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The Radio 3 Boards > The Community Area > Classical Music Q & A > Just Found A Zither!!!
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Author Topic: Just Found A Zither!!!  (Read 592 times)
MabelJane
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« on: 20:08:38, 18-08-2007 »
You never know what you might find when you delve into the back of a cupboard...last night I found a zither! It looks a bit like this Viennese one:

I'd forgotten all about it. Someone had given it to my Grandma many years ago and she gave it to me but it's just sat neglected in the cupboard for years.  Cry

Does anyone here know anything about playing the zither? As far as I know, watching The Third Man is the only time I've heard one played. I'm going to start reading up on them now but would love to hear from a real live zither player! Mine has all its strings and sounds lovely even though it's not tuned yet.

MJ  Smiley
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MabelJane
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« Reply #1 on: 20:23:44, 18-08-2007 »
Just found this wonderful film of Anton Karas playing some of his Third Man music. There's only a bit of talking over it at the beginning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFz79SBnuk8
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autoharp
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« Reply #2 on: 20:49:15, 18-08-2007 »
Congratulations MabelJane ! There are of course many types of zither :-

http://www.minermusic.com/dolceola/fretless_zithers.htm

I'm a fretless zither myself.
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MabelJane
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« Reply #3 on: 21:14:53, 18-08-2007 »
Hello autoharp! I'd just seen your avatar, realised you're a zither and was hoping you'd reply! Mine is similar to the first on the left of the pictures in your link. Frets under the 5 left hand strings but no others. 

I've now lifted it out of its case and found underneath it some instruction books and the receipt dated 11/6/51. So now I know its birthday - nine years and one day before mine! (It cost £6 6shillings - it's actually in columns: £6 6 0 but I'm not sure how to write it! Is it £6 6/- ? that doesn't look quite right.) Bought in a shop called G.Scarth Ltd, 55 Charing Cross Road. Manufacturers and Dealers in Musical Merchandise. Does it still exist?

One of the music books is a manuscript book with all the notes carefully written in - pages and pages. I don't recall my Grandma ever playing it so I don't know who did. (She was a wonderful pianist.) It looks rather hard to learn to play!

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richard barrett
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« Reply #4 on: 21:18:48, 18-08-2007 »
MabelJane, the one in the picture looks very like the Sandner K3 I have at home. I had to bone up on the technique somewhat because there's a part for it in a piece I wrote in 1998. There are quite a few "Zitherschule" textbooks available (haven't come across one in English though) which deal with the basics. I used the "Wiener Stimmung" as a basis for the tuning, in which the accompaniment strings were tuned to a scale including quartertones (in case that's of interest!) Mauricio Kagel and Bernhard Lang have written interesting pieces which use the zither in unexpected ways. And which Strauss waltz is it that has a zither solo?

It's not that hard to play but needs strong left-hand fingers and quite some accuracy (or fingers shaped like knitting needles!) to play the correct accompaniment strings with the right hand, since they're so close together
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MabelJane
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« Reply #5 on: 21:26:09, 18-08-2007 »
In the film, Anton Karas's fingers look quite chunky, certainly not as thin as knitting needles!

I can't find a maker's name on mine.
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tonybob
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vrooooooooooooooom
« Reply #6 on: 22:17:42, 18-08-2007 »
click here if you ever feel the need to write a poem about your zither.
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thompson1780
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« Reply #7 on: 22:23:57, 18-08-2007 »
Thanks tonybob!  Useful.  (But not so hot on orange and jonathan, eh?)

Now this thread has reminded me that I have a Madolin Harp that needs mending.  It's a bit like autoharp's logo, but not auto, if you get my drift.

Cheers

Tommo
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MabelJane
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When in doubt, wash.
« Reply #8 on: 23:51:16, 18-08-2007 »
Quote from: tonybob on 22:17:42, 18-08-2007
click here if you ever feel the need to write a poem about your zither.

 Cheesy All the more amusing since I tried in vain to come up with a witty rhyming title - such as Come hither, I've a  zither - you see why I gave up!
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Kittybriton
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Thank you for the music ...


WWW
« Reply #9 on: 02:58:50, 19-08-2007 »
Something sort of along the lines of
"Zither weather? well I never!"
"Did you ever play a zither? sets my fingers all-a-quiver"
"Never dither on the zither."
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oliver sudden
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« Reply #10 on: 06:18:55, 19-08-2007 »
"He'll have you in a dither with his zither" - actual line from the publicity for The Third Man. I'm not making this up. I report this in good faith from the DVD extras.  Shocked
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Reiner Torheit
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« Reply #11 on: 08:00:25, 19-08-2007 »
The zither (or some precursor of it) turns up in the text of THE PLAY OF DANIEL (Ludus Danielisl):

'Cytharizent, plaudent manis, mille sonent modis!'

('They play the zithers*, and clap their hands, a thousand modes are playing!')

It's for the entry of King Baltazar (Belshazzar).

* might also mean citterns or gitterns, it's a C13th neologizm with that unusual 'th' spelling..
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MabelJane
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When in doubt, wash.
« Reply #12 on: 12:55:26, 19-08-2007 »
Quote from: oliver sudden on 06:18:55, 19-08-2007
"He'll have you in a dither with his zither" - actual line from the publicity for The Third Man. I'm not making this up. I report this in good faith from the DVD extras.  Shocked
Which is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyvdqIUXs9E&mode=related&search=
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