so i'm at the central state museum of Kazakhstan, and they have this dombra exhibit. i notice that one of them is modern-looking and out of a case, so i ask one of the docents if i could try playing it. i sit down & start strumming away, basically playing it like a balalaika one of the other guests, a middle-aged Kazakh guy there with his family, is watching me, and i can recognize the antsy look of someone watching someone else butchering their instrument, so i hand it to him he pops off his shoes, sits down, and starts *wailing* on it after two songs, the docent is like "wait, sit here" and slides this table over to him, which has this little string attached. he slips it around his pinky, and… 🎶🐐🎶