eller | Zither Shopping Frustrations

So. I'm looking for a zither. A proper zither, that is. The search is proving quite frustrating.

The thing is: most zithers on the market are concert zithers. The things with an actual fret-board. Unfortunately, while there is - obviously - nothing intrinsically wrong with that kind of instrument, I can't play it. ;___; I mean, at some point I could learn, but, uh, what I really want is a traditional chord zither based on the Scheitholt concept. I can play chord zither, it's idiot-safe. (It's designed to be idiot-safe, seeing how it's a folk instrument for people without any kind of musical education! You can learn it in half an hour, and playing styles are super flexible. It's awesome!)

Cultural comment: While Wikipedia lists 'chord zither' and 'Scheitholt' as different instruments (with one as the ancestor of the other), in Platt-speaking areas, a chord zither is also still commonly referred to as Scheitholt.

Language comment: Yes, my culture may be the only one that ever produced a musical instrument literally called log of firewood. I'm not sure whether that refers to the shape, the way of making one (that is: draw some log out ouf your pile of firewood, put some strings on it, paint a nice picture - done!), or the general sound quality (BURN IT! JUST BURN IT!)... But... Anyway... Draw your own conclusions about whether you're likely to see or hear this thing in a 'polite', high-class concert setting. LOL

Unfortunately, because the chord zither is not considered a proper musical instrument (where I'm from, it's only played by women, and only in a home/family setting, never in public!), it's kind of difficult to find one. I mean, getting an old chord zither on eBay is easy - but the really old instruments are purely decorative. (The real folk zithers are usually made from cheap wood that warps and/or cracks after some time, so they'll sound horrible. Firewood, literally! People just keep them for the traditional zither art!) And while there are newer models, they all lack the traditional paintings (how horrible!!! I'd never buy one that's not painted!) or they have a modern tuning that's unsuitable for playing traditional music.

I'll keep searching!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

yhlee

Ah man, good luck with your search!

Curious - is this something you could find instructions to make yourself? For example, when I was in middle school the library had a book of instructions on how to make various (I think Appalachian) folk instruments like cigar box guitars/violins and bones (the percussion instrument made from cow? rib bones). Or is this the sort of instrument-making whose methods are never written down?

From:

eller

In theory, I have a pretty good idea of how to make one, actually - but neither the firewood (no wood stove!) nor the skills (woodworking, ewwww) or time... XD My current plan is to just buy something on eBay and see if I can sort-of-repair it so it's sort-of-playable...

From:

yhlee

Sounds like a plan! I wish you much luck on eBay. :D

I really want to hear this instrument but from your description of the cultural considerations, it sounds like I'd have to get invited into someone's home in Germany for a performance. :p

From:

eller

Heh! There are actually some demonstrations of chord zithers on youtube. This guy actually has very good playing technique!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExA9lhy0_cc
A few cultural comments, though:
- I'm cringing when he calls the original tuning 'obsolete', because, please, I need that! (He re-tuned it to be able to play classical or modern music, since he doesn't seem to be into German folk music, which, legit - this is likely to damage the instrument in the long term, though. Wrong pressure on the wood, and all that.)
- He uses a guitar plectrum, which is actually a good technical solution. I learned to play it with a feather quill, but, obviously, anything that can be used to pluck strings is legitimate!
- The way he's holding the instrument - like, diagonally - is clearly adapted from the concert zither, which is usually held like that. So, he probably has a 'classical' education. When it comes to chord zithers, there's no fixed way of holding it, and, indeed, he demonstrates different ways.
- Super-funny: the third way he shows - flat to the belly - he comments with "I really don't know how they manage to play". LOL! I mean, that's how I play, so, I could show him! XDDD

From:

yhlee

Ah, THANK YOU for that link and for introducing me to an instrument I had no awareness of before!! His tuning makes a lot of sense for diatonic Western music (I, ii, IV, V, and vi chords off the C tonic) but may I ask, if you're willing, what the traditional/original tuning is? I'm realizing I know nothing about German folk music other than that one time Joe's dad let me play with the family's ancestral accordion. (The keyboard was easy, the chord buttons would have taken some practice, and working the bellows was also tricky and would have required some experimentation.)

From:

eller

The original tuning is actually written on his instrument, so you can just zoom in and read it. XD (At 0:05 you're getting a good view.) It's a very user-friendly instrument!

I should probably mention there are different types of chord zithers, usually 4-chord, 5-chord or 6-chord, and also different types of traditional tuning. (I've also encountered an 8-chord zither once, but that was a homemade and decidedly nonstandard thingy.)

If the video is too blurry, you can also look here:
https://www.stennes-falter.com/2011/06/13/wie-stimme-ich-eine-akkordzither/
The 5/21 one shows the same original tuning as the instrument in the video. :)

From:

yhlee

Alas, my eyes could not make out the video even zoomed in but the link was terrific, thank you!

I really think this is such a well-designed instrument, from the standpoint of giving you NOTES and CHORDS in a really accessible way. And honestly, coming from the world of the viola, the thought that you would WRITE THE TUNING ON THE INSTRUMENT ITSELF for easy reference is just staggering. It's so humane! So practical! No viola or violin maker would ever consider it ZOMG!

From:

eller

"I really think this is such a well-designed instrument"

Zithers are a classic, no? I mean, the instrument type appears everywhere around the world - because it works. I think most cultures have some kind of zither... (Then again, most cultures optimized it for refined sound. German peasant women optimized it for still playable when hopelessly drunk.)

"the thought that you would WRITE THE TUNING ON THE INSTRUMENT ITSELF for easy reference is just staggering. It's so humane! So practical!"

Eh, Germans are pragmatic? XDD Also, it's not only a 'reference', it's also an important part of the instrument design. It's suuuper upsetting when modern instrument makers sell zithers that are only wood colored! ;_; Like... The stuff that's painted on a zither is not random. The designs have meanings!

From:

yhlee

Yep! I'm used to the "refined sound" variant" - the Korean gayageum is similar-ish to the Japanese koto or the Chinese guqin or guzheng (and honestly I suspect we stole from the Chinese, but I can't swear to it).

From:

eller

I'm used to the "firewood" variant. XD But, I mean, that's okay - I like the sound of firewood. ;) Also, it's reeeallly good for learning.

Of those Asian instruments, I've only ever encountered a koto, so I can't comment on the others - but, anyway, I had the opportunity to play on a koto, and... Apparently, as soon as you can play one zither, you can play them all. It was a group seminar, and none of us (except for the teacher, obviously) had ever seen a koto before. (I only walked in because I wanted to know about the weird giant zither - barbaric, I know! XD) Anyway, it took a few minutes to get used to the foreign tuning and the force you need to press on the strings to vary the sound, but it's really surprisingly similar. I was able to play the (very simple) song we were instructed to play without too-horrible accidents.

From:

eller

P.S.: When it comes to 'firewood', look at this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XN1marQo8-8
Same musician, different instrument - according to the description, it's one he 'restored', but, uh, this is what a firewood zither sounds like when it's trashed beyond salvaging. There are definitely some cracks in the wood, and, I mean, there's nothing to be done once that happened...
...but, hey, that's the real folk-music sound. XDD
(I don't know the song but I'm sure it was never intended for the zither, either.)

From:

eller

P.S.: Chord zither notation is also fun. Look at an example (also for typical 5-chord instrument) here!
https://www.stretta-music.de/abendglocken-nr-152406.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwkMeUBhBuEiwA4hpqENPEaNAALUi5uszg2V_xYwKENSTlx_BRkkYNEgZQJKNGOxOqjwX0OBoCKx0QAvD_BwE
You literally just cut out the sheet and shove it under the strings - then you immediately see where to ploiinnnnggg. XDD

From:

yhlee

That is wicked cool and very similar to "geometrical" notation for music that I once saw as an avant-garde technique in a book introducing composition - clearly folk musicians came up with it first! :D :D

From:

yhlee

Now I want one of these instruments, but I judge my odds of finding a working one on American eBay are...pretty dismal LOLOL. It sounds so pretty though! Also I really liked it when he showed his damping technique on the previously-played chords.

From:

franklanguage

Yup, the first place I looked was eBay, and they currently have a really mixed bag.

From:

eller

I'm a bit scared of eBay, because it's usually "sold as decoration" or "the pictures are part of the description", except, on these pictures, you wouldn't be able to see things like hair cracks in the wood... I'd be much more comfortable buying from a professional instrument-maker or -restorer. Unfortunately, that's expensive... ^^°