Bowed psaltery, ringing strings bowed psalteries, handcrafted by rick long, clinton, tn, building quality instruments since 1980. On some psalteries the strings were plucked, on others they were struck, and still others they were bowed. Bowedv psaltery music,westman instruments,free music in. The book of psalms has also become known as the psalter or. It is mentioned in the bible, and the instrument mentioned as a psaltery was a diatonic stringed instrument that was plucked or strummed. Mailing address cedar creek dulcimers 408 river bluff dr.
Dave lucas, daves psalteries built me this bowed psaltery. Bolton is planning two other books, one of folk music and one of classical tunes. Plucked psalteries are probably of the oldest variety of psaltery, being very similar to a small harp or zither. Building your own instrument can be very rewarding work, so you will certainly be able to put our plan to good use. Bowed psaltery music teach yourself to play music its. This music has the name of the note inside of the note. A brief history a psaltery is a stringed musical instrument, appearing in many different forms and styles throughout history. Shall we gather by madeline macneil book sheet music for. Included with your psaltery is a bow, rosin, some extra strings, tuning wrench, note guides, instruction book with 20 songs, and an instruction dvd in other words, everything you need to get started and keep going.
Since i play by ear, i created this channel to help me remember songs that ive figure out. Many of these arrangements provide a harmony part that may be performed on another instrument such as the flute, guitar, bowed psaltery, or mountain dulcimer. Although these traditional tunes were arranged with the bowed psaltery in mind, they are appropriate for all melody instruments. Our newest member melodye whatley has coauthored a bowed psaltery book and cd which is available for sale at music makers, the link is below.
Ekm easy electronic keyboard music books are adaptable to use as a source of songs to play on the bowed psaltery. Helpful sheet music for beginners with note letters and. Each string is a different note, played separately, with all the. The instrument, probably of middle eastern origin in late classical times, reached europe in the 12th. But though the plucked psaltery dates far back in history, the bowed psaltery is a much more recent invention. Play this instrument with a bow along each edge to produce sweet melodies. The strings were most likely gut, and the shape varied from triangular to trapezoidal to hognosed. On a bowed psaltery, there is much more up and down movement required, rather than the lateral strokes seen on a violin. It is generally tuned in a chomatic 2 octave scale with black notes on the left and the white on the right as seen from the blunt end. If you are looking for bowed psaltery music, donna does a great job of arranging music for this instrument. New road scholarelderhostel psaltery lessonclasses hear us no mountain stage.
A lighter bow is much easier to maneuver around on the bowed psaltery strings. Because you must be continually moving the bow up and down the length of the psaltery, also requiring you to extend your arm out farther, a much shorter and lighter bow is. Best selling, featured, price, low to high, price, high to low. The word psaltery derives from the ancient greek psalt. In contrast with the centuriesold plucked psaltery, the bowed psaltery appears to be a 20thcentury invention. A violin bow is heavy, but that is needed on a violin, you stay more in contact with the strings all the time you are playing. The baritone bowed psaltery is a 30 string model with 2 plus octaves and a range of f to a above middle c. The history of the psaltery goes back to biblical times. I offer private lessons to teach you how to play the bowed psaltery. The bowed psaltery is a triangular instrument with tuning pins on the short end and strings running from there to posts at intervals along each side. Im hoping more of them will join us here at psaltery strings. No other orders right now, so my wait time from when you order is around four. Psaltery played by a cat in a belgian book of hours, c.
Available with alder, butternut, spruce or walnut top. Its haunting and beautiful sound is somewhat reminiscent to that of a violin. There is a section of notes telling the storyhistoryloreand personal. The bowed psaltery is one of the easiest instruments to learn. Early music for the bowed psaltery contains 30 musical compositions from the european musical tradition. Early music for the bowed psaltery is her second music. Each psaltery comes with a tuning wrench, rosin, horse hair bow, removable note markings and booklet. Weve discovered these letters are the same as those used in the following collection of easy electronic keyboard music books. Our bowed psalteries come with note guides that identify each note with its proper letter in the scale. Harp violin bowed psaltery hammered dulcimer musical instruments musicals bows accessories beautiful. Redirected from psaltry jump to navigation jump to search. Lesson 1 face the music basic music reading will add a whole new dimension to your skills the ability to translate a sheet of paper with all those dots and strange symbols into musical sounds.
On a bowed psaltery, you are constantly lifting and moving to the various notes you need. In this book, you will learn all about the history of the psaltery and everything that. Ancient greek redfigured pelike from anzi, apulia, circa 320310 bce. Playing the good psalms of the psaltery visions alchemy. The sheet music is in an easy to read format, notes are labeled with their names, chords are provided and drone notes are. This drawingpattern is necessary for anyone wanting to build their very own bowed psaltery.
This is a two and one half octave tenor bowed psaltery. The string instrument anyone can play play celtic, folk or. The psaltery strings music book presents 50 melodies popular at traditional music gatherings. Keep in mind, the bowed psaltery is not the psaltery dating to biblical times. This full scale size drawing gives exact dimensions, shapes for every psaltery piece, as well as suggestions for woods to use for building this instrument. This 32 string bowed psaltery was designed to allow lower notes, down to middle c, so it covers most of the alto and soprano ranges. Although they had their history wrong on the bowed psaltery, it still sounded like it belonged in this setting. Free sheet music bowed psaltery music in noted note everthing bowed palteries. Birch back, maple pin block, your choice of wood for the top and sides, and your choice of sound hole disc.
Spring creek psalteries beautiful hand crafted bowed. Hora alto bowed psaltery with bow, bag and tuning key. It is played with a bow, and the strings are set up similar to a piano keyboard. It is housed at the smithsonian museum of american history as part of a stradivarius quartet. The range of notes start at g below middle c or g3 and go up to c two octave above middle c or c6 the 30 strings are all phosphor bronze wound acoustic guitar strings. This collection of music conveys madelines love of hymns. I started my journey to learn to play bowed psaltery about a year ago. Hopefully it will be a boon for anyone who appreciates historic music or wants to take their instrument to a renaissance fair or sca event.
The bow a psimple psaltery building a bowed psaltery. The psaltery of ancient greece was a harplike stringed instrument. Its name probably originates in religious use, as an accompaniment to singing songs from the psalms, known as psalmody and sung from a psalter, thus the psaltery. See more ideas about bowed psaltery, dulcimer, string instruments. The mindset is in place that all psalteries must be in the triangle shape. The strings are played between the posts with a short arched bow.
A woman playing a triangular harp, which was called by greeks a psalterion. This handbook is one of our bestselling bowed psaltery books to date. In 1925 a german patent was issued to the clemens neuber company for a bowed psaltery which also included a set of strings arranged in chords, so that one could play the melody on the bowed psaltery strings, and strum accompaniment with the other hand. The bowed psaltery pronounced salltree or sallter is a simple, easy to play instrument. Easy music books for bowed psaltery dulcimers, harps and.
This bowed psaltery handbook is by kendra ward and bob bence. There is something quite enchanting about the silvery sound of the psaltery. He said that he plays in a band in vallejo at a local club on marin street from 5 to 9. It contains an interesting history of the bowed psaltery, playing tips, frequently asked. Its frequently mentioned in the bible old and new testaments, and seems to have spread north to europe from the. Psalteries and accessories psaltery, bowed psaltery. It contains an interesting history of the bowed psaltery, playing tips, frequently asked questions, tuning and notation charts, basic music theory and playing the psaltery. There are numerous historical claims as to when the first bowed psaltery was actually introduced, but i believe that it was probably not until the early to mid 20th century that there was such an instrument in the form that is seen and. If you would like to custom order your psaltery, please call us at 3303230618.
Included is a bow, rosin, tuning wrench, note guide, and instructions. And our easyplay books mean you dont have to read music. The bowed instrument, by all accounts, was developed by a german music teacher in the late 1940s. The bowed psaltery sounds a lot like the violin or fiddle. It has the beautiful sound of a violin without any of the difficult fingering. Posted in book, bowed psaltery music 2012 bowed psaltery symphony toasting song.
Its a great bowed psaltery book for christmas music, although as already mentioned. This book will show you how you can easily play tunes on the bowed psaltery for your enjoyment or entertaining the kids and grandkids. The psaltery is a plucked stringed instrument with open unfretted metal strings stretched over a flat soundboard and plucked with a quill or the fingers. All of it comes in an attractive corrugated carrying case. Instructional books and dvds about the bowed psaltery. The musical language has only seven letters to learn they just repeat for higher or lower sounds. Bolton enjoys attending local musical festivals and workshops. Cat playing a psaltery from a belgian book of hours, c. The name of psaltery entered christian literature in the 3rd century b. Kendra and bob have established themselves as respected teachers and performers of the hammered dulcimer. She admitted to having a hard time putting the music books together. Post events, questions, pictures, videos or whatever is related to bowed psalteries that you would like to share. Early music for the bowed psaltery is her second music book.
The strings are open, none being stopped to produce different notes. The bowed psaltery is a type of psaltery or zither that is played with a bow. I told them the short history of the bowed psaltery, that it was created by a german school teacher who wanted an instrument for students to learn that would be easier to play than a violin. The bowed psaltery is triangular in shape, allowing each string to extend a little farther than the one before it. Bowed psalterywestman instrumentseverthing bowed psaltery. Bowed psalteries everything you wanted to know about the.
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