Plucked Psaltery1989Opera Omnia Return to Oriscus.com |
Original design. A very simple psaltery that looks somewhat like a
zither. I loaned this instrument for a couple of decades to the youth
group associated with the Center For Old Music in Lexington, KY. The
design concept was basically to make a small portable psaltery on which
the tuning pins were arranged at the bottom rather that along the angled
side (as is usual for zithers, autoharps, etc.). The idea was inspired
by a shortcoming of the bandura, which has a neck for the bass strings,
but where the left hand is unable to extend beyond the neck strings and
continue up the scale because the tuning pins are in the way. This
psaltery eliminates that issue to some extent, but having the strings
along the base makes it a bit more difficult for the right hand
position. Click images below for full resolution: |