Zither

A zither is a musical tool.

It has many thin strings. You can pluck or strum them with your fingers.

Some zithers have a flat body. They do not have a long neck.

This makes them look different from a guitar.

A zither can have one string. It can also have more than fifty strings. This lets it make many sounds.

Many people in Europe play this instrument. They use it for folk music. It can be very popular in homes.

People still make new zithers today. They are special tools for making music.

A zither is a musical instrument with many strings.

These strings stretch across a thin, flat body. Unlike a guitar, it has no separate neck. You can play it by plucking or strumming the strings. You might use your fingers or a small tool called a plectrum.

There are many kinds of zithers. The concert zither is very popular. It can have more than fifty strings. Some strings are for the melody. Other strings are for bass notes or accompaniment.

In the past, people played different styles. One was the Alpine Scheitholt. It had a long, rectangular body.

Zithers come from many places. The guqin is an ancient zither from China.

In Europe, zithers are common in Alpine areas. They were very popular in homes in the 1800s. Later, a musician named Anton Karas made them famous again. He played the zither for a movie called The Third Man. This made the instrument a big hit in the 1950s.

A zither is a beautiful family of stringed instruments.

Most people think of a flat, thin body with many strings stretched across it. Unlike a guitar or a lute, it does not have a separate neck. Instead, the strings stay within the main sound box. You can play it by plucking or strumming with your fingers. Some players use a small tool called a plectrum to make the sound. This instrument is special because it can sound very delicate or very strong.

There are many ways to play and build these instruments. A modern concert zither often has between 29 and 38 strings. The strings are organized into different groups. First, there are four or five melody strings on a fretted fingerboard. Next, there are 12 accompaniment strings that are not fretted. Then, you will find 12 bass strings. Finally, there are usually five or six contrabass strings for deep notes. This setup allows a player to play a melody and harmony at once.

Zithers have a very long and interesting history.

The oldest surviving zither is the Chinese guqin, which dates back to 433 BC. Many other cultures made their own versions, like the Japanese koto or the Indonesian siter. In Europe, the instrument changed over many centuries. In the 1800s, it was a popular folk instrument in places like Austria and Bavaria. A musician named Johann Petzmayer helped make it a common item in many homes. Later, a man named Nikolaus Weigel helped turn it into the modern concert zither in 1838.

Different styles of zithers grew in different places.

In the late 18th century, two main European types appeared. One was the Salzburg zither, which has one rounded side. The other was the Mittenwald zither, which has two rounded sides. The Salzburg style is the most common one used today. In North America, chord zithers became very popular during the late 19th century. These often used metal strings, much like a cittern. People even called them "guitar zithers" or "mandoline zithers."

Zithers have even become famous through movies and songs. In the 1950s, a musician named Anton Karas became an international star. He played the zither for the famous movie soundtrack, "The Third Man." His music was so popular that it stayed at number one on the charts for many weeks. Other performers, like Ruth Welcome and Shirley Abicair, also kept the music alive. Today, you can still find many beautiful, older zithers being played around the world.

A zither is a unique class of stringed instruments.

While many people think of a flat, thin body with many strings, the term actually covers a wide variety of shapes. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, a zither is any stringed instrument where the strings do not extend beyond the sounding box. This broad definition includes many famous instruments. It covers the hammered dulcimer, the piano, and the koto. It even includes the guqin from China and the kantele from Finland. Unlike a guitar or a lute, a zither lacks a separate neck assembly. Instead, its body serves as a resonating chamber, or sound box, for all its strings.

Modern concert zithers are quite complex in their construction.

A typical concert zither may have between 29 and 38 strings. These strings are organized into specific functional groups. First, there are four or five melody strings placed above a fretted fingerboard. These allow the player to play specific notes. Next, there are 12 unfretted accompaniment strings. Following those are 12 unfretted bass strings. Finally, there are usually five or six contrabass strings for the deepest notes. Players typically produce sound by strumming or plucking these strings with their fingers or a plectrum, which is a small tool used for striking strings.

There are several distinct types of zithers used in different traditions. One common variety is the Alpine zither, which is a version of the concert zither that uses a fretted fingerboard. Another is the chord zither, also called a fretless or guitar zither, which became popular in North America. In Europe, history shows two main styles of concert zither. The Salzburg zither has one rounded side away from the player. The Mittenwald zither features two rounded sides. Today, the Salzburg style is the most common version found in musical performances.

The history of the zither family stretches back thousands of years.

The earliest known surviving member of this family is the Chinese guqin. This fretless instrument was found in the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng and dates to 433 BC. Over the centuries, many cultures developed their own versions. These include the Japanese silk-strung koto and the Indonesian siter. In Europe, early zithers like the Alpine Scheitholt were simpler. They often had long, rectangular sound boxes with melody strings and drone strings that provided a constant background sound.

The zither underwent a major transformation in the 19th century. In 1838, Nikolaus Weigel of Munich proposed a new design. He suggested using fixed bridges, adding more strings, and using a chromatic fingerboard. This helped turn a simple folk instrument into a sophisticated concert instrument. A luthier named Max Amberger built a new zither based on this design in 1862. This helped the concert zither become very popular in Alpine countries. During this time, professional composers known as "zither players" began writing serious music for the instrument. Even the famous composer Johann Strauss II included a zither solo in his waltz, "Tales from the Vienna Woods."

Zithers have experienced two major waves of popularity in the United States. The first occurred during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During this era, the zither was a popular "parlour instrument" found in many homes. Many manufacturers in the U.S. were run by European luthiers who made concert and chord zithers. The second wave arrived in the 1950s due to the film *The Third Man*. The film's soundtrack featured only a concert zither played by Anton Karas. His theme became a massive hit, spending eleven weeks at number one on the Billboard charts. This success made Karas an international star and brought interest back to the instrument.

Today, the zither connects to many different areas of music and technology. While interest in the instrument has fluctuated, it remains a part of world music. Many ancient and modern zithers have been sampled electronically. This means their sounds can be used in modern music synthesizers. Although only a few independent makers like Lenzner Saitenmanufaktur produce new instruments today, many older zithers still exist. Many of the instruments people find today are roughly 60 to 110 years old, preserved from the instrument's various periods of fame.