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Zither Shopping Frustrations, Part II
May. 31st, 2022 02:45 pmOooookay, shopping for zithers is annoying. Yes: zithers, plural. At this point, I'm unwilling to spend the €€€ on a new or professionally restored instrument. So, what I did was to order several cheap, old zithers on eBay. I firmly stuck to the "old" that means it's too old to be considered useable, but not old enough to be considered a valuable antique. Chord zithers in that category are, of course, dirt cheap. I bought more than one because, hey, you can expect most used instruments (which were not very good in the first place) to be somehow damaged, so, if I buy four, maybe one of them may be somewhat playable. And this approach is still much cheaper than actually buying a decent instrument. I guess I'll just see what arrives in the mail. Surprise zithers, yay! XD
...and what I'm still desperately searching for is an actual Scheitholt in its original form, which is that of a large drone zither. Ideally one from Lower Saxony because, hey, local culture. I'd be willing to pay any price for that.
The thing is: no one ever manufactured those professionally. There's a reason. (Most likely, professional instrument builders took one look at the design and said no thanks.) The most detailed description of a Scheitholt (although it has been documented even earlier) is from around 1600: Praetorius described the instrument. He was... not entirely convinced, either.
"
Although this instrument should be referred to among the rag instruments, I have nevertheless included it in here, because it is known to few, and is not at all unlike a firewood log or piece of wood, for it is almost like a small monochord made of three or four thin boards, badly joined together, with a small collar at the top, in which three or four pegs are stuck, and covered with three or four brass strings. Three are unisono but one is forced down in the middle with a chopper, so that it must resonate a fifth higher: And if one wishes, the fourth string can be added an octave higher. Over all of these strings, however, the right thumb is always used to move over the bottom of the string, and a small smooth stick in the left hand is used to press back and forth on the first string, so that the melody of the chant is brought about over the frets that are struck as brass wires.
"
(Michael Praetorius, Syntagma Musicum II De Organographia, Wolfenbüttel 1619, translated by me)
Basically, yeah, the instrument design was shitty by the standards of 1619, and - because we're talking about a remarkably unbroken musical tradition (as in, newer instruments look exactly like the figure in Praetorius' book, although the overall size and the number of strings can vary) - it's still shitty by the standards of today. Objectively speaking, it may be the world's worst zither. I still want one, please! ;_;
...and what I'm still desperately searching for is an actual Scheitholt in its original form, which is that of a large drone zither. Ideally one from Lower Saxony because, hey, local culture. I'd be willing to pay any price for that.
The thing is: no one ever manufactured those professionally. There's a reason. (Most likely, professional instrument builders took one look at the design and said no thanks.) The most detailed description of a Scheitholt (although it has been documented even earlier) is from around 1600: Praetorius described the instrument. He was... not entirely convinced, either.
"
Although this instrument should be referred to among the rag instruments, I have nevertheless included it in here, because it is known to few, and is not at all unlike a firewood log or piece of wood, for it is almost like a small monochord made of three or four thin boards, badly joined together, with a small collar at the top, in which three or four pegs are stuck, and covered with three or four brass strings. Three are unisono but one is forced down in the middle with a chopper, so that it must resonate a fifth higher: And if one wishes, the fourth string can be added an octave higher. Over all of these strings, however, the right thumb is always used to move over the bottom of the string, and a small smooth stick in the left hand is used to press back and forth on the first string, so that the melody of the chant is brought about over the frets that are struck as brass wires.
"
(Michael Praetorius, Syntagma Musicum II De Organographia, Wolfenbüttel 1619, translated by me)
Basically, yeah, the instrument design was shitty by the standards of 1619, and - because we're talking about a remarkably unbroken musical tradition (as in, newer instruments look exactly like the figure in Praetorius' book, although the overall size and the number of strings can vary) - it's still shitty by the standards of today. Objectively speaking, it may be the world's worst zither. I still want one, please! ;_;
