About Katya Expertise I am Russian, I was a child when I emigrated, and felt like I had lost my roots for a while. So when the time came, I studied a bit about my own culture, and sort of reclaimed my heritage. I hope I know a fair bit about Russia, not only from being Russia and speaking Russian etc. but also through my own journey of finding out more about Russian culture.
Experience I am Russian and have studied a bit about Russian culture, as well as doing a intercultural communication course at university.
Organizations World Vision.
Education/Credentials One year left of my bachelor degree in international relations.
Question QUESTION: So i have a few questions...
What is an example of culturally specific music in Russia?
What are some of the instruments that are commonly found in traditional Russian music?
ANSWER: Hello Megan,
I'm not quite sure what you mean by culturally specific music in Russia? The traditional music in Russia is known to some extent by most of the populace, although older people would know the music better in most cases.
Instruments that are commonly found in traditional Russian music are the balalaika (sort of like a triangular guitar), gusli (an extremely old instrument and innately Russian), rozhok, which I guess is sort of like a trumpet, and dudka, which is basically a traditional Russian flute. And of course it is often accompanied by singing, which traditionally is a bit nasally in the case of women.
Hope this helps, cheers:)
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thank you sooooo much...
one more question...
are there any bands that have been really culturally significant in Russia? I have heard that a band named Kino was very popular at one point... is that true?
Once again thank you so much, i really appreciate it :)
Answer Yes, Kino was popular in the 80's, can't really say it was my time, but it was a rock band headed by Viktor Tsoi (lead singer and wrote all the songs), who died in 1990. I haven't heard his music, but I've being told it was deep and meaningful. He has a sister Anita Tsoi who's a singer in Russia.
Also there was band called Time Machine (Mashina Vremeni) that used to be popular, you can hear their songs from time to time, they have good songs that use a lot of metaphors. I'm also thinking of Lube (e is not silent), they're a really patriotic band that uses quite a bit of folk influence in their music, I like them. I can't really think of many bands so to speak in Russia, because it was usually solo artists that made big headlines, or maybe I just don't know about them. Right now, all that springs to mind is the bands I know that are popular at the current moment, Tatu (well, was popular), Gorod 312, Tokio...
Hope I helped.