Wednesday, August 14, 2013

What To Know About Psalteries

By Andrea Davidson


Psalteries is a word that is used to describe a certain style of stringed instruments that are included within the zither family. These have existed and been used for ancient times. In modern times, they are still available and widely used.

The psalteries that were in Ancient Greece were similar to the harp instrument. This terminology, psaltery, is taken from the language of the Greek. It is a combination of a word that means harp, psaltery or stringed instrument, and a verb that is defined as to pull, touch sharply, twitch or pluck.

During the Christian period, these featured a soundboard. Several pre-tuned strings were attached to this soundboard and were plucked to play. It was also referred to as a canon, which is also derived from the Greek language and a word that means principle or rule. Usually the instrument is portable because of its small size. Still, it is available in a variety of ranges and shapes.

From the twelfth century on into the fifteenth century, these instruments were depicted in paintings, manuscripts and sculptures all around the region of Europe. The instruments themselves are known to differ in number of strings, as well as shape. In the nineteenth century, zithers became more common. Specifically, the guitar zither and the autoharp were being used more frequently. A century later, bowed psalteries were being used. These structures were designed with a format like a triangle so the end half of strings could be bowed.

The bowed psaltery is one of the zither instruments that must be played using a bow. This is not like the traditional old plucked models and is primarily considered a modern invention of the twentieth century. Other types of these that are used today include, but are not limited to: violin zithers, conventional bowed psalteries and ukelin-style units. The type of performance done with these will range and are often related to the person playing and the instrument style.

The Baltic is a different kind of psaltery. This terminology is used when describing a specific family of box-zither pieces. Most of these instruments are used in places located near the Baltic Sea, hence their name. The different kinds that may be placed under this classification: Kankles, Harpu, Kusle, Kokle, Kannel and Kantele.

These instruments are available from a lot of retailers. The prices are known to vary. Often times the cost is based on the type of psaltery, condition, manufacturer and seller. Individuals who are interested in owning their own should search to see what is available in their area or browse online. There are also businesses that allow customers to rent the instruments. People who want instruction on how to play may find resources online, print publications or from music teachers.

Psalteries are not the most popular stringed instrument in the modern day. However, they are still widely available and used in many parts of the world. The instruments come in a variety of ranges, sizes and shapes. These have been used for centuries, but there have been innovations and changes from the original design. There are online and offline retailers that sell or rent these pieces, and numerous resources and teachers that can be helpful when it comes to learning how to play these stringed instruments.




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