Psalteries are one of the oldest musical instruments still in use. Dating back roughly 4000 years, they have been in use since the time of the Old Testament in the Bible. They have played a long and distinguished role in the history of humankind.
The psaltery was invented by the ancient Greeks and is much like a harp or zither in its design. From Greece, its use spread into the Middle East, and then Europe, so that during the medieval era it was to be found all over Europe. Nowadays it is available in other areas as well, and there is a sub-industry of manufacturing handmade instruments.
Like the guitar or lute, the psaltery has a hollow body with strings attached to one side of it. The has the shape of an isosceles triangle. The strings are attached along the body's edges and also to tuning pins at one end. The pins can be turned to produce the desired pitch (note) in each string. The vibrating strings produce the sound, which is then amplified by the cavity of the body. Psaltery design has not been stable over time, but the basic principle has remained the same.
There are several types of psaltery. Some of them are played by plucking the strings, either with the fingers or a plectrum, and these are probably the oldest kind. Then there are those that are more percussive and are struck, and lastly there is the bowed variety which is played with a bow, much like a violin. The bowed kind is the most recent development, having appeared during the twentieth century, while the plucked version is thousands of years old.
The history books make frequently mention the psaltery. The ancient Greeks depicted it in their art and the Bible refers to it on several occasions. The obvious example is the Book of Psalms: 'Awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.' (Psalms 108:2, an excerpt from the King James Version. There is no conclusive proof, however, that the word as used here is actually referring to the psaltery, since the original text's meaning has been lost.)
According to scholars, it was the crusaders who conveyed psalteries into Europe from the Middle East. The instrument was taken up by ladies of court, as is shown in European paintings dating from that era. Once it was established there it then gave rise to other instruments, such as the harpsichord and the dulcimer.
In fact, the psaltery is thought to be the forerunner of the piano, since it relies on the same principle to produce sound. Not everyone may agree with this theory, but the psaltery has played an important role in the development of music nonetheless. It is also linked to the invention of sheet music notation.
There is a certain mystical appeal in listening to ancient instruments like psalteries. Their music is like a journey through time to a distant era, now long gone. In an age of loud electronic music and cutting-edge sound technology, it is refreshing to be able to observe the earliest instruments displaying the most basic musical principles, and to wonder at how it all began thousands of years ago.
The psaltery was invented by the ancient Greeks and is much like a harp or zither in its design. From Greece, its use spread into the Middle East, and then Europe, so that during the medieval era it was to be found all over Europe. Nowadays it is available in other areas as well, and there is a sub-industry of manufacturing handmade instruments.
Like the guitar or lute, the psaltery has a hollow body with strings attached to one side of it. The has the shape of an isosceles triangle. The strings are attached along the body's edges and also to tuning pins at one end. The pins can be turned to produce the desired pitch (note) in each string. The vibrating strings produce the sound, which is then amplified by the cavity of the body. Psaltery design has not been stable over time, but the basic principle has remained the same.
There are several types of psaltery. Some of them are played by plucking the strings, either with the fingers or a plectrum, and these are probably the oldest kind. Then there are those that are more percussive and are struck, and lastly there is the bowed variety which is played with a bow, much like a violin. The bowed kind is the most recent development, having appeared during the twentieth century, while the plucked version is thousands of years old.
The history books make frequently mention the psaltery. The ancient Greeks depicted it in their art and the Bible refers to it on several occasions. The obvious example is the Book of Psalms: 'Awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.' (Psalms 108:2, an excerpt from the King James Version. There is no conclusive proof, however, that the word as used here is actually referring to the psaltery, since the original text's meaning has been lost.)
According to scholars, it was the crusaders who conveyed psalteries into Europe from the Middle East. The instrument was taken up by ladies of court, as is shown in European paintings dating from that era. Once it was established there it then gave rise to other instruments, such as the harpsichord and the dulcimer.
In fact, the psaltery is thought to be the forerunner of the piano, since it relies on the same principle to produce sound. Not everyone may agree with this theory, but the psaltery has played an important role in the development of music nonetheless. It is also linked to the invention of sheet music notation.
There is a certain mystical appeal in listening to ancient instruments like psalteries. Their music is like a journey through time to a distant era, now long gone. In an age of loud electronic music and cutting-edge sound technology, it is refreshing to be able to observe the earliest instruments displaying the most basic musical principles, and to wonder at how it all began thousands of years ago.
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