- Related Topics:
- psaltery
- chordophone
- celempung
- terokará
- langleik
zither
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What is a zither?
The zither is a stringed musical instrument where the strings run the length of its soundboard. The European zither has a flat sound box with around 30 to 40 strings. The player uses a plectrum on their right thumb to pluck the strings closest to them, which run above a fretted fingerboard, while their left hand stops the strings to create melody notes. The right-hand fingers play accompaniment on the unstopped strings.
Zithers come in different forms, such as long zithers found in East Asia and flat zithers in Africa. The Japanese koto is a well-known example of a long zither. The African flat zither can be made from a hollowed plank or individual canes lashed together.
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What does a zither look like?
The zither is a stringed instrument with strings that are the same length as its soundboard. The European zither has a flat, shallow sound box with about 30 to 40 gut or metal strings stretched across it. The strings closest to the player run above a fretted fingerboard and are stopped by the left hand to create melody notes, plucked by a plectrum on the right thumb. At the same time, the right-hand fingers pluck an accompaniment on the unstopped strings. The instrument is placed across the player’s knees or on a table.
Two main types of zithers developed in the late 18th century: the Salzburg zither, which has a rounded side away from the player, and the Mittenwald zither, which has both sides rounded.
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How is a zither played?
The European zither has around 30 to 40 metal or gut strings stretched across a shallow, flat sound box. The strings nearest to the player run above a fretted fingerboard. The left hand presses the strings against the fingerboard to produce melody notes, while a plectrum on the right thumb plucks them.
The right-hand fingers simultaneously pluck unstopped accompaniment strings. The instrument is placed across the player’s knees or on a table.
There are also zithers that are bowed rather than plucked, such as the Korean ajaeng. The Japanese koto can be tuned according to several fixed systems; however, its player can produce microtonal variations on these fixed pitches by manipulating the strings.
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What are the different types of zithers?
The zither is a stringed instrument where the strings run parallel to its soundboard. Zithers come in various forms across different cultures:
- European Zithers These zithers feature a flat sound box with 30 to 40 strings. The player uses a plectrum to pluck melody strings over a fretted fingerboard with the left hand, while the right hand plucks accompaniment strings. Two main types emerged in the late 18th century: the Salzburg zither and the Mittenwald zither.
- Long Zithers Found in East Asia, these zithers have a curved surface. Examples include the Japanese koto, Korean kayagŭm, and Chinese zheng.
- Flat Zithers In Africa, these are either board zithers made from a hollowed plank or raft zithers made from lashed canes. Box zithers, like the Arab qānūn, are also a type of flat zither.
- Other Zithers These include the monochords, the valiha of Madagascar, and the bowed ajaeng of Korea.
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In which countries is the zither popular?
The zither is popular in various forms across many countries. The European zither, with its flat sound box and numerous strings, is well-known in Austria. Older zithers, like the Alpine Scheitholt, are found from Romania to Scandinavia and Iceland.
In East Asia, long zithers are prevalent, with the Japanese koto, Korean kayagŭm, and Chinese zheng being notable examples. The Chinese yangqin, a relative newcomer, is derived from the Persian sanṭūr. The Arab qānūn is found in the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of Asia. In Indonesia, Sundanese chamber music features the kacapi. Additionally, various types of zithers are used in Africa, with the musical bow being a favorite in equatorial regions.
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How has the zither influenced music in different cultures?
The zither, a stringed instrument with strings the same length as its soundboard, has influenced music across cultures. East Asian long zithers, such as the Japanese koto, Korean kayagŭm, and Chinese zheng, may derive from bamboo tube zithers. The Chinese zheng, documented in the Qin period (221–207 BCE), was introduced to Japan by the 8th century and evolved into the 13-string koto.
Box zithers include the Arab qānūn, Persian sanṭūr, and Chinese yangqin. The qānūn may have inspired the harpsichord, while the cimbalom, a version of the sanṭūr, may have inspired the piano. The zither is a generic term for stringed instruments without a projecting neck or arms.
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zither, any stringed musical instrument whose strings are the same length as its soundboard. The European zither consists of a flat, shallow sound box across which some 30 or 40 gut or metal strings are stretched. The strings nearest the player run above a fretted fingerboard against which they are stopped by the left hand to provide melody notes; they are plucked by a plectrum worn on the right thumb. At the same time, the right-hand fingers pluck an accompaniment on the farther strings, which remain unstopped. The zither is placed across the player’s knees or on a table.
In the late 18th century two principal varieties of zither developed: the Salzburg zither, with a rounded side away from the player; and the Mittenwald zither, with both sides rounded. Tunings vary; a common tuning for the Salzburg zither is 5 melody strings tuned a′, d′, g′, g, and c; and 29 accompanying strings tuned in a cycle of fifths (C, G, D, A, etc.) through the 12 notes of the chromatic scale.
Older zithers, such as the Alpine Scheitholt, have narrow rectangular sound boxes and fewer melody strings, their three or more bass strings providing merely a dronelike accompaniment on the tonic and dominant (first and fifth notes of the scale). Their age is unknown; the Scheitholt was described by the German composer Michael Praetorius (1571–1621). They are found from Romania to Scandinavia and Iceland (e.g., the Swedish hummel) and were eventually influenced by the Austrian zither and the Norwegian langleik, in which the pitch of the drone strings is determined by movable bridges. A French form that died out in the 19th century is the miniature épinette des Vosges. With some of these instruments the melody strings are stopped by pressing them against the frets with a short metal bar, a way of playing preserved on the American variety, the Appalachian, or mountain, dulcimer. There are also zithers that are bowed rather than plucked, such as the Korean ajaeng.
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Zither is also a generic term for stringed instruments whose strings are fastened across a frame that lacks any projecting neck or arms. The resonator may be part of the body or may be attached to it.
Instruments of the zither family assume a variety of forms. The body may be a flexible stick, as in the musical bow, or may be a rigid bar, as in many Indian and Southeast Asian and some African zithers. Bar zithers often have high frets; one-stringed varieties may be called monochords. The resonators of bar and stick zithers are usually gourds or the player’s mouth. A zither body may be a tube with attached metal strings—as in the valiha of Madagascar and parts of Africa—or a tube halved lengthwise. The inanga of Burundi and Rwanda is a trough across which strings are laced. On tube zithers common in New Guinea and Southeast Asia, the strings are sliced from the bamboo of the tube and, remaining undetached at the ends, are given tension by bridges inserted under them at each end (idiochord zither). On most zithers, however, strings and body are of separate material (heterochord zither).
Other important forms are a frame with a glued-on soundboard, as in psalteries, dulcimers, and their descendants, the stringed keyboard instruments; and a box, as with the Scheitholt and other European fretted zithers. The qānūn trapezoidal zither of the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of Asia—a type of psaltery—may have upwards of 70 strings, generally in courses of three. Large East Asian zithers, such as the Chinese qin and the Japanese koto, are called long zithers; their body shape is midway between a board and a half-tube.