From "Once upon a time - manners and worldview of the Bulgarians"

Some of the Bulgarian musical folk instruments are characteristic of almost the entire territory of Bulgaria, while others are concentrated in a certain folklore area.

5 main folk instruments are used in Bulgarian folk music - kaval, bagpipe, gudulka, tambourine and drum, as well as characteristic of individual folklore areas such as tarambuka and zurna in Pirin, harmonica in Dobruja, chans in the Rhodopes, brambazak for the northwest and north, tsafarata for the northwest, etc.

Folklore collection "Once upon a time - manners and worldview of the Bulgarians"

Wood and leather are the most commonly used materials for the manufacture of these instruments, in some cases ox or horse hair is used for strings, metal for the rattles and bowls, clay for the ocarina, and the harmonica has a much more complex structure and is made of more materials.

Most of the folk instruments are wind instruments - kaval, bagpipe, duduk, shepherd's whistle, dvoyanka, ocarina, tsafara, zurna. The string instruments include the gadulka (string bows) and the tambourine and the brambazak (string pullers), and the percussion instruments include the tambourine, tarambuka and chanov.

The doublet is a two-part instrument. The harmonica in Dobrudja resembles an accordion, but on the right instead of keys, buttons are constructed.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the use of accordion in Bulgarian folk music. This instrument perfectly fits and becomes established over the years in our folklore. Another feature is that European wind instruments have long been used to perform folk music in the Northern folklore region, mainly in the western region - clarinet, trumpet, trombone.

Types of folk instruments

String instruments: Fiddle • Tambourine

Wind instruments: Bagpipe • Dvoyanka • Duduk • Zurna • Kaval • Ocarina • Tzafara

Percussion instruments: Dumb • Tarambuca • Chanov • Drumboy

© 2023 Iliana Dechkova