Dombra is rightfully recognized as one of the greatest inventions presented to the world by the Turkic peoples. In 2010, the dombra was listed in the Guinness Book of records when 10450 dombra players performed the Kazakh “Kui” (musical play) "Kenes" in China.
The dombra first appeared in the Middle Ages. For example, the works of Aby Nasyr Al-Farabi refer to a tambur-like musical instrument similar to the dombra. An instrument similar to the Dombyra existed in almost every country in Central Asia. Within the last century, there have been many great composers and Dombyra players, such as Kurmangazy, Kazangap, and Tattimbet. Archaeological finds indicate that two-stringed prototypes of the Kazakh dombra appeared more than 2000 years ago. During the excavations of the ancient settlement of Koi-Krylgan-Kale, which was built about 2 thousand years ago, terracotta statuettes of musicians with two strings in their hands were found. Besides, there are legends dedicated to dombra, one of them says there was a hero, who was tired of military exploits and on the way to his yurt decided to rest. From a walnut tree, the hero carved a makeshift instrument, strung it with horsehair strings, and tried to play the instrument, but it did not make any sound. After unsuccessful attempts, the warrior fell asleep and soon he woke up by a melody made by a homemade instrument. The warrior discovered that someone had attached a wooden threshold at the junction of the head and neck of the dombra. The warrior decided that this was the work of Shaitan (an evil demon), and since then the name "Shaitan-tiek" has been fixed in the people for the upper threshold of dombra.
The technique of playing the dombra is similar to the methods of playing other plucked instruments: the left hand of the musician freely slides on the neck (handle), and with the fingers of the right hand, hitting both strings, the sound is extracted. The melodious, velvety, rhythmic sounds of dombra tell about the vast steppes of Kazakhstan, about quiet pastures with peacefully grazing herds. However, it is worth amplifying the sound of the strings, and the melody rushes after a herd of stallions, galloping across the pasture.
In the steppe melodies of dombra, you can catch the rustle of grasses and the sound of streams, the glee of bird choirs, the neighing of horses, and the sound of hooves. In the old days, dombra was played at feasts and before a battle to achieve the appropriate mood. Like the Russian skomorokhs, Kazakh national storytellers Akins went with dombra on markets, fairs, and villages, performing some compositions over others. In just 2 - 4 minutes (the time of sounding one Kyu) with the help of two strings, steppe musicians transmitted the joys and sorrows of the simple people. No matter how sad the melody is, there is always a warm, heartfelt farewell in the sound of dombra. People say that the soul of the Kazakh lives in the sounds of dombra.
In the XXI century, in the era of electronic music dombra still attracts the interest of music lovers. For example, Kazakh folk-rock bands combine the sound of dombra, violin, and screaming rock guitars and get a completely new sound.
