I also play O'Carolan tunes on mine, especially Fanny Poer, Planxty Irwin, Lord Inchiquin, and Sheebeg Sheemore. I also play Ashokan Farewell. That's in the key of D and I start it in the upper octave. My psaltry plays 2 octaves in the key of G. Be creative. Experiment. You are only limited by the range of your instrument, the speed at which you can play, and your imagination. I find airs and waltzes work well for me. As far as the instrument's history, here are some exerpts from the instruction book, which came with my intrument, entitled, "The Bowed Psaltry," by David Kingslake: "The history of the Bowed Psaltry is obscure, but its roots seem to lead back to the middle ages in Europe. (The triangular shape was established by the 12th century, for instance, as noted from figures on a column head, now in a French museum, depicting King David's musicians.)" "Psaltries, both bowed and plucked, are related to zithers, and more generally to harps, hammer dulcimers, and other instruments that have a separate string for each note, as opposed to instruments like violins, lap dulcimers, guitars, etc. that have only a few strings for each note (typically 3 to 6) that the player shortens or "stops" to produce different notes." "Bowed Psaltries require no "fingering" or other left-hand activity (on right-handed instruments) to produce the different notes, as each note has its own private string. The Bowed Psaltry is a single-note or melody instrument. Chording (playing more than one note at a time) is not generally practical, except by using two bows [and a stand]."