Seven Strings Over Iowa

There are but a handful of Russian musical exports familiar to the average American. Among them are the classics: Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Shostakovich, Prokofiev. Next are the chestnuts: world-renowned tunes like “Ochi Chernye” (Dark Eyes) and “Korobeiniki,” more commonly known as the Tetris theme. Many have encountered the three-stringed, triangular-bodied balalaika. Worldly musicians might be able to tell you the difference between a piano accordion and its chromatic-buttoned cousin, the Russian bayan. But when it comes to one of the most storied instruments in Russian culture, the seven-stringed guitar, or semistrunka (seven-stringer), few but the most passionate and well-versed music nerds and Russophiles are even aware of its existence.