Bulgarians play musical instruments on a variety of occasions: in taverns, at dinner, for weddings, at parties and they used to sing even when they worked the fields. This diversity of use required a diversity of instruments. Some instruments are very old while others were brought from foreign countries, many were imported much later, some were taken from the Turks or the Greeks.
Typically Bulgarian instruments include the caval ( an end-blown flute ), the duduk ( whistle ), the gaïda ( which is a kind of a bagpipe but differs from the Greek and Scottish one ), the gadulka and the gusla ( kinds of rebecs or bowed stringed instruments, the last one probably came from Russia ); the tupan ( double-headed cylindrical drum ) and the tarambuke.
These instruments are hand-made by artisans or the musicians themselves and reflect regional characteristics. Instruments may have different names depending on the region but they are also painted ddifferently or may have a different form according to the region.
The Tambura ( you have probably come upon this in one of the stories I published ) is a controversial term as it comes to translation because it is a different instrument depending on the region. Some say that it is just like the tarambuke which is an instrument with a single vibrating body. Musicians obtain sounds from it by hitting it with both their palms and fingers. Such an intrument exist in the Far East. The tarambuke is made of a long narrow earthenware cask shaped like a bottomless vase. A skin is stretched over its largest opening and the smaller opening is left open. The musician holds the instrument under the left arm or between the knees. The sound is produced with the fingers and emphasises the rhythm. That is why it was often used when tales were sung. Its sound differs a lor from other instruments of the sort because it is very soft and tender.
