Alpine Melodies

My Zithers

my zithers

The zither in the front of the photo was my first bought zither, the one which I learned to play.

The one to the rear on the left is a harp-zither, built by Rudolf Bitterrer, the son of Hefele.
It was a great pleasure visiting his workshop and watching a highly skilled craftsman at work.

My third zither, rear right, is a Sandner Zither. Sandner and Rudi Knabl (a famous German zither player) collaborated on the design. Quality and modern techniques are combined in Sandner models. The nearly invisible pick-up system makes for a very natural sound when combined with an amplifier, no matter if metal, nylon, or even gut strings, are used. There is no back-ground noise, humming, or feedback which makes this zither ideal for studio recording. I use this zither most of the time to record my music.


Origin of the zither

The predecessor of the zither, the dulcimer, and the string piano, was the monochord. It began with one string over a sound box; the tension was controlled by weight or tautness. Today there are monochords with 18 to 30 metal strings. The monochord is being used in healing therapies as well as in meditation and learning the basics of string instruments.

monochord
ancient monochord
modern monochord
ancient monochord


The zither has a long history in folk music and is common in the Alps region of Europe. Today the zither is used in contemporary music as well as in folk music. It is interesting to note that the zither also plays a vital part in other cultures with only slight differences in the instrument design itself.



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