Elementary Method for the Balalaika

This is the best beginner's book for the balalaika you can get. Not only does it teaches you the basics of the balalaika, it also gives you some general music information too, like reading sheet music, which is a must since by mid-book it stops giving you tabs to follow and instead full measures of sheet music for all the exercises. My biggest complaint is the brevity of the book. All of the lessons are pretty much, "Here's a paragraph of your next lesson, here's two songs of exercises for this lesson, and now let's move onto the next." This is why I recommend you buy this book in companion with "Mel Bay's Complete Balalaika Book" by Bibs Ekkel. Not only does Ekkel greatly expand on these little tidbits, but where the Mel Bay's book is a little too technical for the musically illiterate, this book makes up for it.

When I got my balalaika I ordered this book and I've really been amazed at how effective it is. I've tried similar books for other instruments before with limited success and I expected about the same results with this one. All I can say is that this one has been way, way better. Dorozhkin gives a well-structure yet very engaging approach to learning the balalaika, even explaining which strings to use and how to divide your practice time. Each lesson includes tablature but he also teaches you to read the music notation a little bit at a time. If you really follow his directions (which include practicing for 1.5 to 2.5 hours a day) you will be playing surprisingly beautiful music in no time. I am very pleased with this book, probably the best ten bucks I've ever spent.

Very pleased with the amount of material in the book.

Used to be impossible to obtain this basic primer anywhere, but since de-Sovietization it's been a little easier. So if you're thinking about learning or teaching someone else, hurry and get this. Things are so unsettled in Russia, who knows when they'll stop allowing US musicians to learn it? Only one that's better is Bibs Ekkel's, and it is for accomplished musicians +quite pricey when you can get it.

My son seems to like this book. He says it is laid out well and easy to understand. He is 17

By far the best tutorial for a novice

Good study book for the Balalaika. Just put some effort into it.

A wonderful book to get me started with my Balalaika, very please with the exercises and information contained in the book.

Tab stops halfway through when the tunes get interesting.

I am new to this instrument but play other stringed instruments. The guidelines and advice are very clear. This book encourages more finger picking, compared with another book which mainly encourages chord strumming. Good value.

HAPPY

Can be hard to follow.

Very useful.