Kharkiv style

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The Kharkiv Academic Style of Bandura Playing is a way of playing the Ukrainian folk instrument Bandura

The instrument is held in such a way that will allow both hands equal access to all the strings. This means that the left hand is able to play easily over the whole range of the instrument over all the strings and the right hand plays not just on the treble strings but also on the bass strings.

The manner in which the instrument is held also influences the technique used by the bandurist. The left hand uses all five fingers in play The position in which the bandura is held also means that the 5th finger of the right hand can also be used with more dexterity than in the Kiev style.

The left hand can play in two positions. The first is along the edge of the instrument and the second is when it is thrown over the side of the instrument in the centre of the string mirroring the right hand.

The fact that both hands have access to all of the strings means that both hands can play the same strings at the same time and thus produce amazing effects which are not possible on the Kiev style bandura and are not possible to reproduce even when two instruments are used.