MIMF

I forgot to mention, notice the flat bridge, all 3 strings are bowed all the time. The melody is played on 1 or 2 of the strings and the rest are drones.
Here is a video of an excellent player that shows what can be done with this simple instrument of limited range.
https://youtu.be/bPXR2i7trMM

I recently constructed (and attempted to play) a primitive bowed lyre called a "Tagelharpa". The construction couldn't be simpler or more primitive. I haven't tried making homemade horse hair strings yet (I'm using gut) but I did make the horehair bow. There is an active Tagelharpa communi...

For anyone considering building a Hammered Dulcimer, here is a plan that can be downloaded for free.

http://www.harpkit.com/product/miniplan-d.html

How well does that fret board hold up against the string pressure? I have only held one of these once, and that was years ago. It seems like the string would dig in to those edges. Karl, I haven't played my instrument all that much and I don't see any wear, but my gut feeling is that the metal stri...

A while back I built a simple Scandinavian Psalmodikon (or Psalmodicon). It is composed of a simple rectangular wooden box with raised fretboard and has a single metal string. It is usually played by bowing and was used to accompany church hymns in poor rural churches. One unusual feature is the saw...

I have built a simple one string Scandinavian Psalmodicon. Here is a video of what my it sounds like. I am bowing it but it can also be plucked. The Psalmodicon was originally designed to aid singing in churches that were too poor to own an organ. A numbering system was also developed to help the no...

Here is a video of what my Psalmodicon sounds like. I am bowing it but it can also be plucked. The Psalmodicon was originally designed to aid singing in churches that were too poor to own an organ. A numbering system was also developed to help the novice congregants to hear the melody. You will noti...

Bob, I looked at many different examples of Psalmodikon's and noticed that some used a sawtooth fretboard that I had never heard of before. So I guess that instead of attaching metal frets to the fretboard, it is another way of fretting that only involves working with wood. I decided to try the sawt...

Here is an idea for a simple musical instrument called the Psalmodikon that I am currently building. The psalmodicon, (or psalmodikon), is typically a single-stringed musical instrument, developed in Scandinavia for simplifying music in churches and schools, and providing an alternative to the fiddl...

I have played mountain dulcimer for over 30 years and since building my Citera over 3 years ago, I have concluded that the split chromatic fretboard of the Citera is a really wonderful idea. The inspiration for building my own Citera came from an impromptu performance by a young Hungarian performer ...

Here is a video of my first attempt at playing my Hungarian Citera. The two tunes are numbers 3 and 4 from the free Citera Method book listed below. http://youtu.be/OHdK6-NpWxE There is a totally free Citera Method that can be downloaded and there are also 15 sound files of traditional Hundgarian tu...

Here is a close up of the unique split chromatic fretboard on the Hungarian Citera. The nearest group of 3 strings would correspond to the white keys on a piano and the next group of 2 strings correspond to the sharps or black keys. When either group is not fretted, they act as drone strings.

Hi Dave Great little uke. What's the tone and sound projection like compared to a "normal" tenor? Bright, "tinny", and sort of "old timey" with more volume than you would expect from such a small soundboard. It has a very noticable sound that stands out. The Polynesian...

Man, these little things are cool. I have a set of cheap mando tuners from Stew-mac and was thinking of doing something like this. I have a few questions: 1) What's the diameter of your soundboard? 6" 2) Is there any bracing on the back of it? No bracing, just a plain circle of 1/8" spruc...

Here is more information on the Citera. The soundboard is spruce. All other pieces are maple. The string length for the melody strings (those that are over the fretboard) is 21 1/2". There are 2 separate melody groups. The first group (3 stings) near the edge of the instrument would correspond ...

Several years ago I heard a Polynesian woman play a Tahitian Uke and I was amazed at the interesting sound. The traditional way of building the instrument is to carve the body, neck and head from a single piece of wood, then hollow round depression in the body and add a thin soundboard. I didn't hav...

Here are photos of my recently completed Hungarian Citera. This is a unique regional variation of the zither that has a chromatic fretboard and several drone strings. I decided that instead of commercial fretwire, I used the traditional method of streel wire that is bent into a staple shape and inse...