 Pardon the out-of-tune strings but this Harp Zither or Guitar Zither, as it was coined in Germany, is well over one hundred years old and I was very careful not to push tuning since these are original strings you are hearing me play. Sears began making this instrument in 1902, calling it a Zither #2. My great-grandmother Nora Thayer Duncan ordered one from the Sears catalogue and played it for her family as an accompaniment for hymn singing, usually on Sunday evenings. My Grandma Char, her youngest daughter, granted my wish to inherit this treasure, recalling her mother playing it. On her hundredth birthday ....... I surprised her by playing several of those old hymns on the Zither. There weren't too many dry eyes after that special music.
Do you see the shape of another more common instrument in the Zither? Ideas?
5 Comments
Sunny
7/13/2017 07:59:51 am
Wonderful post! I loved the care and delicacy I heard in each note you played.
Robin
7/15/2017 07:24:56 pm
Even with the out of tune notes? Thanks for lovely comment!
Cliff Hall
7/13/2017 06:43:04 pm
Ditto Sunny's comment. Very sweet and special.
Robin Gaiser
7/15/2017 07:26:23 pm
Thanks.........even with out of tune strings? Maybe the authenticity comes out more clearly that way.
Donna Castaner
7/24/2017 09:19:01 pm
that was so much fun! - thank you for sharing - it looks a little like the autoharp I got to play at Eileen's during Mod 5 - wow - and you play it so gently...thanks for the musical memory hug Leave a Reply. |
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