Plucked Psaltery

Subject: Plucked Psaltery
From: GUEST,Woody
Date: 16 Dec 10 - 04:53 PM

A friend has recently got one of these. She's working out how to play it but hasn't found any guides or playing instructions so she's pretty much starting from scratch. Does anybody know of any good resources for learning how to play the Plucked Psaltery?

Subject: RE: Plucked Psaltery
From: GLoux
Date: 17 Dec 10 - 03:42 PM

Try this booklet

Subject: RE: Plucked Psaltery
From: GUEST,Woody
Date: 18 Dec 10 - 04:28 AM

Thanks for that Gloux

Subject: RE: Plucked Psaltery
From: Bonnie Shaljean
Date: 19 Dec 10 - 03:58 AM

There's a bit of info here, though you'll need to scroll down the page to find it. But the whole website's great anyway - it's mainly devoted to zithers, and there are some neat sound clips.

http://www.fretlesszithers.com/znochords.html#psal

Subject: RE: Plucked Psaltery
From: kendall
Date: 19 Dec 10 - 07:14 PM

First time I saw Jean Redpath she played one of those things. That was in 1973 I think.

Subject: RE: Plucked Psaltery
From: GUEST,Woody
Date: 21 Dec 10 - 02:41 AM

Thanks for the info. It's certainly an obscure instrument. Even the links you guys have kindly given contain very little information. The help is appreciated nonetheless.

Subject: RE: Plucked Psaltery
From: GUEST,Vicki Kelsey
Date: 21 Dec 10 - 11:31 PM

Bob Beers of Fox Hollow fame played the plucked psaltery, as well as fiddle. If you look up Bob Beers on the cat, you can find reference to some recordings that might still be available somewhere.

Subject: RE: Plucked Psaltery
From: katlaughing
Date: 21 Dec 10 - 11:57 PM

I had a small one bought on ebay, made for children, which I sent to a friend, before I knew I was going to have a grandson who would love one. That one had song sheets one could slip under the strings and follow along whilst plucking. I see now SOMEONE is offering songbooks for specific "lap harp-zithers" for children.

I have an old, regular sized one which my grandson loves to play, though he has not learned to tune it, yet. I lost my wrench and there are none available in this town, so I am going to order one. We love the sound of the plucked psaltery.

Subject: RE: Plucked Psaltery
From: GUEST,Suibhne Astray
Date: 22 Dec 10 - 04:32 AM

The Psaltery is a revived instrument that died out in the middle ages along with it's playing tradition which is lost to us (the Bowed Psaltery is a modern invention for Folkies, essentially a simplified Ukelin, invented by Marx in the 1920s). We hear how the crusaders brought back various instruments from the Holy Land that formed the basis of many medieval instruments and that the Psaltery was derived from the Qanun which thrives in Arabic classical & popular music to this day. Lots of excellent examples on YouTube as you'd expect, including this choice cover version:

Metallica Nothing Else Matters played with Qanun

Subject: RE: Plucked Psaltery
From: davyr
Date: 22 Dec 10 - 05:11 AM

Bob Stewart was another exponent of the plucked psaltery. I can't vouch for any of his more recent recordings, though, as he seems to have gone a bit err... "New Age-y":

http://www.rjstewart.net/tapes.htm

Subject: RE: Plucked Psaltery
From: FreddyHeadey
Date: 05 Feb 22 - 12:41 PM

^ qanun

Interesting programme on BBC radio 4 about life with the qanun.
,,,if nothing else you can hear how to pronounce 'qanun'!

Outlook
My love affair with the instrument that reminds me of home
January 2022 (23minutes)

Syrian musician Maya Youssef is in love with her qanun, a traditional Middle Eastern stringed instrument. Like a family member, it has got her through some difficult times and it consoled Maya as she watched from afar as her homeland was ripped apart by war.
Maya's talent at playing the qanun gave her the opportunity to live in the UK and she has taken it on tour playing in refugee centres for new arrivals and at the Royal Albert Hall. Maya tells Mobeen Azhar about her journey with the qanun. Her upcoming album is called Finding Home.


https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct1jvb

Subject: RE: Plucked Psaltery
From: Jack Campin
Date: 05 Feb 22 - 02:10 PM

Maya is fantastic. I have one of her CDs. She gets a long way from trad in places though.

For classical Turkish kanun try Goksel Baktagir.