Zither

zither (zĭth`ər), stringed musical instrument, derived from the psaltery and the dulcimer. It has a flat sound box over which are stretched from 30 to 45 strings; these are plucked with the fingers and a plectrum. In the 18th cent. one or both sides began to be curved to produce greater sonority. The term zither is also used generically for various instruments, including the dulcimer, the psaltery, and several Asian instruments. The dulcimer in use in the Kentucky mountains is, in fact, a zither.

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zither

Zither made in Vienna

(credit: Courtesy of A.V. Ebblewhite, London; photograph, Behr Photography/EB Inc.)

Plucked or struck stringed instrument with a shallow soundbox. The common Austrian zither is roughly rectangular and has 30–40 strings; it is placed on the player's knees or on a table. Several melody strings pass over a fretted fingerboard; the player's left hand stops these strings, while the right hand plucks with the fingers and a thumb plectrum. Zither is also a generic term for stringed instruments, the strings of which are fastened across a frame that lacks any projecting neck or arms. The larger zither family thus includes instruments such as the Aeolian harp, autoharp, cimbalom, dulcimer, koto, and even the clavichord, harpsichord, and piano.

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zither

a plucked musical instrument consisting of numerous strings stretched over a resonating box, a few of which may be stopped on a fretted fingerboard

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Zither 

a stringed instrument played by plucking. The zither has an irregularly shaped flat wooden body. Two sides of the soundboard, one long and one short, form a right angle; opposite them lie a convex and a concave side. Along the long straight side is a fretted fingerboard over which are stretched four or five metal strings that are plucked with a plectrum worn on the thumb of the right hand. Beyond the fingerboard are 25 to 40 gut strings, which are played with the remaining fingers of the right hand. The zither was known in several ancient countries and had a different number of strings. The zither has been known in Western Europe since the late 18th century and was especially popular in 19th-century Germany and Austria. The instrument appeared in Russia in the second half of the 19th century.

REFERENCES

Iodko, V. Tsitra. Kratkii istoricheskii ocherk i opisanie instrumenta. Moscow, 1914.
Modr, A. Muzykal’nye instrumenty. Moscow, 1959. Pages 56–58.
Brandlmeier, J. Handbuch der Zither. Munich [1963].