By Krystal Branch
The psaltery, also known as psalterion, psaltry and saltere, is an ancient musical instrument first mentioned in Christian literature three centuries before Christ, in Old Testament. At first, it was just a simple wooden board with gut strings, and it was played with fingers or a plectrum. It was widely used until fifteenth century, and handmade psalteries were quite common at the time.
After some time, this plain wooden board became a wooden box, with sound holes, but strings were still quite simple, without stoppers. There were trapezoidal, rectangular, triangular and wing shaped psalteries at the time, and some shapes were more popular in different countries. For example, in northern Europe, they preferred triangular and wing shaped instruments, sometimes double strung.
Zither and harpsichord were made on the same principle. Harpsichord is really a larger version of a psaltery, but with a keyboard mechanism for easier plucking of strings. The basic principle is having the open strings, without any stoppers. The tone is determined with the length of a particular string.
In some countries, this lovely instrument is still in use, mainly in folk music. In Finland, they call it kantele, and in Estonia, they have their own version called kannel. Russian gusli are made using the same principle, but their version is bowed, not plucked. In any case, this is one of the very few instruments that remained practically the same for thousands of years.
Similar instruments can be found in different Arabic countries, in India, China and some other parts of Asia. There are different variations, double and triple strung, and most are played using finger plectra. Dulcimer is another variation, and this one's strings aren't plucked, but struck with small, special hammers. The experience of playing some of these interesting instruments is quite surprising, especially when it comes to the quality and volume of the tone.
It really is simple to learn to play psalteries, and the tone they make is absolutely amazing. It remains in the air, tingling and ringing, it is clean and interrupted, simply adoring. The instrument itself is designed really simply, and the only thing that dictates the tone height is the length of the wire, and your ability to play on it. If you are interested in something different, this might be something for you.
Today, triangular shaped psalteries are the most popular ones. They are still just very simple wooden boxes, strung with steel wires of different lengths, and, in case of larger instruments, of different gauges as well. Smaller ones mostly have only one string gauge, but still are able to produce very interesting and full tones. In this electronic music era, this tone is more than welcome refreshment.
The beauty of handmade psalteries is in the sound they make. The sound is really clean and lovely. Of course, high quality instruments produce cleaner and more beautiful tones. Another reason for their popularity is their appearance. They look very decorative, and can find their place in any living room. Besides, it is so easy to learn to play, that it really is something everyone should try.
After some time, this plain wooden board became a wooden box, with sound holes, but strings were still quite simple, without stoppers. There were trapezoidal, rectangular, triangular and wing shaped psalteries at the time, and some shapes were more popular in different countries. For example, in northern Europe, they preferred triangular and wing shaped instruments, sometimes double strung.
Zither and harpsichord were made on the same principle. Harpsichord is really a larger version of a psaltery, but with a keyboard mechanism for easier plucking of strings. The basic principle is having the open strings, without any stoppers. The tone is determined with the length of a particular string.
In some countries, this lovely instrument is still in use, mainly in folk music. In Finland, they call it kantele, and in Estonia, they have their own version called kannel. Russian gusli are made using the same principle, but their version is bowed, not plucked. In any case, this is one of the very few instruments that remained practically the same for thousands of years.
Similar instruments can be found in different Arabic countries, in India, China and some other parts of Asia. There are different variations, double and triple strung, and most are played using finger plectra. Dulcimer is another variation, and this one's strings aren't plucked, but struck with small, special hammers. The experience of playing some of these interesting instruments is quite surprising, especially when it comes to the quality and volume of the tone.
It really is simple to learn to play psalteries, and the tone they make is absolutely amazing. It remains in the air, tingling and ringing, it is clean and interrupted, simply adoring. The instrument itself is designed really simply, and the only thing that dictates the tone height is the length of the wire, and your ability to play on it. If you are interested in something different, this might be something for you.
Today, triangular shaped psalteries are the most popular ones. They are still just very simple wooden boxes, strung with steel wires of different lengths, and, in case of larger instruments, of different gauges as well. Smaller ones mostly have only one string gauge, but still are able to produce very interesting and full tones. In this electronic music era, this tone is more than welcome refreshment.
The beauty of handmade psalteries is in the sound they make. The sound is really clean and lovely. Of course, high quality instruments produce cleaner and more beautiful tones. Another reason for their popularity is their appearance. They look very decorative, and can find their place in any living room. Besides, it is so easy to learn to play, that it really is something everyone should try.
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