The gadulka (Bulgarian: гъдулка) is a traditional Bulgarian bowed string instrument. It is also spelled "gǎdulka," "gudulka," and "g'dulka." The name comes from a word meaning "to make noise, hum, or buzz." The gadulka is an important part of Bulgarian traditional musical groups, often played during dance music.

The instrument usually has three main strings (sometimes four or five) and up to sixteen sympathetic resonating strings underneath. These sympathetic strings were introduced by Mincho Nedyalkov. Only the main strings are touched by the player's fingers, and they are never pressed all the way to the neck. The gadulka is held vertically, with the bow held perpendicular in an under-hand grip.

A smaller version of the gadulka exists in the Dobrudja region, which has no sympathetic strings.

The gadulka may have originated from the lira, a bowed instrument from the 9th century AD in the Byzantine Empire. The lira is considered an ancestor of many Western European bowed instruments. Similar instruments, like the lira, have been played in the Mediterranean and Southeast Europe until today. Examples include the gusle from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, and Albania; the lyra from Crete and the Dodecanese in Greece; the Lira Calabrese from Calabria, Italy; and the Classical kemence from Istanbul, Turkey.

Construction

The body and neck of the instrument are made from a single piece of wood, with the body shaped like a bowl or gourd, similar to a lute. The top part, called the soundboard, is made of softwood with straight grain and is carved with a less curved shape. The instrument is heavier than a violin, though some are very well made. (It usually has no decorations except for the design of the peghead.) The bridge, located between two D-shaped soundholes, has one foot resting on the top and the other on a soundpost inside the back. This allows the vibrations from the strings to reach both the top and back of the instrument.

Unlike many stringed instruments, there is no nut at the top of the strings. Instead, the strings are stretched between tuning pegs at the top and a tailpiece at the bottom, passing over the bridge (for the playing strings) or through holes in the bridge (for the sympathetic strings). The tailpiece is usually made of bone and attached to a carved "endpin" with thick steel wire. The endpin holds the bottom of the instrument against a strap or belt worn by the player.

Gadulka strings are made of steel, plain for smaller sizes or wrapped with steel or bronze for larger ones. They are similar to guitar strings and are attached to the tailpiece using their rounded ends.

Tuning

The standard tuning for the gadulka uses three playing strings tuned to A, E, and A. The resonating strings (also called sympathetics) are tuned chromatically to cover all musical notes except A and E, depending on how many resonating strings are present.

• Thrace:
• Dobrudja:
• Lingourie:
• Another variant:
• SELIGRA-MINCHEV 5strings:
• st string-G2, 2nd string-C2, 3rd string-G1, 4th string-D1, 5th string-GM