This is a psaltery.
Technically, this is a bowed psaltery. Because, you know, you play it with a bow. I think of it as a sort of a cross between a violin and a harp. The psaltery (no bow) has been around since before the 12th century, when it hit Europe. The old psalteries were plucked, they were wider, and were more harp than anything else. The bowed psaltery was popularized in the 1940’s. It was developed by a music teacher to teach proper bowing. He elongated the instrument, turning it into more of this triangle shape, and added the bow. So, all at once, the bowed psaltery is a very old instrument and a relatively new instrument.
Why am I posting about a weird instrument you’ve never heard of? Because this psaltery happens to be mine.
One of the first things people ask me when they see me with this weird thing is “Where in the world did you find that?”
So, this is the story of how I met the psaltery.
It was about three years ago. I had just purchased a hundred year old house that needed electrical work and plumbing work and… well. You know. Work. A friend and I took a day off home improvement to go to the Zoar Harvest Festival. Walking around, looking at the crafts, we heard this music.
We were like “What’s that? A violin? Where’s it coming from?”
So we followed the music to a booth run by Terry and Sharon Kirby, who showed us their Psalteries.
But, remember when I said I’d just bought a house? Yeah. I wasn’t going to let myself spend $300 on a musical instrument I’d never seen before. So, I didn’t even pick one up. Because I knew, if I picked it up, I’d have to have it.
Two years go by, and I still can’t get this instrument and its haunting music out of my head. So, I look up Terry Kirby online, meet him at his workshop in Massillon, and pick out my psaltery.
And the rest is musical history. Or, well, to me, anyway.
To hear more about the bowed psaltery, come to my program on Saturday, April 16 at 2:00 PM. I’ll talk more about how to play it (it’s incredibly easy) and play a few of my favorite songs. Then, if anyone would like to hold the instrument and try it out, you’ll be more than welcome to do so. Don’t worry; I won’t let you take it from me, even if you do fall in love with it.