![Raft zither, Benin, 19th century](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Raft_zither%2C_Benin%2C_19th_century.jpg)
A raft zither is a group of single-cord
tube zither
The tube zither is a stringed musical instrument in which a tube functions both as an instrument's neck and its soundbox. As the neck, it holds strings taut and allows them to vibrate. As a soundbox or it modifies the sound and transfers it to ...
s, connected together to form a "raft".
Tube zithers use a tube as a platform to hold a string (either tied onto the tube or cut out of the tube itself), raised with
bridges
A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whic ...
.
The flat surface of the raft is the base for the strings, and the multiple instruments form a single instrument with many notes.
[ Each tube zither in the raft zither has a different note, and the ]idiochord An idiochord ( la, idio – "self", chord – "string", also known as a drum zither) is a musical instrument in which the "string" of the instrument is made from the same material as its resonating body. Such instruments may be found in the Indian O ...
instruments become a single heterochord instrument.[ The raft zither is also related to the board zither, which uses a board as the base for its many strings.][
One example of a raft zither is the Totombito zither, from Congo.] Other African examples may be found in Nigeria and East Africa.[
In Nepal, the Dhimal people make tube zithers of bouquet grass, and connect them into a raft zither called a tunjaai.] In the Nepali instrument, the tubes have two strings, top and bottom, and the instrument is hung on a shoulder, with both hands of the musician working to play at the same time with a plectrum.[
]
References
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Chordophones