Knowledge of the notes is useful, but not necessary, for you also can download a sound file with the melodies of all the songs. Just click here on SOUND.ZIP , and after the download extract SOUND.ZIP into an empty folder: You will find all the songs of this Balalaika School there, and with a double click on your wanted song title your media player will perform the melody – plain and slow, so that you easily can learn the song. And soon you will be able to play it with much more expression, speed, verve ... the way how the song really wants to be performed.

At the end you do not only know how to play Balalaika, but you have also learnt a dozen of the most popular Russian folksongs.

Take a look at the Balalaika School! It is organized not by chapters but by songs, and with every song you learn a bit more – in a really playful way.

To return to this Table of Contents from the Balalaika School pages, please, always use the Back Button of your browser!

The Balalaika School

• The Prim-Balalaika introduces itself
• Our first song: "Evening bells"
• Our second song: "Stenka Razin"
• Our third song: "Moonlight"
• Our fourth song: "Juniper on the hill"
• Our fifth song: "Along the Petersburg Road"
• Our sixth song: "Suliko"
• Our seventh song: "Monotonously the bell is sounding"
• Our eighth song: "Bright face, round face"
• Our ninth song: "Kazanka"
• Our tenth song: "Kalinka"
• Our eleventh song: "Cossack patrol"
• Our twelfth song: "Dark eyes"
• Our last song: "Cossack lullaby"
• Epilogue
• Appendix: The fretboard
• Appendix: Table of chords and finger positions
• Appendix: Pronunciation guide for the Russian words"

Did you take an interest in learning how to play the Balalaika? Then you should print out the Balalaika School now, because it is impossible to work with it at the computer screen. Make your choice:

1. There is a HTML file which your browser will print out without further ado – but perhaps, depending from the configuration of your printer, several pictures and notes could be cut into two parts by the paper feed.

2. There is a PDF file which is highly recommended because it will print all the pages of the Balalaika School faultlessly – but only if the program "Acrobat Reader" is installed on your computer system.

Click on the "Print" symbol of your choice, and the wanted file will show up on your screen. Then, if you want to start the print-out, you just have to click on "Print" in the menu of your browser resp. of the "Acrobat Reader".