Exploring The Austrian Zither: Unveiling Its String Secrets

The zither is a traditional German instrument, which consists of a flat, shallow sound box with around 30-40 strings. The Austrian zither is a type of concert zither, which typically has 34 or 35 strings, although some have as many as 110. These strings are arranged in groups of four or five fretted melody strings, 12 unfretted 'accompaniment' strings, 12 unfretted 'bass' strings, and a varying number of 'contrabass' strings.

The Salzburg zither has 5 melody strings and 29 accompanying strings

The Salzburg zither is a traditional German instrument with a flat, shallow sound box across which strings are stretched. The zither is placed across the player's knees or on a table. The left hand stops the strings against a fretted fingerboard to provide melody notes, while the right hand plucks the strings with a plectrum worn on the right thumb. The right-hand fingers also pluck an accompaniment on the farther strings, which remain unstopped.

The Salzburg zither is one of the two principal varieties of zither that developed in the late 18th century, the other being the Mittenwald zither, which has both sides rounded. The Salzburg zither has a rounded side away from the player.

A concert zither typically has 34 or 35 strings, including four or five fretted melody strings, 12 unfretted "accompaniment" strings, 12 unfretted "bass" strings, and a varying number of "contrabass" strings, with five or six being the most common.

The Mittenwald zither has both sides rounded

Zithers are stringed instruments, and the number of strings varies. A concert zither may have from 29 to 38 strings, with 34 or 35 being the most typical. The European zither consists of a flat, shallow sound box across which some 30 or 40 gut or metal strings are stretched. The strings nearest the player run above a fretted fingerboard against which they are stopped by the left hand to provide melody notes. They are plucked by a plectrum worn on the right thumb. A common tuning for the Salzburg zither is 5 melody strings and 29 accompanying strings.

The concert zither has 29-38 strings

The zither is a German/Austrian/Swiss instrument, similar to the hammered dulcimer and santoor. It is tuned chromatically and played only on one side of the bridges. The European zither consists of a flat, shallow sound box across which some 30 or 40 gut or metal strings are stretched. The strings nearest the player run above a fretted fingerboard against which they are stopped by the left hand to provide melody notes. They are plucked by a plectrum worn on the right thumb. At the same time, the right-hand fingers pluck an accompaniment on the farther strings, which remain unstopped.

The zither is placed across the player's knees or on a table. In the late 18th century, two principal varieties of zither developed: the Salzburg zither, with a rounded side away from the player, and the Mittenwald zither, with both sides rounded. A common tuning for the Salzburg zither is five melody strings tuned a', d', g', g, and c, and 29 accompanying strings tuned in a cycle of fifths (C, G, D, A, etc.) through the 12 notes of the chromatic scale.

The European zither has 30-40 strings

The European zither has around 30 to 40 strings, stretched across a flat, shallow sound box. The strings are made of gut or metal. The zither is played with the strings nearest the player running above a fretted fingerboard, which the left hand stops to provide melody notes. The right thumb plucks the strings with a plectrum, while the right-hand fingers pluck an accompaniment on the farther strings, which remain unstopped.

The zither is placed across the player's knees or on a table. In the late 18th century, two principal varieties of zither developed: the Salzburg zither, with a rounded side away from the player; and the Mittenwald zither, with both sides rounded. The Salzburg zither commonly has five melody strings tuned a′, d′, g′, g, and c; and 29 accompanying strings tuned in a cycle of fifths (C, G, D, A, etc.) through the 12 notes of the chromatic scale. A concert zither may have from 29 to 38 strings, with 34 or 35 being the most typical.

The Russian psaltery zither has 15 strings

The zither is a German/Austrian/Swiss instrument similar to the hammered dulcimer and santoor. It is played with small wooden or cane hammers. The Austrian zither has a flat, shallow sound box across which some 30 or 40 gut or metal strings are stretched. The strings nearest the player run above a fretted fingerboard against which they are stopped by the left hand to provide melody notes. They are plucked by a plectrum worn on the right thumb.

The zither is placed across the player's knees or on a table. In the late 18th century, two principal varieties of zither developed: the Salzburg zither, with a rounded side away from the player; and the Mittenwald zither, with both sides rounded. The Salzburg zither is commonly tuned with 5 melody strings and 29 accompanying strings. The Mittenwald zither is tuned chromatically and played only on one side of the bridges.

The zither has a long history and is related to many other instruments from around the world, including the Hungarian cymbalom, German/Swiss hackbrett, Iraqi and Iranian santir, Indian santoor, Korean yangum, and Chinese yang qin.

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