|
Langspil
The langspil (; meaning ''long-play'') is a traditional Icelandic drone zither. It has a single melody string and usually 2 drone strings. The langspil can be played by plucking the strings by hand, with a bow or by hammering. Langspils exist in two basic versions, straight and curved and are generally around the length of , and can be as long as or as short as . Many different types of wood have traditionally been used, including pine, fir, beechwood, birch, oak and walnut, since they were generally constructed from driftwood.David G. Woods, "Íslenska langspilið". ''Árbók hins íslenzka fornleifafélags''. 1993. p. 109-128. History The oldest written sources describing the langspil are from the 18th century. In those times langspils are described as a long thin box, wider at the bottom end and with one to six strings. In the early 19th century a version with a curved soundbox emerged which has improved sound qualities. In 1855 the book ''Leiðarvísir til að spila á la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Langspil 1811
The langspil (; meaning ''long-play'') is a traditional Icelandic drone zither. It has a single melody string and usually 2 drone strings. The langspil can be played by plucking the strings by hand, with a bow or by hammering. Langspils exist in two basic versions, straight and curved and are generally around the length of , and can be as long as or as short as . Many different types of wood have traditionally been used, including pine, fir, beechwood, birch, oak and walnut, since they were generally constructed from driftwood.David G. Woods, "Íslenska langspilið". ''Árbók hins íslenzka fornleifafélags''. 1993. p. 109-128. History The oldest written sources describing the langspil are from the 18th century. In those times langspils are described as a long thin box, wider at the bottom end and with one to six strings. In the early 19th century a version with a curved soundbox emerged which has improved sound qualities. In 1855 the book ''Leiðarvísir til að spila á la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fiðla
The ''Icelandic fiddle'' (Icelandic: fiðla fɪðla is a traditional Icelandic instrument that can be described as a box with two brass strings which is played with a bow. The strings stretch across one end of the box to the other where they are tuned by two tuning pegs. In English, the Icelandic fiddle may be referred to as a fiddle or violin. It was known to be used in the medieval ages when the King of Sweden kept both fiddle and harp players in his court. The fiddle has also been seen in the medieval cathedral of Nidaros in Norway, where statues of people playing the fiddle are displayed. History The instrument was first introduced in a folktale in the 16th century, although it was not clearly described until the 18th century by Jón Ólafsson, who described the instrument as a cavernous box. Later in the 18th century, the Swedish explorer Uno von Troil visited Iceland in 1722, where he wrote about a langspil and fiddle and noted that both were played with bows. Disp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Epinette Des Vosges
The ''épinette des Vosges'' () is a traditional plucked-string instrument of the zither family, whose use was confined to two areas in the Vosges mountains of France approximately 50 km apart: around Val-d'Ajol and around Gérardmer. Origins The ''épinette'' has been attested as early as the 18th century in the Val-d'Ajol and Plombières-les-Bains regions of southern Vosges, whence comes its name. The earlier origins of the ''épinette des Vosges'' remain unknown, though some believe the instrument was introduced by the Swedes during the Thirty Years' War. It is, however, also possible that it is descended from the medieval psaltery. Types of epinette and geographical areas Instruments of this family, formerly widespread throughout Europe, are now primarily found in Norway (the langeleik), Iceland (the langspil), Flanders (the hummel), Hungary, as well as France. A parallel instrument, the Appalachian dulcimer is found in rural mountain areas of the Eastern Un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Langeleik
The ''langeleik'', also called langleik, is a Norwegian stringed folklore musical instrument, a droned zither. Description The langeleik has only one melody string and up to 8 drone strings. Under the melody string there are seven frets per octave, forming a diatonic major scale. The drone strings are tuned to a triad. The langeleik is tuned to about an A, though on score the C major key is used, as if the instrument were tuned in C. This is for simplification of both writing and reading, by circumventing the use of accidentals. Since the instrument can not play a chromatic scale, nor be easily tuned to other pitches, it is very limited in its ability to play along with other instruments and/or more harmonically complex music. The combination of the lone melody string and the multiple drone strings gives the langeleik a distinctively rich sound. History There exists a variety of box zithers in Europe. The German ''scheitholt'' and the Swedish Hummel have been suggested as t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scheitholt
The scheitholt or scheitholz is a traditional German stringed instrument and an ancestor of the modern zither. It falls into the category of drone zither Drone zithers or droned zithers are stringed instruments of the zither family that have few (sometimes only one) melodic strings and a greater number of drone strings. The oldest known form of drone zither is the Scheitholt. The Scheitholt deve ...s. History The scheitholt may have derived from an ancient Greek instrument for theoretical education in music and physics, the so-called monochord (an oblong wooden box with only one string). Scheitholt originally referred to logs split into firewood or ''Scheitholz'' (Scheit = ''piece, chip''; Holz or Low German Holt = ''wood''). Since the 16th century, the instrument was called by that name, presumably because it had a similar shape or size. The best known description of this instrument is by Michael Praetorius in 1619. A number of regional names for the instrument exist. In no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drone Zither
Drone zithers or droned zithers are stringed instruments of the zither family that have few (sometimes only one) melodic strings and a greater number of drone strings. The oldest known form of drone zither is the Scheitholt. The Scheitholt developed into many different variants of drone zithers, such as the Langspil, the Epinette des Vosges or the Hummel. The Appalachian dulcimer The Appalachian dulcimer (many variant names; see below) is a fretted string instrument of the zither family, typically with three or four strings, originally played in the Appalachian region of the United States. The body extends the length of ... is a traditional American form. References *Josef Brandlmeier. ''Handbuch der Zither. T. 1. Die Geschichte des Instruments und der Kunst des Zitherspiels''. Süddeutscher Verlag, 1963. ISBN B0000BGRV8. External links * Box zithers {{zither-instrument-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hummel (instrument)
The hummel (also hommel or humle) is an old Northern European stringed instrument similar to an older type of zither and is related to the Norwegian langeleik. The name is thought to come from the German word ''hummel'', meaning "bumblebee", referring to the droning sound created by the accompaniment strings. History The hummel is probably from the Middle Ages, when it was found all over Europe in slightly differing variants. The instrument was common in the Netherlands, Flanders, Northern Germany and Denmark during the 18th century. The earliest evidence of the instrument in Swedish folk culture is from the 17th century, and it seems to have been most common in the southern parts of the country. During the 19th century, the hummel was considered to be a primitive peasant instrument and its popularity dwindled. In Flanders, these instruments appeared during the 17th century and were popular with soldiers in the trenches during World War I, climaxing in the 1920s and 1930s but by t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
String Instruments
String instruments, stringed instruments, or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner. Musicians play some string instruments by plucking the String (music), strings with their fingers or a plectrum—and others by hitting the strings with a light wooden hammer or by rubbing the strings with a bow (music), bow. In some keyboard (music), keyboard instruments, such as the harpsichord, the musician presses a key that plucks the string. Other musical instruments generate sound by striking the string. With bowed instruments, the player pulls a rosined horsehair bow across the strings, causing them to vibrate. With a hurdy-gurdy, the musician cranks a wheel whose rosined edge touches the strings. Bowed instruments include the string section instruments of the orchestra in Western classical music (violin, viola, cello and double bass) and a number of other instruments (e.g., viols and V ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Þórður Tómasson á Skógum
Þórður is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Þórður Friðjónsson (Thordur Fridjonsson), Vice President of Iceland Stock Exchange and President of NASDAQ OMX Iceland *Þórður Guðjónsson, (Thordur Gudjonsson), (born 1973), footballer *Þórður Helgason (born 1947), writer and educator *Þórður kakali Sighvatsson Þórður kakali Sighvatsson (c.1210-56) (the nickname ''kakali'' probably means "The Stammerer", although Cleasby-Vigfússon and Elizabeth Ashman-Rowe translate it as “the Claypot”) was a 13th-century Icelandic chieftain during the Age of the ... (died 1256), 13th century chieftain during the Age of the Sturlungs * Þórður Þórðarson (1930–2002), footballer * Þórður Þórðarson (born 1972), footballer {{DEFAULTSORT:Thordur Icelandic masculine given names ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bowed Box Zithers
Bowed string instruments are a subcategory of string instruments that are played by a bow rubbing the strings. The bow rubbing the string causes vibration which the instrument emits as sound. Despite the numerous specialist studies devoted to the origin of the bowing the problem of the origin of the bowing is unresolved Some say that the bow was introduced to Europe from the Middle East while others say the bow was not introduced from the Middle East but the other way round and that that the bow may have had its origin from a more frequent intercourse with North Europe and Western Europe List of bowed string instruments Violin family * Pochette * Violin (violino) * Viola (altviol, bratsche) * Cello (violoncello) * Double bass (contrabasso) ;Variants on the standard members of the violin family include: * Tenor violin * Five string violin * Cello da spalla * Baroque violin * Kontra * Kit violin * Sardino * Stroh violin * Låtfiol * Hardanger fiddle * Lira da braccio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Appalachian Dulcimer
The Appalachian dulcimer (many variant names; see below) is a fretted string instrument of the zither family, typically with three or four strings, originally played in the Appalachian region of the United States. The body extends the length of the fingerboard, and its fretting is generally diatonic. Name The Appalachian dulcimer has many variant names. Most often it is simply called a dulcimer (also rendered as "dulcimore", "dulcymore", "delcimer", "delcimore", ''etc.''). When it needs to be distinguished from the unrelated hammered dulcimer, various adjectives are added (drawn from location, playing style, position, shape, etc.), for example: mountain dulcimer; Kentucky dulcimer; plucked dulcimer; fretted dulcimer; lap dulcimer; teardrop dulcimer; box dulcimer; etc. The instrument has also acquired a number of nicknames (some shared by other instruments): "harmonium", "hog fiddle", "music box", "harmony box", and "mountain zither". Origins and history Although the Appalachia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siglufjörður
Siglufjörður () is a small fishing town in a narrow fjord with the same name on the northern coast of Iceland. The population in 2011 was 1,206; the town has been shrinking in size since the 1950s when the town reached its peak of 3,000 inhabitants. The municipalities of Ólafsfjörður and Siglufjörður, connected since 2010 by the Héðinsfjörður Tunnels, merged in 2006 to form a municipality called Fjallabyggð, which literally means ''Mountain Settlement''. Siglufjörður is the site of The Herring Era Museum, a maritime museum which opened in 1994. History The town grew up around the herring industry that was very strong in the 1940s and 1950s. The first Icelandic Municipal Savings Bank was founded in Siglufjörður in 1873, and on 22 October 1918 Siglufjörður attained municipal status () with the rights and privileges of a town. The number of inhabitants amounted to 146 in 1901 and to 415 in 1910, to 1,159 in 1920, to 2,022 in 1930, to 2,884 in 1940, to 3,015 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
