Music and playing musical instruments were always loved in Ancient Russia. Some of the instruments dating back to 11th century are still being found by modern archaeologists. And one of the cultural centers was Velikiy Novgorod. Literally everyone played musical instruments here: jesters and peasants, amateurs and professionals.

In Novgorod, four types of musical instruments were most common. These were gudok - stringed instruments with three strings, sopel - wind instruments similar in appearance and sound to modern flutes, vargan - self-sounding reed instruments made of iron and resembling horseshoes, and also gusli - an instrument with strings, plucked.

Perhaps one of the most unusual instruments was the vargan. When playing, the musician pressed the vargan to his teeth or lips with the elongated end. The oral cavity served as a resonator and also helped to change the pitch and frequency of the sound. The sound was produced by the musician blowing air in and out while plucking the reed of the vargan. An unusual sound was produced, and with special skill, any melody could be played with the vargan. Six vargans have been found in Novgorod during the recent archaeological excavations.

Not many gudoks have been found - just over ten specimens. The gudok is a predecessor to the violin, and it appeared in Novgorod in the 11th century. It is noteworthy that the gudoks fully correspond in structure to the fiddles, which are musical stringed instruments found in England, Italy, and France of the same period.

Sopel, one of the most popular and ancient musical instruments, has been found repeatedly in Novgorod. It is believed that originally sopel were war instruments, but later jesters began to use them actively. Moreover, sopel were the favorite instrument of shepherds who used it to gather the herd in the morning and drive it to the pasture and in the evening, to lead it to the village. The principle of playing sopel, like playing the pipe, with sufficient skill, one could become a true virtuoso.

But the greatest popularity and unconditional love in Novgorod were earned by the gusli. They were incredibly popular and revered, and musicians who mastered the art of playing gusli were highly respected. A huge number of ancient gusli have been found in excavations in Novgorod. In the city, they played on five, six, and nine-stringed gusli, and the most ancient ones were the gusli with five strings: such finds were found in the layers of the mid-11th century. The gusli differed not only in the number of strings, but also in size and shape, and were decorated with intricate carvings and inlays.