Russian guitar Oleg Timofeyev, who has unearthed and recorded works by the composer Matvei Pavlov-Azancheev (1888−1963). Russian guitar The Russian guitar (sometimes referred to as a "Gypsy guitar") is an acoustic seven-string guitar that was developed in Russia toward the end of the 18th century: it shares most of its organological features with the Spanish guitar, although some historians insist on English guitar ascendancy. It is known in Russian as the "semistrunnaya gitara" (семиструнная гитара), or affectionately as the "semistrunka" (семиструнка), which translates to "seven-stringer". These guitars are most commonly tuned to an open G chord as follows: . In classical literature,
What Is Life Harrison performances" (just three of which date from the ex-Beatle's solo years) and described the track as an "exultant song of surrender", abetted by Harrison's "pumping fuzz guitar" and the song's "singalong magnetism". AllMusic's Richie Unterberger similarly praises "What Is Life" for its "anthemic" qualities, "particularly snazzy horn lines", and a guitar riff that is "one more entry in the catalog of George Harrison's book of arresting, low, descending guitar lines". Writing in the book "1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die", author Tom Moon refers to "the upbeat single 'What Is Life'" as an example of how Harrison "grabs