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Gusli

Musical Instrument
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

An ancient Russian zither or psaltery, plucked or strummed in epic and courtly music

Detailed Definition
The gusli appears in poetry as the instrument of bards and byliny (epic tales); its shimmering strings evoke mythic Rus’, and poets reference it to connect modern verse with Slavic oral tradition, often symbolizing the poet’s role as keeper of national memory.
Example
Example in poetry:
The gusli’s strings “sing byliny of Rus’ like rivers through time”; In a Slavic epic poem, its zither “holds the land’s first songs”; The instrument appears as “the bard’s mirror reflecting myth”; A historical lyric uses gusli to voice national memory.
Additional Notes
The gusli, referenced in Russian epics like The Tale of Igor’s Campaign, was played by bards (skomorokhi) to accompany heroic verse; in poetry, it symbolizes Slavic oral tradition, national myth, and the poet as keeper of memory; students analyzing Eastern European historical verse can use it to explore how zither-like instruments become vessels of epic continuity and cultural identity.
Also Known As
Gusli zither Russian psaltery
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