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In the following, you will find a description of the socalled keyboard gusli - also named mechanical or pedal gusli. Please note that there are other types of the gusli.
Keyboard gusli has a diapason from A in the contra octave to A i the 3rd octave. The tuning is cromatic. Usually, the notes are written in G- and F-clef on two notesystems that are combined with the accolade. Sometimes, the notes are only written in the G-clef on one notesystem. |
On the left handside of the instrument, a keyboard mechanism is placed. It consists of 12 pianokeys (7 white keys and 5 black keys, usually written from C to H) and a corresponding number of dampers to cover all the strings. When you press one key - for instance C - the damper will automatically rise over the strings that correspond to the tone in all octaves. By the help of the keyboard, you can strike different chords and harmonies in the length of one octave and arpeggio over the whole diapason. Usually, you use a plectrum in leather to play the gusli. By using a pedal mechanism that lifts all dampers at once, you can play simple tones and melodies by plucking the strings and you can execute a cromatic run.
The notes are written in the register of the first octave between the notes that show the diapason of the chord. These first octave notes are called "definite". Sometimes, these notes are surrounded by square accolades. A wavy line in front of the notes shows the directions of the hand movement - up or down. A wavy line between the chordnotes shows the direction of the arpeggiotone movement in a down- or upward order that correspond to the length of the chordnotes. The main function of this instrument is to execute the arpeggiochords, that underline the sound of the orchestra.