Post by romang on Mar 31, 2014 19:08:29 GMT -5
Hello all,
I'm a Ukrainian-American who was taught as a child to play the bandura. I recently got the instrument back after a long time and cleaned it up and changed the strings. I want to be able to tune it properly without damaging it by over-tightening the strings. I've looked online for various posts on bandura tuning but was bewildered by the large number of different instruments with that name plus the various numbers of strings. I don't know exactly what type of bandura it is but it looks like some called Kiev type. It has no levers. It has 43 places for prystrunky and 12 places for bunty (I hope I spelled those correctly). There are two levels of strings where one set looks as it there were to be played near the bridge and the second nearer to the tuning pegs. I notice that there are spaces between groupings of prystrunky which appear to be like the intervals on a piano where the spacings are where two white keys follow one another (B-C and E-F). I have old markings on the bandura bunty area that showed (left to right facing) C# - D – E – G – A – B – C with empty holes between D, E, G, A, B,C (so it was not fully strung with bunty due to simplicity for child to learn I guess). Postings I have seen confirm a bunty start at C# ending at C3 then they say that the first prystrunky after the bunty should continue with C#... on up chromatically. My issue is that the spacings on the prystrunky actually imply a start of F# (3 lower (at the bridge) strings and 3 higher strings where the lower ones would be like black keys (accidentals) on the piano (F#-G-G#-A-A#-B) then there is a space where no lower string goes. Then there is another higher string (C) followed by 2 lower strings and 2 higher strings (C#,D, D#,E). Then there is another space and another higher string (F) and so on. This pattern fits starting at F# on the lowest sounding prystrunky but if I start at C# as suggested, then the spacings and sequences of lower (accidentals?) and higher (naturals?) strings are in the wrong places. Can someone straighten me out or ask some more questions that will help uncover this mystery for me. It’s almost a 50 year old instrument and I don’t want to damage it – especially as it is one of the few things I have left of my heritage.
Thanks,
Roman
I'm a Ukrainian-American who was taught as a child to play the bandura. I recently got the instrument back after a long time and cleaned it up and changed the strings. I want to be able to tune it properly without damaging it by over-tightening the strings. I've looked online for various posts on bandura tuning but was bewildered by the large number of different instruments with that name plus the various numbers of strings. I don't know exactly what type of bandura it is but it looks like some called Kiev type. It has no levers. It has 43 places for prystrunky and 12 places for bunty (I hope I spelled those correctly). There are two levels of strings where one set looks as it there were to be played near the bridge and the second nearer to the tuning pegs. I notice that there are spaces between groupings of prystrunky which appear to be like the intervals on a piano where the spacings are where two white keys follow one another (B-C and E-F). I have old markings on the bandura bunty area that showed (left to right facing) C# - D – E – G – A – B – C with empty holes between D, E, G, A, B,C (so it was not fully strung with bunty due to simplicity for child to learn I guess). Postings I have seen confirm a bunty start at C# ending at C3 then they say that the first prystrunky after the bunty should continue with C#... on up chromatically. My issue is that the spacings on the prystrunky actually imply a start of F# (3 lower (at the bridge) strings and 3 higher strings where the lower ones would be like black keys (accidentals) on the piano (F#-G-G#-A-A#-B) then there is a space where no lower string goes. Then there is another higher string (C) followed by 2 lower strings and 2 higher strings (C#,D, D#,E). Then there is another space and another higher string (F) and so on. This pattern fits starting at F# on the lowest sounding prystrunky but if I start at C# as suggested, then the spacings and sequences of lower (accidentals?) and higher (naturals?) strings are in the wrong places. Can someone straighten me out or ask some more questions that will help uncover this mystery for me. It’s almost a 50 year old instrument and I don’t want to damage it – especially as it is one of the few things I have left of my heritage.
Thanks,
Roman