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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] |
Scheitholt Instrument
The scheitholt or scheitholz is a traditional German stringed instrument and an ancestor of the modern zither. It falls into the category of drone zithers. 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 northern Germany the instrument is often called '' hummel'', meaning "bumble bee" (a reference to the humming sound of the drone strings—the same word was also used for the bagpipe). Other names include the Dutch ''noordse balk'', French ''bûche'' or '' ... [...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] |
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] |
Zither
Zithers (; , from the Greek word ''cithara'') are a class of stringed instruments. Historically, the name has been applied to any instrument of the psaltery family, or to an instrument consisting of many strings stretched across a thin, flat body. This article describes the latter variety. Zithers are typically played by strumming or plucking the strings with the fingers or a plectrum. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, the term refers to a larger family of similarly shaped instruments that also includes the hammered dulcimer family and piano and a few rare bowed instruments like the bowed psaltery, bowed dulcimer, and streichmelodion. Like an acoustic guitar or lute, a zither's body serves as a resonating chamber (sound box), but, unlike guitars and lutes, a zither lacks a distinctly separate neck assembly. The number of strings varies, from one to more than fifty. In modern common usage the term "zither" refers to three specific instruments: the concert zithe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Music In Germany
Germany claims some of the most renowned composers, singers, producers and performers of the world. Germany is the largest music market in Europe, and third largest in the world. German classical music is one of the most performed in the world; German composers include some of the most accomplished and popular in history, among them Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Friedrich Händel, Ludwig van Beethoven, Felix Mendelssohn, Johannes Brahms, Robert Schumann. Carl Maria von Weber, Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss were among the composers who created the field of German opera. The most popular composer alive and from Germany is probably film score composer Hans Zimmer. German popular music of the 20th and 21st century includes the movements of Neue Deutsche Welle (Nena, Hubert Kah, Alphaville), disco (Boney M., Modern Talking, Dschinghis Khan, Milli Vanilli, Bad Boys Blue), metal/rock (Rammstein, Scorpions, Accept, Helloween), punk (Die Ärzte, Böhse Onkelz, Nina Hagen, Die Toten H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
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 th ... [...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 Unite ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oberlausitz
Upper Lusatia (german: Oberlausitz ; hsb, Hornja Łužica ; dsb, Górna Łužyca; szl, Gōrnŏ Łużyca; pl, Łużyce Górne or ''Milsko''; cz, Horní Lužice) is a historical region in Germany and Poland. Along with Lower Lusatia to the north, it makes up the region of Lusatia, named after the Slavic ''Lusici'' tribe. Both parts of Lusatia are home to the West Slavic minority group of the Sorbs. The major part of Upper Lusatia is part of the German federal state of Saxony, roughly comprising Bautzen district and Görlitz district. The northwestern extremity, around Ruhland and Tettau, is incorporated into the Oberspreewald-Lausitz district of the state of Brandenburg. The eastern part of Upper Lusatia is in Poland, east of the Neisse (''Nysa'') river, in Lower Silesian Voivodeship. A small strip of land in the north around Łęknica is incorporated into Lubusz Voivodeship, along with the Polish part of Lower Lusatia. The historic capital of Upper Lusatia is Bautzen/B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and its largest city is Leipzig. Saxony is the tenth largest of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of , and the sixth most populous, with more than 4 million inhabitants. The term Saxony has been in use for more than a millennium. It was used for the medieval Duchy of Saxony, the Electorate of Saxony of the Holy Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Saxony, and twice for a republic. The first Free State of Saxony was established in 1918 as a constituent state of the Weimar Republic. After World War II, it was under Soviet occupation before it became part of the communist East Ger ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Goose
A goose ( : geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera ''Anser'' (the grey geese and white geese) and '' Branta'' (the black geese). Some other birds, mostly related to the shelducks, have "goose" as part of their names. More distantly related members of the family Anatidae are swans, most of which are larger than true geese, and ducks, which are smaller. The term "goose" may refer to either a male or female bird, but when paired with "gander", refers specifically to a female one (the latter referring to a male). Young birds before fledging are called goslings. The collective noun for a group of geese on the ground is a gaggle; when in flight, they are called a skein, a team, or a wedge; when flying close together, they are called a plump. Etymology The word "goose" is a direct descendant of,''*ghans-''. In Germanic languages, the root gave Old English ''gōs'' with the plural ''gēs'' and ''gandres'' (b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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