jeudi 20 février 2014

Finding A Bowed Psaltery For Sale

By Krystal Branch


Psalteries have a lengthy history, beginning as wooden boards with strings. These later became hollow boxes with steel strings. Some may think that these ancient instruments are no longer available but this is not true. People still appreciate their hauntingly beautiful sounds. A number of skilled craftsmen are now making them instruments. Finding a bowed psaltery for sale may be as easy as the click of a mouse. Many beautiful instruments are being offered at online stores.

The most basic instruments are fairly easy to build but to build the more advanced items requires much skill. Craftsmen need to be skilled woodworkers but they also have to have musical understanding. It is important for such an instrument to be solidly constructed so it can be held comfortably and hold up under pressure. It also needs to produce the best notes. Some artistic flair is an added bonus when it comes to choosing and combining wood and decorating sound holes.

Bowed psalteries are triangular in shape. The strings run down both sides and it is bowed one string at a time. Modern versions are fully chromatic with the strings on the right side like the white keys on a piano and those on the left side like the black keys.

Handcrafted items are always more expensive as they require skill and take time to make. If you want to buy one of these instruments, make sure that you buy from a reputable source. You do not want to purchase an item that does not make the right sounds or pulls apart when used.

The types of wood used affect the sound as well as the resilience of the instrument. The soundboard is usually made of a much lighter wood than the back and sides as it is responsible for transferring the string vibrations. The frame makes up the triangular base and holds the load of all the strings in tension so a harder wood must be used.

Each string wraps over a hitch pin and runs across a perpendicular piece of wood at the top called the bridge. It ends up wound around a tuning pin at the base. The hitch pins anchor the strings to the instrument and lift them above the soundboard. The spacing of these hitch pins is very important as this affects the sounds created.

Companies selling these instruments usually offer various patterns for decorating the sound hole. The customer has to make a selection and are even given the option of supplying a design by some suppliers. They are often prepared to work with the customer and customize the instrument in other ways too if required.

If you are looking for a psaltery for sale, one of the best ways to find one is with an internet search. This offers various options and many deals include other items besides the instrument such as a bow, tuning wrench and even song sheets. This instrument is less complicated to learn than many other instruments and most websites of companies selling these items have detailed instructions on how to play them.




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