One of the most unique museums in Almaty is the Museum of Folk Musical Instruments named after Ykylas. It was opened in 1981, and in 1990 it was named after Ykylas Dukenuly, the Kazakh folk composer-kuishi, kobyzist, one of the founders of the kobyz school. The museum has 9 halls representing the national musical instruments of the Kazakh people, as well as the cultures of more than 50 countries of the world.

The exposition is based on musical instruments of outstanding performers of the past, improvisational singers and composers Abai, Birzhan, Kurmangazy, Makhambet, Shashubai, Dina, Kazangap, Nartai, Kenen, Seitek, Muryn-zhyrau, Kyzyl-zhyrau, Zhambyl, A.Zhubanov, A.Kashaubaev, A.Khasenov, D.Myktybaev and many others.

The famous composer, academician Akhmet Zhubanov said: "The ancient wisdom of the ancestors is hidden in the strings of folk instruments." Many types of Kazakh musical instruments are found in folk poetry, notes by historians and ethnographers. On the basis of these materials, musicologist, collector, collector of Kazakh national musical instruments and performer, teacher, candidate of Art sciences Bolat Sarybayev classified musical instruments of the Kazakh people. According to his classification, they are divided into the following categories:  

● Noise musical instruments;

● Percussion musical instruments;

● Stringed musical instruments;

● Wind instruments;

● Reed musical instruments.

The musical instruments in the museum's collection are arranged in accordance with the classification in separate halls. To provide museum visitors with complete information about each exhibit, the museum is equipped with 2 information kiosks and projectors for video content. Information about each exhibit is provided at the kiosks, and dubbing and musical works performed on a particular instrument are demonstrated through video content.

All the halls of the museum are equipped with special devices to provide background music. For example, folk works performed on dombra, kobyz and sybyzgy, as well as original music of other peoples, are played as background music. Traditional music evenings are also held in the concert hall at the museum.

The halls of the museum

1.The introductory hall

Here are the types and copies of musical instruments found in archaeological excavations. The objects of musical archaeology are a visual proof of the depiction of the history, culture, traditions and customs of our people. Notes on medieval legacies found in the expanses of the Kazakh steppe can be found in the works of academician A.H. Margulan, explorer-traveler A.G. Medoev, writer-scientist A. Seydimbek, archaeologists K. Akishev and Z. Samashev, etc. 

2.Hall of wind and percussion instruments

Wind instruments make up a significant part of Kazakh musical instruments. As a rule, they are made of simple reeds, reeds, wood, brass, clay, plastic, horn, bone, animal bladder, camel esophagus, skin, etc.   

3.Hall of Memorial Musical Instruments 

The main part of the hall is dedicated to dombra. It is a popular and widely used instrument. For many centuries, dombra has shared all the sorrows and joys with the people, and has been a comfort in difficult times. The memorial hall presents authentic instruments of singers and kuishi-composers of the XIX-XX centuries, whose work is called the "Golden Age" in the history of Kazakh music.

4. Kobyz Hall

Detailed information about the history and method of creation of the kobyz, a string-bowed musical instrument of the Kazakh people, is presented. The tool is made from a single piece of birch, juniper. It consists of three parts: the head, neck and body. A leather membrane is stretched over the lower part and a stand is inserted. Strings of horsehair. The instrument has extensive capabilities, the sound is multifaceted, perfectly conveys the sounds of nature.

It has long been believed that kobyz is the main attribute of shamanism. A. Zataevich writes that due to such a misunderstanding, kobyz was considered a relic of the past, could not keep up with the times and almost disappeared. Therefore, at the beginning of the twentieth century, works for kobyz were not composed and gradually the instrument was forgotten. The last master of classical music of kobyz is Ykylas Dukenuly.

5. The Hall of Masters

The best creations of famous masters of the last century and modern times are presented in this hall. The exhibition also includes the prize-winning instruments of the first Republican competition of craftsmen for the manufacture of instruments "Anyz Dombra".

6. Hall of Musical Instruments of the Turkic-speaking peoples

The music of the Turkic–speaking world is a unique phenomenon with a long history and rich traditions. Many outstanding masterpieces of lasting value have been created. It is enough to recall instrumental compositions for the Bashkir kurai, mukama for the Turkmen dutar or kui for the Kyrgyz komuz. The epic melodies of Karakalpak zhyrau and Turkmen bakhshi, sounding in a special throat manner using instrumental accompaniment, leave an unforgettable impression.

7.Hall of Musical Instruments of the peoples of Asia and Africa

Asian composers are famous for the captivating fluidity of musical lines, slightly tart flavor and artistic thinking aimed at concise forms of expression. In their works, there is often a deliberate synthesis of Eastern and Western musical thought. 

8.Hall of Musical Instruments of the Peoples of Africa

The traditional music of Africa, given the vastness of the continent, is historically ancient, rich and diverse, with many different features. Songs and music are often used in rituals and religious ceremonies.

9.Hall of Musical Instruments of the Peoples of Europe

European musical culture acquired its characteristic features in the Middle Ages. At that time, professional musical traditions were formed within the framework of the Christian church, in the castles of aristocrats, in the knightly environment, and in the practice of urban musicians. For many centuries, these traditions were monophonic, and only in the mature Middle Ages did polyphony and musical writing appear. 

Address: 24A Zenkova Street, Almaty

The museum is located in a historic building built in 1908. The author of the project was architect A.P.Zenkov, who executed the building in the Russian style - using details of Old Russian wooden architecture in the decoration. Over the years, the building was used as an exhibition pavilion of the first agricultural and industrial exhibition of Semirechye, a postal and telegraph office, a cinema "Red Star". During the Great Patriotic War, creative teams of evacuated Soviet theaters performed here. The Museum of Folk Musical Instruments has been located in the building since 1983.