The
lyre (from
GreekGreek , an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, is the language of the Greeks. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. In its ancient form, it is the language of classical...
λύρα - lyra) is a
stringed musical instrumentA string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones. The most common string instruments in the string family are guitar, violin, viola,...
well known for its use in
classical antiquityClassical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
and later. The recitations of the
Ancient GreeksAncient Greece is the civilisation belonging to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca. 1100 BC and the Dorian invasion, to 146 BC and the Roman conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth. It is generally considered to be the seminal culture which provided the...
were accompanied by lyre playing. The lyre of Classical Antiquity was ordinarily played by being strummed with a
plectrumA plectrum is a small flat tool used to pluck or strum a stringed instrument. For guitars and similar instruments, the plectrum is a separate tool held in the player's hand...
, like a
guitarThe guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that adapts readily to a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six strings, but four-, seven-, eight-, ten-, eleven-, twelve-, thirteen- and eighteen-string guitars also exist. The size and shape of the neck and the base of the guitar...
or a
zitherThe zither is a musical string instrument, most commonly found in Slovenia, Austria, Hungary, the southern regions of Germany, alpine Europe and East Asian cultures, including China...
, rather than being plucked, like a
harpA harp is a stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicular to the soundboard. As many other non-percussion instruments, it can also be used as a percussion instrument. All harps have a neck, resonator and strings. Some, known as frame harps, also have a forepillar;...
. The fingers of the free hand silenced the unwanted strings in the chord. The lyre is similar in appearance to a small harp, but with certain distinct differences.
The word
lyre can either refer specifically to a common folk-instrument, which is a smaller version of the professional
kitharaThe kithara or cithara was an ancient Greek musical instrument in the lyre family. In modern Greek the word kithara has come to mean "guitar" ....
and eastern-
AegeanThe Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey respectively. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
barbitonThe barbiton, or barbitos , is an ancient stringed instrument known from Greek and Roman classics related to the lyre. The barbiton The barbiton, or barbitos (Gr: βάρβιτον or βάρβιτος; Lat. barbitus), is an ancient stringed instrument known from Greek and Roman classics related to the lyre. The...
, or
lyre can refer generally to all three instruments as a family.
Lyres from various times and places are regarded by some organologists (specialists in the history of musical instruments) as a branch of the
zitherThe zither is a musical string instrument, most commonly found in Slovenia, Austria, Hungary, the southern regions of Germany, alpine Europe and East Asian cultures, including China...
family, a general category which includes many different stringed instruments, such as
luteLute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
s,
guitarThe guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that adapts readily to a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six strings, but four-, seven-, eight-, ten-, eleven-, twelve-, thirteen- and eighteen-string guitars also exist. The size and shape of the neck and the base of the guitar...
s,
kanteleA kantele or kannel is a traditional plucked string instrument of the zither family native to Finland, Estonia and Karelia. It is related to the Russian gusli, the Latvian kokle and the Lithuanian kanklės...
, and
psalteriesA psaltery is a stringed musical instrument of the harp or the zither family. The of Ancient Greece dates from at least 2800 BC, when it was a harp-like instrument...
, not just
zitherThe zither is a musical string instrument, most commonly found in Slovenia, Austria, Hungary, the southern regions of Germany, alpine Europe and East Asian cultures, including China...
s.
Others view the lyre and
zitherThe zither is a musical string instrument, most commonly found in Slovenia, Austria, Hungary, the southern regions of Germany, alpine Europe and East Asian cultures, including China...
as being two separate classes.
The
lyre (from
GreekGreek , an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, is the language of the Greeks. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. In its ancient form, it is the language of classical...
λύρα - lyra) is a
stringed musical instrumentA string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones. The most common string instruments in the string family are guitar, violin, viola,...
well known for its use in
classical antiquityClassical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
and later. The recitations of the
Ancient GreeksAncient Greece is the civilisation belonging to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca. 1100 BC and the Dorian invasion, to 146 BC and the Roman conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth. It is generally considered to be the seminal culture which provided the...
were accompanied by lyre playing. The lyre of Classical Antiquity was ordinarily played by being strummed with a
plectrumA plectrum is a small flat tool used to pluck or strum a stringed instrument. For guitars and similar instruments, the plectrum is a separate tool held in the player's hand...
, like a
guitarThe guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that adapts readily to a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six strings, but four-, seven-, eight-, ten-, eleven-, twelve-, thirteen- and eighteen-string guitars also exist. The size and shape of the neck and the base of the guitar...
or a
zitherThe zither is a musical string instrument, most commonly found in Slovenia, Austria, Hungary, the southern regions of Germany, alpine Europe and East Asian cultures, including China...
, rather than being plucked, like a
harpA harp is a stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicular to the soundboard. As many other non-percussion instruments, it can also be used as a percussion instrument. All harps have a neck, resonator and strings. Some, known as frame harps, also have a forepillar;...
. The fingers of the free hand silenced the unwanted strings in the chord. The lyre is similar in appearance to a small harp, but with certain distinct differences.
The word
lyre can either refer specifically to a common folk-instrument, which is a smaller version of the professional
kitharaThe kithara or cithara was an ancient Greek musical instrument in the lyre family. In modern Greek the word kithara has come to mean "guitar" ....
and eastern-
AegeanThe Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey respectively. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
barbitonThe barbiton, or barbitos , is an ancient stringed instrument known from Greek and Roman classics related to the lyre. The barbiton The barbiton, or barbitos (Gr: βάρβιτον or βάρβιτος; Lat. barbitus), is an ancient stringed instrument known from Greek and Roman classics related to the lyre. The...
, or
lyre can refer generally to all three instruments as a family.
Classification
Lyres from various times and places are regarded by some organologists (specialists in the history of musical instruments) as a branch of the
zitherThe zither is a musical string instrument, most commonly found in Slovenia, Austria, Hungary, the southern regions of Germany, alpine Europe and East Asian cultures, including China...
family, a general category which includes many different stringed instruments, such as
luteLute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
s,
guitarThe guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that adapts readily to a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six strings, but four-, seven-, eight-, ten-, eleven-, twelve-, thirteen- and eighteen-string guitars also exist. The size and shape of the neck and the base of the guitar...
s,
kanteleA kantele or kannel is a traditional plucked string instrument of the zither family native to Finland, Estonia and Karelia. It is related to the Russian gusli, the Latvian kokle and the Lithuanian kanklės...
, and
psalteriesA psaltery is a stringed musical instrument of the harp or the zither family. The of Ancient Greece dates from at least 2800 BC, when it was a harp-like instrument...
, not just
zitherThe zither is a musical string instrument, most commonly found in Slovenia, Austria, Hungary, the southern regions of Germany, alpine Europe and East Asian cultures, including China...
s.
Others view the lyre and
zitherThe zither is a musical string instrument, most commonly found in Slovenia, Austria, Hungary, the southern regions of Germany, alpine Europe and East Asian cultures, including China...
as being two separate classes. Those specialists maintain that the zither is distinguished by strings spread across all or most of its soundboard, or the top surface of its sound chest, also called soundbox or resonator, as opposed to the lyre, whose strings emanate from a more or less common point off the soundboard, such as a tailpiece. Examples of that difference include a piano (a keyed zither) and a
violinThe violin is a bowed string instrument with four strings usually tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola and cello....
(referred to by some as a species of
fingerboardThe fingerboard is a part of most stringed instruments. It is a thin, long strip of wood that is laminated to the front of the neck of an instrument and above which the strings run...
lyre). Some specialists even argue that instruments such as the violin and guitar belong to a class apart from the lyre because they have no yokes or uprights surmounting their resonators as "true" lyres have. This group they usually refer to as the
luteLute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
class, after the instrument of that name, and include within it the guitar, the violin, the
banjoThe banjo is a stringed instrument developed by enslaved Africans in the United States, adapted from several African instruments.The name banjo is commonly thought to be derived from the Kimbundu term mbanza...
, and similar stringed instruments with fingerboards. Those who differ with that opinion counter by calling the lute, violin, guitar, banjo, and other such instruments "independent fingerboard lyres," as opposed to simply "fingerboard lyres" such as the
WelshWales has a strong and distinctive link with music. The country is traditionally referred to as "the land of song". This is a modern stereotype based on 19th century conceptions of Nonconformist choral music and 20th century male voice choirs, Eisteddfodau and arena singing, such as sporting events...
crwthThe crwth is an archaic stringed musical instrument, associated particularly with Welsh music, although once played widely in Europe.-Nomenclature:...
, which have both fingerboards and frameworks above their resonators.
One point on which organologists universally agree is that the distinction between
harpA harp is a stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicular to the soundboard. As many other non-percussion instruments, it can also be used as a percussion instrument. All harps have a neck, resonator and strings. Some, known as frame harps, also have a forepillar;...
s on the one hand and zithers and lyres (and, in some views, lutes) on the other is that harps have strings emanating directly from the soundboard and residing in a plane that is basically perpendicular to the soundboard, as opposed to the other instruments, whose strings are attached to one or more points somewhere off the soundboard (
e.g., wrest pins on a zither, tailpiece on a lyre or lute) and lie in a plane essentially parallel to it. They also agree that neither the overall size of the instrument nor the number of strings on it have anything to do with its classification. For example, small
ScottishScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and
IrishIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
harps can be held on the lap, while some ancient
SumerianSumer was a civilization and historical region in southern Iraq . It is the earliest known civilization in the world and is known as the Cradle of Civilization...
lyres appear to have been as tall as a seated man (see Kinsky; also Sachs,
History ..., under "References"). Regarding the number of strings, the standard 88-key piano has many more strings than even the largest harp.
Construction
A classical lyre has a hollow body or sound-chest (also known as soundbox or resonator). Extending from this sound-chest are two raised arms, which are sometimes hollow, and are curved both outward and forward. They are connected near the top by a crossbar or yoke. An additional crossbar, fixed to the sound-chest, makes the bridge which transmits the vibrations of the strings. The deepest note was that farthest from the player's body; as the strings did not differ much in length, more weight may have been gained for the deeper notes by thicker strings, as in the
violinThe violin is a bowed string instrument with four strings usually tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola and cello....
and similar modern instruments, or they were tuned by having a slacker
tension. The strings were of
gutCatgut is a type of cord that is prepared from the natural fiber in the walls of animal intestines. Usually sheep or goat intestines are used, but it is occasionally made from the intestines of a hog, horse, mule, pig or donkey...
. They were stretched between the yoke and bridge, or to a tailpiece below the bridge. There were two ways of tuning: one was to fasten the strings to pegs which might be turned; the other was to change the place of the string upon the crossbar; probably both expedients were used simultaneously.
According to ancient
Greek mythologyGreek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
, the young god
HermesHermes is the Messenger of the gods in Greek mythology as well as a guide to the Underworld. An Olympian god, he is also the patron of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of thieves and road travelers, of orators and wit, of literature and poets, of...
created the lyre from a slaughtered cow from Apollo's sacred herd, using the intestines for the strings - eventually Apollo discovered who had stolen his herd, but Hermes was forgiven after he gave Apollo the instrument. Lyres were associated with
ApolloIn Greek and Roman mythology, Apollo , is one of the most important and many-sided of the Olympian deities...
nian virtues of moderation and equilibrium, contrasting with the
DionysianIn classical mythology, Dionysus or Dionysos is the god of wine, the inspirer of ritual madness and ecstasy, and a major figure of Greek mythology, and one of the twelve Olympians, amongst whom Greek mythology treated him as a late arrival...
pipes and
aulosAn aulos or tibia was an ancient Greek musical instrument. Different kinds of instruments bore the name, including a single pipe without a reed called the monaulos , and a single pipe held horizontally, as the modern flute, called the plagiaulos An aulos (Greek αὐλός, plural αὐλοί, auloi) or...
, both of which represented ecstasy and celebration.
Locales in southern
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
, western
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.6% of the earth's total surface area and with approximately 4 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population.Asia is traditionally defined as part of the...
, or north
AfricaAfrica is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.8% of the...
have been proposed as the historic birthplace of the genus. The instrument is still played in north-eastern parts of
AfricaAfrica is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.8% of the...
.
Some of the cultures using and developing the lyre were the
AeoliaAeolia may mean:*Another name for Aeolis in Anatolia.*An older name for Thessaly before the Greek Dark Ages.Both are so-named because Thessaly was held to be the earlier homeland of the Aeolian people, but during the Dorian Invasion they fled across the Aegean Sea to Anatolia and founded Aeolis...
n and
IoniaIonia is an ancient region of central coastal Anatolia in present-day Turkey, the region nearest İzmir, which was historically Smyrna. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements...
n Greek colonies on the coasts of Asia (ancient Asia Minor, modern day
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
) bordering the Lydian empire. Some mythic masters like
MusaeusMusaeus was the name attributed to three Greek poets.-Pupil of Orpheus:Musaeus was a mythical seer and priest, the pupil or son of Orpheus, and was said to have been the founder of priestly poetry in Attica. According to Pausanias, he was buried on the Museum Hill, south-west of the Acropolis...
, and
ThamyrisIn Greek mythology, Thamyris , son of Philammon and the nymph Argiope, was a Thracian singer who was so proud of his skill that he boasted he could outsing the Muses. He competed against them and lost. As punishment for his presumption they blinded him, and took away his ability to make poetry and...
were believed to have been born in
ThraceThrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded on the north by the Balkan Mountains, on the south by the Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea and on the east by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara...
, another place of extensive Greek colonization.
The name
kissar (kithara) given by the ancient Greeks to Egyptian box instruments reveals the apparent similarities recognized by Greeks themselves. The cultural peak of ancient
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
, and thus the possible age of the earliest instruments of this type, predates the 5th century classic
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
.
This indicates the possibility that the lyre might have existed in one of Greece's neighboring countries, either
ThraceThrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded on the north by the Balkan Mountains, on the south by the Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea and on the east by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara...
,
LydiaLydia was an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the modern Turkish provinces of Manisa and inland İzmir. Its population spoke an Anatolian language known as Lydian....
, or
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
, and was introduced into Greece at pre-classic times.
Number of strings on the classical lyre
The number of strings on the classical lyre varied at different epochs, and possibly in different localities – four, seven and ten having been favorite numbers. They were used without a
fingerboardThe fingerboard is a part of most stringed instruments. It is a thin, long strip of wood that is laminated to the front of the neck of an instrument and above which the strings run...
, no Greek description or representation having ever been met with that can be construed as referring to one. Nor was a
bowIn music, a bow is moved across some part of a musical instrument, causing vibration which the instrument emits as sound. The vast majority of bows are used with string instruments, although some bows are used with musical saws and other bowed idiophones....
possible, the flat sound-board being an insuperable impediment. The
plectrumA plectrum is a small flat tool used to pluck or strum a stringed instrument. For guitars and similar instruments, the plectrum is a separate tool held in the player's hand...
, however, was in constant use. It was held in the right hand to set the upper strings in vibration; when not in use, it hung from the instrument by a ribbon. The fingers of the left hand touched the lower strings (presumably to silence those whose notes were not wanted).
There is no evidence as to the stringing of the Greek lyre in the heroic age.
PlutarchPlutarch, born Plutarchos then, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. AD 46 – 120, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
says that
OlympusOlympus was a musician from ancient Greece. The name is given to two musicians, one mythical who lived before the Trojan war, and one apparently real, who lived in the 7th century BC. Both musicians were connected with the auletic music, which had its origin in Phrygia...
and
TerpanderTerpander , of Antissa in Lesbos, was a Greek poet and citharede who lived about the first half of the 7th century BC.About the time of the Second Messenian War, he settled in Sparta, whither, according to some accounts, he had been summoned by command of the Delphic Oracle, to compose the...
used but three strings to accompany their recitation. As the four strings led to seven and eight by doubling the tetrachord, so the trichord is connected with the hexachord or six-stringed lyre depicted on so many archaic Greek vases. The accuracy of this representation cannot be insisted upon, the vase painters being little mindful of the complete expression of details; yet one may suppose their tendency would be rather to imitate than to invent a number. It was their constant practice to represent the strings as being damped by the fingers of the left hand of the player, after having been struck by the plectrum which he held in the right hand. Before Greek civilization had assumed its historic form, there was likely to have been great freedom and independence of different localities in the matter of lyre stringing, which is corroborated by the antique use of the chromatic (half-tone) and enharmonic (quarter-tone) tunings pointing to an early exuberance, and perhaps also to an Asiatic bias towards refinements of intonation.
The Bowed Byzantine Lyre
See main article Byzantine lyraThe Byzantine lyra , or Byzantine lira was a medieval bowed string musical instrument in the Byzantine Empire and is an ancestor of most European bowed instruments, including the violin...
.
In the
Byzantine EmpireThe Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on the capital of Constantinople, and ruled by Emperors in direct and de jure succession to the ancient Roman Emperors...
the term
lyre or
lyra (Greek: λύρα) was used to describe the bowed
Byzantine lyraThe Byzantine lyra , or Byzantine lira was a medieval bowed string musical instrument in the Byzantine Empire and is an ancestor of most European bowed instruments, including the violin...
(Greek: λύρα -
lūrā ), a pear-shaped bowl lyre with 3 strings, sounded by a horse tail hair bow. The Persian geographer
Ibn KhurradadhbihAbu'l Qasim Ubaid'Allah ibn Khordadbeh , author of the earliest surviving Arabic book of administrative geography, was a Persian geographer and bureaucrat of the 9th century...
(d. 911) of the 9th century, in his lexicographical discussion of instruments, cited the
Byzantine lyraThe Byzantine lyra , or Byzantine lira was a medieval bowed string musical instrument in the Byzantine Empire and is an ancestor of most European bowed instruments, including the violin...
as the Byzantine instrument equivalent to the bowed
rebabThe rebab , also rebap, rabab, rebeb, rababah, or al-rababa) is a type of string instrument so named no later than the 8th century and spread via Islamic trading routes over much of North Africa, the Middle East, parts of Europe, and the Far East...
of the Islamic empires of that time. The Byzantine lyra spread westward through Europe influencing, for one notable example, the design of the Italian
lira da braccioThe lira da braccio was a European bowed string instrument of the Renaissance. It was used by Italian poet-musicians in court in the 15th and 16th centuries to accompany their improvised recitations of lyric and narrative poetry. It is most closely related to the medieval fiddle, or vielle, and...
, a 15th-century
fiddleThe term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, including the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
and predecessor of the modern
violinThe violin is a bowed string instrument with four strings usually tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola and cello....
. The instrument is not entirely dead, even today; variations of the lyra are still played in
BulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a country in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe. Bulgaria borders five other countries: Romania to the north , Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south...
,
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
,
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
and
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
; a notable example is
CreteCrete is the largest of the Greek islands and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea at 8,336 km²...
, where the Cretan lyra is central to the traditional
music of the islandThe music of Crete is a traditional form of Greek folk music called κρητικά . The lyra is the dominant folk instrument on the island; it is a three-stringed bowed string instrument, closely related to the medieval Byzantine lyra. It is often accompanied by the Cretan lute , which is similar to both...
.
Modern Greece
While the classical lyre is no longer played in modern Greece, the term
lyre (Greek: λύρα - lyra) is used in Greece to describe various regional types of bowed instruments in modern Greece related either to the
Byzantine bowed lyraThe Byzantine lyra , or Byzantine lira was a medieval bowed string musical instrument in the Byzantine Empire and is an ancestor of most European bowed instruments, including the violin...
(see above) or the Persian Kemanche. There are two basic styles of bowed lyres:
- a pear-shaped instrument descendant of the Byzantine lyra
The Byzantine lyra , or Byzantine lira was a medieval bowed string musical instrument in the Byzantine Empire and is an ancestor of most European bowed instruments, including the violin...
with a vaulted back which is found in various regions in Greece – in particular, the DodecaneseThe Dodecanese are a group of 12 larger plus 150 smaller Greek islands in the Aegean Sea, off the southwest coast of Turkey, southward of the island of Samos and northeastward of the island of Crete...
and CreteCrete is the largest of the Greek islands and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea at 8,336 km²...
(e.g. Cretan lyra) – and the northern mainland regions of Macedonia and ThraceThrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded on the north by the Balkan Mountains, on the south by the Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea and on the east by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara...
- a bottle-shaped instrument closely related to the Cappadocian kemane (Greek: κεμανές) with a narrow rectangular cylinder body of the Pontians, Greeks who trace their roots to Pontos (Pontus
Pontus or Pontos is a historical Greek designation for a region on the southern coast of the Black Sea, located in modern-day northeastern Turkey. The name was applied to the coastal region in antiquity by the Greeks who colonized the area, and derived from the Greek name of the Black Sea: Pontos...
), the Black Sea region of northern Turkey. Due to its origin, the Pontic Greek lyra was traditionally known as kemencheThe term kemenche is used to describe two types of three-stringed bowed musical instruments:...
..
Both types typically have three strings and are held upright and bowed horizontally: if the player is seated, the instrument's base rests on the player's upper left thigh. The Cretan lyra is the dominant instrument of the traditional
music of CreteThe music of Crete is a traditional form of Greek folk music called κρητικά . The lyra is the dominant folk instrument on the island; it is a three-stringed bowed string instrument, closely related to the medieval Byzantine lyra. It is often accompanied by the Cretan lute , which is similar to both...
and is traditionally played in a duo with the
laouto, a long-neck fretted lute that is strummed like a guitar.
Central and Northern Europe
Other instruments known as lyres have been fashioned and used in Europe outside the Greco-Roman world since at least the early Middle Ages, and one view holds that many modern stringed instruments are late-emerging examples of the lyre class. There is no clear evidence that non-Greco-Roman lyres were played exclusively with plectra, and numerous instruments regarded by some as modern lyres are played with
bowsIn music, a bow is moved across some part of a musical instrument, causing vibration which the instrument emits as sound. The vast majority of bows are used with string instruments, although some bows are used with musical saws and other bowed idiophones....
.
Lyres appearing to have emerged independently of Greco-Roman prototypes were used by the
TeutonicTeutonic or Teuton may refer to:*the Teutons* Germanic peoples , see Theodiscus**Teutonic Mythology** Germanic languages *Furor Teutonicus* A German military order, the Teutonic Knights.*SS Teutonic...
,
GallicGallic is an adjective that may refer to:*Gaul, from which the name derives, a region of Europe roughly corresponding to modern France and parts of the surrounding countries*Gauls, the Celtic people of this region*A synonym for French...
,
ScandinaviaScandinavia is a geographical region in northern Europe that includes, and is named after, the Scanian Province. It consists of the kingdoms of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark...
n, and
CeltCelts is a modern term used to describe any of the European peoples who spoke, or speak, a Celtic language...
ic peoples over a thousand years ago. Dates of origin, which probably vary from region to region, cannot be determined, but the oldest known fragments of such instruments are thought to date from around the sixth century of the Common Era. After the bow made its way into Europe from the Middle-East, around two centuries later, it was applied to several species of those lyres that were small enough to make bowing practical. There came to be two broad classes of bowed European yoke lyres: those with fingerboards dividing the open space within the yoke longitudinally, and those without fingerboards. The last surviving examples of instruments within the latter class were the Scandinavian
talharpaThe talharpa is a four-stringed bowed lyre from northern Europe. It was formerly widespread in Scandinavia, but is today played mainly in Estonia, particularly among that nation's Swedish community...
and
jouhikkoThe jouhikko is an ancient, 2-4 stringed Finnish bowed lyre, also called jouhikannel . Its strings are traditionally of horsehair, though some modern instruments are made with carbon fibre, nylon, gut or even metal viola strings...
. Different tones could be obtained from a single bowed string by pressing the fingernails of the player's left hand against various points along the string to fret the string.
The last of the bowed yoke lyres with fingerboard was the "modern" (
ca. 1485 -
ca. 1800)
WelshWales has a strong and distinctive link with music. The country is traditionally referred to as "the land of song". This is a modern stereotype based on 19th century conceptions of Nonconformist choral music and 20th century male voice choirs, Eisteddfodau and arena singing, such as sporting events...
crwthThe crwth is an archaic stringed musical instrument, associated particularly with Welsh music, although once played widely in Europe.-Nomenclature:...
. It had several predecessors both in the British Isles and in Continental Europe. Pitch was changed on individual strings by pressing the string firmly against the fingerboard with the fingertips. Like a violin, this method shortened the vibrating length of the string to produce higher tones, while releasing the finger gave the string a greater vibrating length, thereby producing a tone lower in pitch. This is the principle on which the modern violin and guitar work.
While the dates of origin and other evolutionary details of the European bowed yoke lyres continue to be disputed among organologists, there is general agreement that none of them were the ancestors of modern orchestral bowed stringed instruments, as once was thought.
Alternative meanings of "lyre"
In furniture design, a
lyre armA lyre arm is an element of design in furniture, architecture or the decorative arts, wherein a shape is employed to emulate the geometry of a lyre; the original design of this element is from the Classical Greek period, simply reflecting the stylistic design of the musical instrument...
is a wooden lyre-shaped element often used at the front of the arm of a
chairA chair is a raised surface used to sit on, commonly for use by one person. Chairs often have the seat raised above floor level, supported by four legs. A chair without a back or arm rests is a stool, or when raised up, a bar stool or high chair . A chair with arms is an armchair and with...
, typically created as an exposed wooden part of a chair, sofa or other furniture piece.
A music holder used by marching bands is also called a "lyre" for its shape similar to this instrument.
Lyre also can denote the framework supporting the foot pedals underneath a
pianoThe piano is a musical instrument which is played by means of a keyboard. Widely used in Western music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
. The term is most often used in connection with older pianos of ornate designs.
The constellation
LyraLyra is a constellation. Its name derived from the lyre, a stringed musical instrument well known for its use in classical antiquity and later. Lyra was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations recognized by the...
is said to resemble a lyre shape, but it looks more like a
luteLute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
.
Lyres around the world
- Arabian peninsula - tanbūra
For other uses, see Tanbur .The tanbūra is a bowl lyre of the Middle East and East Africa which takes its name from the Persian Tanbur via the Arabic tunbur , though this term refers to long-necked lutes. The instrument plays an important role in Zār rituals...
- Djibouti - tanbūra
For other uses, see Tanbur .The tanbūra is a bowl lyre of the Middle East and East Africa which takes its name from the Persian Tanbur via the Arabic tunbur , though this term refers to long-necked lutes. The instrument plays an important role in Zār rituals...
- Egypt - kissar
The kissar , or Gytarah barbaryeh, the ancient Nubian lyre, still in use in Egypt and Abyssinia . It consists of a body having instead of the traditional tortoise-shell back, a shallow, round bowl of wood, covered with a soundboard of sheepskin, in which are three small round sound-holes...
, tanbūraFor other uses, see Tanbur .The tanbūra is a bowl lyre of the Middle East and East Africa which takes its name from the Persian Tanbur via the Arabic tunbur , though this term refers to long-necked lutes. The instrument plays an important role in Zār rituals...
, simsimiyyaThe simsimiyya is a traditional plucked lyre used in Egypt and Yemen.In Egypt it is traditionally used to accompany a dance called bambutiyya, as well as among the musicians called suhbagiyya, in the cities of Port Said and Ismailiyya....
- England - rote
The crwth is an archaic stringed musical instrument, associated particularly with Welsh music, although once played widely in Europe.-Nomenclature:...
- Estonia - talharpa
The talharpa is a four-stringed bowed lyre from northern Europe. It was formerly widespread in Scandinavia, but is today played mainly in Estonia, particularly among that nation's Swedish community...
- Ethiopia - begena
The begena is an Ethiopian string instrument that resembles a large lyre. According to Ethiopian tradition, Menelik I brought the instrument to Ethiopia from Israel, where David had used the begena to soothe King Saul's nerves and heal him of insomnia...
, ditaDita may refer to:*Dita Field Hockey, a company which produces field hockey merchandise.*Darwin Information Typing Architecture , an XML-based architecture for authoring, producing, and delivering information....
, krarThe krar is a five- or six-stringed bowl-shaped lyre from Eritrea and Ethiopia . The instrument is tuned to a pentatonic scale. A modern krar may be amplified, much in the same way as an electric guitar or violin....
- Finland - Jouhikko
The jouhikko is an ancient, 2-4 stringed Finnish bowed lyre, also called jouhikannel . Its strings are traditionally of horsehair, though some modern instruments are made with carbon fibre, nylon, gut or even metal viola strings...
- Greece - barbiton
The barbiton, or barbitos , is an ancient stringed instrument known from Greek and Roman classics related to the lyre. The barbiton The barbiton, or barbitos (Gr: βάρβιτον or βάρβιτος; Lat. barbitus), is an ancient stringed instrument known from Greek and Roman classics related to the lyre. The...
, kitharaThe kithara or cithara was an ancient Greek musical instrument in the lyre family. In modern Greek the word kithara has come to mean "guitar" ....
, lyraLyra is a constellation. Its name derived from the lyre, a stringed musical instrument well known for its use in classical antiquity and later. Lyra was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations recognized by the...
, Cretan lyra
- Iraq - sammu, tanbūra
For other uses, see Tanbur .The tanbūra is a bowl lyre of the Middle East and East Africa which takes its name from the Persian Tanbur via the Arabic tunbur , though this term refers to long-necked lutes. The instrument plays an important role in Zār rituals...
, zami, zinar
- Israel - kinnor
Kinnor is the Hebrew name for an ancient lyre, the first mentioned in the Bible , where it is now commonly translated harp. In Modern Hebrew, It means a violin...
- Italy - Calabrian lira
The Calabrian Lira is a traditional musical instrument characteristic of some areas of Calabria, region in southern Italy.- Characteristics :The Lira of Calabria is a bowed string instrument with three strings...
, Lira da braccioThe lira da braccio was a European bowed string instrument of the Renaissance. It was used by Italian poet-musicians in court in the 15th and 16th centuries to accompany their improvised recitations of lyric and narrative poetry. It is most closely related to the medieval fiddle, or vielle, and...
- Kenya - kibugander, litungu
The litungu is a traditional lyre played by the Luhya ethnic group of Kenya . It has seven strings. Other varieties of litungu are used by the Kuria and Kisii ethnic groups.-References:...
, nyatitiThe nyatiti is an eight-stringed plucked lyre from Kenya. It is a classical instrument played by the Luo people of Western Kenya, typically in Benga music. It is about three feet long. The player holds it to his chest while seated on a low stool. Usually it is played together with the oporo, a...
, obokanoThe obokano is a large bass bowl lyre from Kenya. It is used by the Gusii ethnic group.-References:*Hyslop, Graham. "Some Musical Instruments of Kenya." African Arts, vol. 5, no. 4 , pp. 48-55....
- Norway - Giga
-Sources:*Otto Emanuel Andersson. The Shetland gue, the Welsh crwth, and the Northern bowed harp. s.n., 1956...
- Scotland - Gue
The gue is an extinct type of two-stringed bowed lyre or zither from the Shetland Isles. Now extinct, the instrument was alive as recently as 1809, and was described in the writings of Sir Arthur Edmondstone....
- Somalia - tanbūra
For other uses, see Tanbur .The tanbūra is a bowl lyre of the Middle East and East Africa which takes its name from the Persian Tanbur via the Arabic tunbur , though this term refers to long-necked lutes. The instrument plays an important role in Zār rituals...
- Sudan - kissar
The kissar , or Gytarah barbaryeh, the ancient Nubian lyre, still in use in Egypt and Abyssinia . It consists of a body having instead of the traditional tortoise-shell back, a shallow, round bowl of wood, covered with a soundboard of sheepskin, in which are three small round sound-holes...
, tanbūraFor other uses, see Tanbur .The tanbūra is a bowl lyre of the Middle East and East Africa which takes its name from the Persian Tanbur via the Arabic tunbur , though this term refers to long-necked lutes. The instrument plays an important role in Zār rituals...
- Tanzania - litungu
The litungu is a traditional lyre played by the Luhya ethnic group of Kenya . It has seven strings. Other varieties of litungu are used by the Kuria and Kisii ethnic groups.-References:...
- Uganda - endongo
The endongo is a musical instrument, considered the national instrument of the Baganda people of Uganda. It is a bowl lyre with a face covered with the skin of a monitor lizard. Its strings are tied to a piece of wood inserted into two holes on two arms....
, ntongoli
- Vulcan
- Wales - crwth
The crwth is an archaic stringed musical instrument, associated particularly with Welsh music, although once played widely in Europe.-Nomenclature:...
- Yemen - tanbūra
For other uses, see Tanbur .The tanbūra is a bowl lyre of the Middle East and East Africa which takes its name from the Persian Tanbur via the Arabic tunbur , though this term refers to long-necked lutes. The instrument plays an important role in Zār rituals...
, simsimiyyaThe simsimiyya is a traditional plucked lyre used in Egypt and Yemen.In Egypt it is traditionally used to accompany a dance called bambutiyya, as well as among the musicians called suhbagiyya, in the cities of Port Said and Ismailiyya....