Traditional string instruments include the guitar and violin, while among the Kyrgyz, there are komuz and kyl kyak. A classical guitar can be purchased in almost any store, but national Kyrgyz musical instruments are almost always handmade.
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In the music for choor, sybyzgy, and other wind instruments, there is a special figurative sphere that is hard to imagine without in the national culture. It provides a sense of the eternity of existence and a mood of calm contemplation. Furthermore, wind instruments traditionally carry practical functions, serving the labor, daily life, and leisure of the Kyrgyz people. The oldest types of wind instruments, preserved to this day in certain samples, refer us to the "primordial
One of the oldest and most widespread types of Kyrgyz folk instrumental music is the kyuu for the temir ooz komuz (or temir komuz) and zhygach ooz komuz. The modest arsenal of expressive means of these instruments is compensated in the kyuu by the figurative-thematic relief and unique timbre variety.
One of the ancient layers of Kyrgyz instrumental music in the oral tradition is associated with the kyl kyak. It clearly lags behind the komuz in popularity among both performers and listeners. It is indicative that at the first All-Kyrgyz Olympiad of Folk Musical Creativity, held in the capital of the republic in 1936, out of thirteen instrumentalists, ten played the komuz, two played the temir komuz, and only one played the kyl kyak. Nevertheless, this instrument, along with the genres
In Kyrgyzstan, several regional performing schools have developed, each with distinctive stylistic features. In the 20th century, they found their leaders in the form of famous komuz players. The performance style of the Issyk-Kul musicians, "led" by Arstanbek, Murataaly, and Karamoldo, is characterized by philosophical depth and strict style. The komuz players of the Osh school have managed to preserve the ancient, archaic traditions of performance, represented honorably by
Komuz is the most popular and beloved musical instrument of the Kyrgyz people. In ancient times, the komuz was played in almost every Kyrgyz yurt, and in the 20th century, it made its way to the grand concert stage. Kyrgyz komuz players perform abroad, drawing the attention of a wide audience and specialists to the unique sound of the instrument and the distinctive genres of komuz kyuu.
The genres of Kyrgyz folk instrumental music have historically developed as specific functional systems, possessing certain properties common with the vocal genre hierarchy. These include belonging to the mass or professional sphere of creativity, to a specific type of artistic activity (public performance, ritual, play, cult act, etc.), and to a particular type of figurative content. At the same time, the genre system of the instrumental tradition has its own specifics.
The folk music of the Kyrgyz has developed over centuries. The traditions of oral folk art remain strong to this day. Kyrgyz folklore vividly and expressively reflects almost all aspects of nomadic life, historical events, and the relationships of the Kyrgyz with their surrounding environment. Modern folk groups in Kyrgyzstan, drawing on such rich material, have many opportunities for creative development.
As is known, the category of self-sounding instruments (idiophones) includes all sound-producing devices in which the source of vibrations is the body itself or part of it, rather than a string, membrane, or column of air enclosed in a channel. In Kyrgyz musical culture, this includes the so-called mouth (lip) komuz of several types, as well as instruments like jingles, bells, rattles, etc.
Kyrgyz folk percussion instruments form a small group. The arsenal of folk percussion instruments consists of three membranophones: dobulbash (in northern Kyrgyzstan — dobulbas), dool, and karsyldak. These instruments are carriers of rhythm, one of the strongest means of artistic influence on humans and animals.
The oldest instruments, which are wind instruments, were primarily given practical significance by the Kyrgyz. They performed signaling functions (calling people to public events, moving herds of livestock), and only later artistic, aesthetic functions (rest, entertainment). In ancient times, instruments of this group were included in ensembles during military battles. The epic "Manas" mentions performers on wind instruments, whose playing made a significant emotional impression on
Kyrgyz folk instruments are an essential part of the national artistic culture — both as attributes of musical creativity and as creations of applied art. In modern society, they function in various aspects and situations. They are played solo, as well as in ensembles and orchestras, during home music-making and at public concerts. Music schools, studios, and secondary and higher educational institutions introduce children and youth to instrumental performance or provide opportunities to
The creativity of the akyns has been studied since the early years of the establishment of national philology and musicology. For the first time, works of specific akyn genres were recorded by A. Zataevich. His first folklore collection (250 Kyrgyz instrumental pieces and melodies. — Moscow, 1934) contained three musical examples, two of which (No. 120 and 121) were recorded from T. Satylganov. In the second collection, prepared in 1936 but not published during the scholar's lifetime,
Based on their talent and mastery, akyins are divided into two main categories. The first category includes major improvisational akyins (tekme chots akyn, zalkar akyn). The second category consists of akyins whose improvisational skills are not as developed; they prepare their performances in advance (zhattama mayda akyn, jamakchy akyn). There is also an intermediate level: akyins occupying this level are referred to as "orto," meaning "medium." With focused and systematic
Dialogical Akyn Genres — a professional artistic form of song and poetic competitions with the general name kayym, widely spread among the people. The youth song genres "kız-jigit," "akıynek," and friendly song and poetic tournaments "sarmerden," among others, are built on the type of competitive dialogue.
In solo genres, the akyn sings or recites their own or borrowed text, accompanying themselves on the komuz or kyl kyak. In these genres, akyns of various levels and styles perform, and it serves as a specific school for novice akyns to refine their performance style. Furthermore, solo genres of akyn creativity allow the author to concentrate the listeners' attention on what personally concerns them, showcasing their creative individuality.
Akyn Creativity is a unique layer of Kyrgyz song tradition. Its significance is determined by the diverse functions performed by the carriers of this remarkable form of folk artistic creativity within national culture. The activities of akyns are the best indicator of a careful attitude toward cultural heritage. This is a living and timeless art that contains a powerful intellectual force.
The Kyrgyz epic is a professional form of oral folk musical and poetic creativity. In the epic, the richness of the people's worldview and artistic reflection of the surrounding reality is manifested more fully and vividly than in other genres. The epic captures global categories of social existence and consciousness: history, religion, material and artistic culture, and the mentality of the Kyrgyz.
Kyrgyz Folk and Mass Musical Creativity In Kyrgyz folk and mass musical creativity, songs about historical figures and events have hardly developed as an independent genre. History was widely covered in both large and small epics, but the images of legendary leaders and heroes were presented in a generalized-mythological manner. Real historical figures — such as khans Shabdan and Ormon, datkas Kurmanjan and Alymbek, heroes Balbai and Kozhomkul — more often became the subjects of akyn songs
The melodies of this genre group are differentiated into children's songs and songs for children. Some are created and performed by children themselves, while others are created by adults.
The Kyrgyz youth song genres include songs performed by young men (jigitter yrlary) and young women (kyzdar yrlary) aged approximately 14 to 25 years. This is the most dynamic layer of folklore culture, characterized by specific socio-psychological and artistic-aesthetic features determined by the age of the performers and listeners, the emotional mobility of their psyche, the optimism in their perception of the world, and the multifacetedness of their interests.
The genres of song lyricism are richly represented in Kyrgyz folk art, being among the most widespread, developed, and popular. Despite the variety of content, these genres share many commonalities, which give them stylistic unity and emotional kinship. Often, the same melody—“obon”—“migrates” from one lyrical song to another and is performed with new lyrics. For instance, the tune of “Oh, dear girl” (“Oy, asyl kyz”) is almost exactly used in the songs “Tea” and “To the collective farm friend”
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In pre-class and class societies, when the ancient Turkic-speaking ancestors of the Kyrgyz lived a nomadic pastoral life, song folklore was inseparable from their labor activities.
The vocal creativity of the Kyrgyz people reflects their rich history, social and domestic relationships, spiritual and labor experiences. Song accompanies the Kyrgyz constantly and daily, and the love for singing has a truly mass character. The vocal culture of the oral tradition has formed, developed, and improved over thousands of years, resulting in its artistic-expressive and logical-constructive principles and means.
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The concept of folk music (traditional music, musical folklore) is relative in its genesis. It emerged only when, in the process of societal evolution and its artistic culture, highly professional forms of individual creativity developed, gaining the status of academic art. In European countries, these forms were established by a number of social institutions, including specialized educational establishments (conservatories, academies). From the need to relate these professional and
Starting from the mid-19th century, progressive Russian travelers and scholars began to study and widely introduce the artistic creativity and material culture of the peoples of Central Asia to the European public. During this time, a relationship and mutual penetration of the musical cultures of the peoples of Russia and Central Asia began. Russian composers showed great interest in the music of the peoples of Central Asia. They recorded folk melodies, processed them, borrowing some elements.
Kyrgyz folk music is a rich area of the national culture of the people, expressing their worldview, everyday life, history, ethical and aesthetic ideals. Its roots go deep into antiquity. The first written records of the musical past of the Kyrgyz are found in several sources. In 630 BC, the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang, traveling through the territory of modern Kyrgyzstan, noted that a feast held in honor of his arrival began with the sounds of music that enchanted and delighted the ears,