Dmitry Babayev

I met trumps in June 2002, it was not the first encounter, before that, the commercials in 1999, I saw the harp when traveling in the Altai region, and I really liked this thing - to have a good time with her, I thought, but decided to buy Only three years later. I must say that the harp was then a rarity and buy the Altai, it can be few places - I knew only one place - a souvenir little market on the Chu tract at the mouth of the creek Arjan-Suu. There's something I bought my first harp - it was Vladimir komus Potkina, even old models that were produced before 2000. I think once learned to play it, but I was scared that it was difficult - there was nothing complicated, the sound was at first stroke and went running, or rather flew !!! Already in the first day I got on everyone's camp, I did not stop for a moment did not come to dinner, I played, played day and night, even when we went to the keyway in the mountains - a game played all the way to Barnaul!

I've played a lot, I always, everywhere carry with them the harp, soon made its case with a lid to harp has always been clean and sound. Unfortunately, neither the harp, no case did not survive. It was then that I became acquainted with the work of Marsh and Bayrysheva Nogon Shumarova. Many of copying tunes, a lot of listening. Speaking of Shumarova I learned from the educational film - "Comus Altai - the first acquaintance" - there Potkin Vladimir told about his Comus and Nogon Shumarov demonstrated different techniques of the game; there have Shumarova, I saw a large komus as he spoke - bass. Brass sound of my friend once faded in comparison with this giant, I did not know any of the Yakut khomuses, nor Hungarian dorombah, nor Russian jew's harp; and the masters were much smaller. His internet I was not there, and in the Altai of Comus not sell. Then I decided to make Comus himself, it was in 2003.

In libraries to find any practical information are not removed and I just began to do so, as occurred, and the first thought was - carve jew's harp frame made of sheet steel. In the barn just lay a piece of suitable sheet - 4 mm thick. I have not worked with metal and did not know how to handle this stuff, so do sooo long - harp was completed in early 2004. The tongue I made from a steel ruler, all I can say about it - do not spoil the line, because the whole state More's the use of it, than cut into the Jew's harp tabs - too shaky steel, not elastic enough. The sound was pleasant, but very quiet, and I soon gave it komus.

In the spring of 2004, I learned about forging Yakut khomuses - Altaian one told me - and I decided to make forged trumps, it seemed to me - they are better. Around the same time, I came across a real Yakut khomus - khomus Burtsev, where the tab was attached to three or four places, it largely changed my ideas about sound and design trumps. I began to experiment with forging, steel bar heating furnace great-grandfathers house. The result of my experiments became large (longer than 10 cm) massive forged trumps. Outwardly, they were similar to the Yakut, but my frame was longer and thicker. None of these trumps is not preserved; the last one I gave in 2007 to his friend in Moscow, but he said he had lost the gift in a month.

From 2004 to 2006 I worked on the jew's harp with his friend - Alexander Antonenko, and now we are in contact with him, he also makes trumps, but not so often, but will soon be doing more. At the end of 2007 in connection with entering the music school, I stopped all the work about the jew's harp and gave away all of his tools, leaving only komus Potkina who gave me one relative - according to her, this komus belonged Nogon Shumarova (she communicated with him before).

A new stage of my life vargan became acquainted in 2010 with Nikolai Sobolev and acquisition khomus Gotovceva. Then, after 6 years, I again saw the familiar design - khomus Gotovceva was made as well as my first harp - machined from a sheet of steel, but the tab was attached to the resistance welding and construction jaw jew's harp (that with a light hand of Vladimir Potkina called decks - correct me if I'm wrong :) was slightly different - I saw through the workpiece on both sides, and Innocent Nikitich - one; it has become a turning point in my perception of the Jew's harp design, this particular design and I took as a basis, especially since it is not necessary to build a forge! Although I immediately faced with the problem of the lack of a milling machine - so it eats through groove for the tongue Gotovtsev and we came up with an economy version: the machined groove on elektrotochile and then finalize the forest machine. In the autumn of the same 2010, I came up with several ways to bend the ring jew's harp frame and took a few bent-forged trumps, these experiments took me so much that I left the College of Music and plunged into the study of sound vargan ...

I recently moved to St. Petersburg, to learn the craft of blacksmithing - had to leave the studio in the Altai and it somewhat limits my opportunities, mainly to quantify - can not get in a rented apartment to do a lot of trumps, but it's a matter of time. Who is working on the optimization of the work, which will reduce the cost of trumps. Just developing a different model.

- For me, this case, which I like, and it's just a piece of hardware that does not sound without the person.

- Good question - but the answer is simple - the harmony, that is, that everything in the jew's harp was melody, well, to a man who plays on it was a pleasure and joy to play on it.

- Yes, I play the bass, guitar, mandolin on all sorts of percussion-percussion, among which stands out the Indian tabla, still playing the Didgeridoo, Dizhi, I also do))

- I am fond of a lot of anything, just not listed, this one combines all - self-knowledge.

- Let's live together!

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