Bandura: Meet the Traditional Ukrainian Instrument in ABC Arts' Instrumental

If one instrument could be said to carry the voice of Ukrainian history, it would be the bandura. Its shimmering, harp-like sound has accompanied epic ballads, religious songs and modern concert music, and it remains a powerful symbol of Ukrainian identity.

Between a lute and a harp

The bandura is a plucked string instrument with a rounded wooden body and a short neck. Its design combines features of a lute and a zither: some strings run along the neck, while many shorter treble strings stretch across the soundboard. Modern concert banduras can carry several dozen strings, allowing musicians to play complex melodies and harmonies.

Some key facts about the instrument:

• it developed from the earlier kobza, an instrument closely associated with Cossack culture;
• wandering musicians known as kobzars, often blind, performed dumy, long epic songs about historical events;
• in the twentieth century bandura ensembles and choirs developed both in Ukraine and in the diaspora;
• today the instrument is taught in music schools and used in genres from classical to pop.

Because the kobzars kept alive stories of freedom and Cossack heroism, the bandura has long been seen as more than a musical instrument. It is a carrier of collective memory.

Playing the bandura demands considerable skill. The musician holds the instrument upright on the knees and plucks the bass strings with one hand while the other plays the melody on the treble strings, often accompanying their own singing.

What to expect from the video

The video, titled Bandura: The traditional Ukrainian instrument that's also a symbol of resistance | Instrumental, comes from ABC Arts, the arts channel of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The Instrumental series focuses on individual instruments and the people who play them, so viewers can expect a close look at the bandura and its cultural meaning, including its role as a symbol of resilience suggested by the title.

It is an accessible introduction for anyone who has never heard the instrument, and a reminder of how music can preserve a nation's story across centuries.

Video: ABC Arts / YouTube