Drone zithers or droned zithers are stringed instruments of the

zither Zither (; , from the Greek ''cithara'') is a class of stringed instruments. The modern instrument has many strings stretched across a thin, flat body. Zithers are typically played by strumming or plucking the strings with the fingers or a ...

family that have few (sometimes only one)

melodic A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of pitch and rhythm, while more figuratively, the term c ...

strings and a greater number of drone strings. The oldest known form of drone zither is the

Scheitholt The scheitholt or scheitholz is a traditional German stringed instrument and an ancestor of the modern zither. It falls into the category of drone zithers. History The scheitholt may have derived from an ancient Greek instrument for theoretica ...

. The Scheitholt developed into many different variants of drone zithers, such as the

Langspil The langspil (; meaning ''long-play'') is a traditional Icelandic drone zither. It has a single melody string and usually 2 Drone (music), drone strings. The langspil can be played by plucking the strings by hand, with a bow or by hammering. La ...

, the

Epinette des Vosges The ''épinette des Vosges'' () is a traditional plucked-string instrument of the zither family, whose use was confined to two areas in the Vosges mountains of France approximately 50 km apart: around Val-d'Ajol and around Gérardmer. ...

or the Hummel. The

Appalachian dulcimer The Appalachian dulcimer (many variant names; see below) is a fretted string instrument of the zither family, typically with three or four strings, originally played in the Appalachian region of the United States. The body extends the length of t ...

is a traditional American form.

References

*Josef Brandlmeier. ''Handbuch der Zither. T. 1. Die Geschichte des Instruments und der Kunst des Zitherspiels''. Süddeutscher Verlag, 1963. ISBN B0000BGRV8.

External links

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Box zithers {{zither-instrument-stub