The tsymbaly is the heart of Ukrainian wedding troïsta music (violin + tsymbaly + frame drum). Sound is produced by two light hammers (“sticks,” “beaters”) that the player strikes against the strings — quickly, virtuosically, with a characteristically bright timbre.
In Ukraine there are two types: Carpathian (smaller, portable, from Transcarpathian and Hutsul masters) and academic concert (large, on a stand, up to 150 strings). A distinguished master is Yuriy Beidenko, who modernized the instrument. Similar instruments exist worldwide: the Hungarian cimbalom, Romanian țambal, Persian santur, Chinese yangqin. But the Ukrainian tradition of troïsta cimbalom playing is unique.
