lying harp. The most : ancient type of zhetygen was an oblong box, carved from ; a piece of wood. On such zhetygen there was not an : upper deck or pins. Strings were stretched by hand from ; the outside of the instrument. Later a top of zhetygen was covered with a wooden deck. Asyks were substituted ; from both sides under each string, serving as the pins. By : moving them, the string could be adjusted. If asyk ; matures, the system was increased, pushing - I went down.
Kobyz
Kobyz is a Kazakh national stringed and a bowed instrument. Kobyz has a bucket body, a short, arched neck and large, flat head and consists of a hoUowed out, covered with bubble half-bail, attached to it with the top handle and the support below for stand.
The strings, imposed on kobyz are made of horsehair. To play on kobyz, you need to clutch your knees (like a cello) with a short bow. This instrument was used by ancient steppe baks (shaman- healers) for various ceremonies. Kobyz is made of a single piece of wood.
This is one of the oldest ways of making musical instruments in the history of mankind, and it is not due to technical backwardness or lack of metal tools. Kobyz is the ancestor of many stringed instruments.
Sybyzgy
Sybyzgy is a band musical instrument among the Turkic peoples. In the territory of Kazakhstan, there are two types of sybyzgy, associated with different performance traditions. So, eastern sybyzgy is cone, shorter in length and has a small diameter form, the western instruments are larger and longer. Sybyzgy was used under different names and existed in many Eurasian peoples.
Sherter
Sherter is an ancient Kazakh and old Turk stringed instrument. Playing on shelter was the same as on a dombra, but shelter was much smaller than a dombra - it had a short neck without frets and had more powerful sound. Superficially sherter resembled kobyz, it was also made of a single piece of wood, which gave it a curved shape, and the body was covered with leather, pulling two strings made of horsehair.