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The waldzither (German: "forest zither") is a plucked string instrument from Germany. It is a type of cittern that has nine (sometimes ten) steel strings in five courses. Different types of waldzither come in different tunings, which are generally open tunings as usual in citterns. The most Common Tuning for the Waldzither is Open C (C3, G3, C4, E4, G4) which is the same tuning as a Banjeaurine (or a 5 string Banjo with a Capo on the 5th fret) except that the 5th string is 2 Octaves lower than on the Banjeaurine.
 Hamburg waldzither | |
| String instrument | |
|---|---|
| Classification | String instrument |
| Hornbostel–Sachs classification | 321.322 (necked box lute) |
| Developed | Germany |
Producers of the waldzither attempted to establish it as a national instrument of Germany in the first half of the 20th century, when more complicated instruments were hard to get and to afford. Martin Luther was popularly said to have played a similar cittern at the Wartburg.[1][2]
Waldoline
editWhen the lowest single course is omitted, it is sometimes called a waldoline, a portmanteau of waldzither and mandoline.[3]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Waldzither - Bibliography of the 19th century". Studia Instrumentorum. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
- ^ "The Stringed Instrument Database: Index". stringedinstrumentdatabase.aornis.com.
- ^ "The Stringed Instrument Database: W-Z". stringedinstrumentdatabase.aornis.com.
External links
edit