Balalaika Online (Virtual Balalaika)
The balalaika is the Russian folk instrument with a triangular body and three strings. This balalaika online puts the neck of a prima, the most common size, on your screen with 15 frets: tap a fret to hear the note, drag your finger across the strings to strum, and use several fingers at once, the mouse or your computer keyboard.
How to use it
- Tap a fret to hear the note; the light strip before the nut plays the open string.
- Pick one of the Common chords or build another with Root and Type. The numbers next to the name are the frets, from the 3rd string to the 1st.
- Strum with ↓ Downstroke and ↑ Upstroke, or slide your finger across the open-string strip.
- On a computer, each keyboard row is a string: 1 2 3… is the 1st (A), Q W E… the 2nd and A S D… the 3rd. The first key of each row is the open string; Space strums down and Shift + Space strums up.
- The Full screen button enlarges the neck; on a phone, turn it sideways.
Help and explanations
The sound is a recorded plucked steel string, not a real balalaika, so it sounds closer to a guitar. The notes and tuning are the balalaika's: pick a chord and the page shows where your fingers go and plays it. Under Scales, the notes of a scale appear across the whole neck.
Balalaika tuning: E E A
From the 3rd string to the 1st: E E A (E4 E4 A4). The two lower strings are tuned in unison, to the same note, and the 1st string is a fourth higher. This is the academic tuning taught in music schools and used in Russian folk orchestras. The E string at the 5th fret sounds like the open A, an easy way to check your tuning.
The other option in the Tuning list is the folk tuning (narodny stroy), where the open strings form a major chord; here it is C E G (C4 E4 G4), a C chord with no fingers down.
Songs to practice
Well-known Russian songs are a good start: Kalinka, Korobeiniki, Svetit mesyats and Vo pole beryoza stoyala. Find the melody on the frets of the 1st string and accompany it with chords.
For a song in A minor, Am, Dm and E7 are enough; in A major, A, D and E7. All of them are already among the common chords of the academic tuning.
Tips
- On the balalaika, strumming is done with the index finger, down and up. Alternate ↓ and ↑ (or Space and Shift + Space) on one chord until the rhythm feels natural.
- To tune your own instrument, use the balalaika tuner.
- Left-handed? Tick Left-handed (mirrored neck) in the options.
- Start with the volume low, especially with headphones.
Frequently asked questions
How is a balalaika tuned?
The prima balalaika is tuned E E A (E4 E4 A4), from the 3rd string to the 1st, with the two lower strings on the same note. There is also a folk tuning in a major chord; here it is C E G.
Is this the sound of a real balalaika?
No, it is a recorded plucked steel string. The notes, tuning and chords are the balalaika's, so you can learn the shapes and melodies.
Can I play the balalaika on my computer keyboard?
Yes. The rows 1 2 3…, Q W E… and A S D… are the three strings; each key goes up one fret, and Space strums.
Do I need to install anything or sign up?
No. It runs in the browser on phones and computers, and the sound is made on your device.