Raft zither
A raft zither is a group of single-cord tube zithers, connected together to form a "raft".[1][2] Tube zithers use a tube as a platform to hold a string (either tied onto the tube or cut out of the tube itself), raised with bridges.
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The flat surface of the raft is the base for the strings, and the multiple instruments form a single instrument with many notes.[1][2] Each tube zither in the raft zither has a different note, and the idiochord instruments become a single heterochord instrument.[1][2] The raft zither is also related to the board zither, which uses a board as the base for its many strings.[1]
One example of a raft zither is the Totombito zither, from Congo.[3] Other African examples may be found in Nigeria and East Africa.[2]
In Nepal, the Dhimal people make tube zithers of bouquet grass, and connect them into a raft zither called a tunjaai.[4] In the Nepali instrument, the tubes have two strings, top and bottom, and the instrument is hung on a shoulder, with both hands of the musician working to play at the same time with a plectrum.[4]
References
- Sachs, Curt (1940). The History of Musical Instruments. New York: W. W. Norton. p. 463.
- Midgley, Ruth, ed. (1997). Musical Instruments of the World. New York: Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. ISBN 0-8069-9847-4.
...raft zithers...consist of several idiochord tub zithers bound together in a raft...
- Nikolova, Ivanka; Davey, Laura; Dean, Geoffrey, eds. (2000). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Musical Instruments. Cologne: Könemann Verlagsgesellschaft mbH. p. 34.
- Kadel, Ram Prasad (2007). Musical Instruments of Nepal. Katmandu, Nepal: Nepali Folk Instrument Museum. pp. 229, 269. ISBN 978-9994688302.