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Concert zither, with a fretted fingerboard
The zither is a musical string instrument, most commonly found in Slovenia, Austria, Hungary, northwestern Croatia, the southern regions of Germany, alpine Europe and East Asian cultures, including China. The term "citre" is also used more broadly, to describe the entire family of stringed instruments in which the strings do not extend beyond the sounding box, including the hammered dulcimer, psaltery, Appalachian dulcimer, guqin, guzheng (Chinese zither), koto, gusli, kantele, gayageum, đàn tranh, kanun, autoharp, santoor, yangqin, piano, harpsichord, santur, swarmandal, and others. Modern electric zithers exist, as well as a wide variation of experimental zithers like the Kitaras of Harry Partch, the Shruti Stick and the Moodswinger. It is played by strumming or plucking the strings like a guitar.
[edit] Etymology and instrument family
The word "citara" is derived from the Greek word kithara, an instrument from classical times used in Ancient Greece and later throughout the Roman Empire and in the Arab world (Arabic قيثارة); the word "guitar" derives from "qithara" as well.
[edit] History and development
A fretless Musima Guitar Zither, with 45 strings (21 melody, 24 chord)
While the term zither is mentioned in Daniel during the Jewish exile of 606 BC, the earliest known instrument of the zither family is a Chinese guqin [a fretless instrument], found in the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng dating from 433 BC.[1] In modern entertainment, the zither is perhaps most famous for its role in the soundtrack, especially all along the classic noir film The Third Man. The music for the film was played by Anton Karas. It is also the preferred music of Mr. Bevis, a Twilight Zone character in 1960.
The instrument has a prominent solo in one of Johann Strauss II's most famous waltzes, "Tales from the Vienna Woods" (sometimes played on a mandolin, when a zither is not available). It is also used by multi-instrumentalist Laraaji on the third release of Brian Eno's ambient music series, Ambient 3: Day of Radiance. Australian-born singer Shirley Abicair popularised the zither when she used it widely as accompaniment in her TV shows, live performances and recordings in Britain in the 1950s and 1960s. More recently, Jerusalem-based multi-instrumentalist Bradley Fish has used zithers in a multitude of styles on the soundtracks of various Sony Digital Pictures films. In Slovenia, at the end of the 19th century they were used in small towns or villages and for concerts.
Like many other stringed instruments, acoustic and electric forms exist; in the acoustic version, the strings are stretched across the length of the soundbox, and neither version has a neck. They can be divided into two classes: fretted and fretless. A person who plays the zither is called a zitherist.
[edit] Playing
The zither is played by plucking the strings while it lies flat on a table, which acts as a resonator to amplify the sound.
The right thumb, wearing a thumb-mounted plectrum, picks out the melody on the five fretboard strings, which are stopped by the left hand like a guitar. Meanwhile, the remaining fingers of the right hand play accompanying chords on the open strings. Typically, these are grouped as follows: the first twelve strings after the fretboard are accompanying strings, then the next twelve are bass strings. All these are tuned according to the circle of fifths. After that, there may be some contrabass strings tuned chromatically. As few as two or three, or as many as thirteen, depending on the type of zither.
[edit] References
[edit] Bibliography
- "Zither" from the University of Michigan School of Information's CHICO project
[edit] External links
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Miscellaneous Topics: Nóta song style · Táncház dance parties
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 Adele - Rolling in the Deep - Chinese Zither Cover 古筝版(REMASTERED) Due to popular request, here are some mp3s of alternative edits: - clean: www.mediafire.com - mild mix: www.mediafire.com - less boom: www.mediafire.com - original from the video: www.mediafire.com ---- This Guzheng (Chinese Zither) cover of Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" was so incredibly awesome that I just had to remaster it. I downloaded the original clip from Youku (a 7.68 MB flv file) and then upscaled the video to 720p, cleaned it up, warmed the colors, after which I remastered the audio to make it crisp and clean. A few compressors and EQs later things really came together and the beauty of this cover was no longer muddied by the original recording conditions. After all that treatment the clip grew 48 times in size, to 370 MB. It doesn't look as sharp as a HD recording because no matter how much you polish a 480x320 image you simply can't recreate detail that wasn't captured in the first place. All you can do is minimize the image artifacts and make it scale better on big screens. The sound was easier to salvage because even a cheap mic can record good enough mid-highs if they're powerful enough. Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy listening to this as much as I did! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Original video is found here: v.youku.com More covers/Guzheng versions from the same musician: i.youku.com The instrumental track I used for the remastered sound mix is from here: www.youtube.com |  Zither Tutorial Lotte takes us through the basics of playing the Concert Zither. |  Only Girl (In the World)... on ZITHER?!?! After a four month alliance during the making of College Musical, Kurt and I must return to being mortal enemies... |  Spring Snow-Traditional Korean Zither Music Supreme Master Ching Hai Internation Association Member From Korea Playing Korean Instrument |  German Zither Music Etienne de Lavaulx playing Let It Be on a 1925 German Zither. www.etiennedelavaulx.com.au |  Anton Karas Zither A clip of Anton Karas playing zither. |  Chinese Zither/Guzheng Jam (by Bradley Fish) bradleyfish.com myspace.com www.bradleyfish.com Improv Jam on a 21-string Chinese Zither - No Overdubs! Bradley Fish - Session Musician, Producer & Music Coach via the web! Cameraman Jonny Gross Musician, Audio & Video Editing: Bradley Fish Check out www.soundofasia.com for cool musical instruments from Asia - like this one!! |  Theme from the Third Man Anton Karas, zither |  Chinese classical music for zither guzheng solo 漢宮秋月by Liu Fang 劉芳 Guzheng is known as Chinese "zither" or harp, has over 2000 years of well-documented history. The title of this piece beautifully interpreted by Liu Fang is called "The autumn moon in the palace of a Han emperor" (Hangong Qiuyue 漢宮秋月), traditional piece from the Chinese classical repertoire, recorded live at Liu Fang's solo recital in the Pierre-mercurre Hall, Centre Pierre-Peladeau, Montreal, on march 27, 2003. Liu Fang is international acclaimed virtuoso for the Chinese lute Pipa, as well as the zither Guzheng (info: www.philmultic.com ). "Lune d'automne sur le palais de l'empereur des Han", musique traditionnelle chinoise pour la cithare Zheng, interprété par Liu Fang. Traditionelle chinesische Musik, gespielt von Liu Fang auf der Guzheng, eine chinesische Zither. (Live-Konzert) "Otoño Luna sobre el palacio del emperador Han", la música Cítara tradicional china. guzheng en solitario Liu Fang. Классическая китайская музыка для гуженг, традиционный китайский инструмент, Китайский цитра. гуженг соло: Лю Фан (劉芳). 传统筝曲：汉宫秋月中国箏奏者劉芳source: www.philmultic.com |  zither chinese music |
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Patch.com
Tue, 22 May 2012 04:57:11 -0700
... Tae Kwon Do demonstrations by Koo's Tae Kwon Do Academy, dance by Urisawe, Hanna Kim and the Silk Strings GayYaGeum Ensemble playing the zither-like string instrument, and the Pacific Youth Choir and the Pacific Junior Choir singing delightful ...
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Jazzcorner
Sun, 20 May 2012 23:35:32 -0700
He has worked with many world music legends, including tabla phenomenon Zakir Hussain and Chinese zither master Zhao Hui. He has performed hundreds of concerts worldwide since 1978, from New York City's Carnegie Recital Hall to the Atlantis nightclub ...
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New York Times
Mon, 21 May 2012 05:59:26 -0700
Jin Jiangbo, a Shanghai artist at the booth of the Starkwhite Gallery in Auckland, played a zither connected to a digitalized screen, on which black and white brushstrokes ebbed and flowed with the music. Mr. Jin said that it was his first time at ART ...
|  Houston Chronicle |
Houston Chronicle
Thu, 17 May 2012 14:57:20 -0700
Their sound combines a Chinese-style bell, drum, flute, violin, lute and zither with Western cello and piano. The event begins 7 pm Saturday in the grand hall of the Jade Buddha Temple, 6969 Westbranch. "The concert is riveting to Buddhists and Eastern ...
|  World Socialist Web Site |
World Socialist Web Site
Mon, 21 May 2012 22:25:53 -0700
The film is graced by innovative, Expressionist-influenced cinematography and a magnificent score by Anton Karas, until then an obscure wine-bar musician discovered by the director, who plays the zither throughout the film. Although Reed directed the ...
|  TribLocal |
TribLocal
Mon, 21 May 2012 07:52:45 -0700
If you are wondering, “z” was a wooden zither! Taking a short hike to see first-hand a bur oak tree with its leaves shaped like a witch and her cape on a broomstick in addition the little burs on its acorn, to the alternate and pointed leaf of the ...
|  The Jackson Citizen Patriot - MLive.com |
The Jackson Citizen Patriot - MLive.com
Sat, 12 May 2012 12:09:18 -0700
She loved to play the Zither, the piano and the organ and sang in a gospel music quartet with her husband, sister and brother-in-law. They were called "The Old Meeting Quartette," which aired on radio station WIBM in Jackson from 1932 until 1942.
|  China Daily |
China Daily
Wed, 02 May 2012 16:30:06 -0700
By Li Wenfang in Guangzhou (China Daily) Few would think of Huang Fuzhao as a master maker of guqin, a Chinese seven-stringed zither known as the preferred instrument of sages and literati since ancient times. In his T-shirt, stained jeans and slippers ...
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