What string instrument is this? (with pics)

PTsniper

New member
Hello there!

This is my first post on the forum and to be honest, I just found it because I was looking for information on a recent musical instrument that I bought on an antique fair. The lady that sold it to me didn't know anything about this instrument and I've failed as well. It's quite easy to play, specially when you have the music sheets for this particular instrument (which were included), but I want to know more about the history of it. It's definitely a string instrument, and you can play it the same way you play a guitar, but apart from that, I don't know much. I hope somebody can fill me in with more information :)





Thanks in advance ;)
 

Mat

Sr. Regulator
Staff member
Sr. Regulator
Regulator
Hi PTsniper and welcome to the forum.

I believe that's a zither.
 
Wow. Never seen a thing like that. No wonder the seller too didn't know much about it. How big is it? Is it as portable as a guitar? I can only imagine the sound it produces.

Frederik might have clue as to what it is.

Lovemore Nanjaya.
 
Hi PTsniper and welcome to the forum.

I believe that's a zither.

Matt, you know what that is? I would like to hear the sound it produces. Looks like an interesting instrument. I'll google it and see what I'll find.

Thanks.

Lovemore Nanjaya.
 

PTsniper

New member
Thank you so much for both answers.

Yeah, I think it's a Zither alright, thank you. But I'm quite surprised to see that a zither can have so many different shapes and different number of strings and still be called the same way. It should be interesting to find strings for this instrument :)

The size of it is probably 40cm per 20cm. So it's much smaller than a guitar and quite practical to carry if you have an appropriate box or something to protect it ;)
 

teddy

Duckmeister
Hello PTsniper and welcome to the forum

The zither is not as popular in this country as it was a few years back. The theme from The Third Man is quite a famous piece, amoung people of my age.
The lovely thing about this forum is the variety of music you hear and the strange instruments that appear.

teddy
 

PTsniper

New member
Thank you so much for all the answers.
I'm really glad I got to know the name of the instrument ;)

Cheers
 

John Watt

Member
A zither? Are you sure?
That looks like a public, board of education string resonator,
the kind they used to plink on when the public address system comes on,
a more ethnic tone than military sounds.
The last grade school I visited was using the intro from "Close Encounters of a Third Kind".
 

JHC

Chief assistant to the assistant chief
The zither is not as popular in this country as it was a few years back. The theme from The Third Man is quite a famous piece, amoung people of my age.

teddy
There was a pop singer that played the Zither in the 50s but I cant remember the name :(
 
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