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that there is great consistency in the way the instrument is held and the way the hands are placed on the instrument. The lyre is usually held upright resting on one or the other leg; the left hand is behind the instrument with the fingers spread, apparently against the strings. The right hand may hold some kind of plectrum. In those cases where there is no plectrum, the right hand appears to be strumming the strings backhanded, which would result in striking with the fingernails. Typical of these is the illumination of King David from the Vespasian Psalter (circa early 8th century); see Figure 1 for a redrawing of this illumination. While the individual musician could have done any number of things possible on the instrument, the most likely way to play seems to me to be "block and strum." By this I mean strumming across the strings, either with the back of the hand or with a pick held in the front (usually right) hand, while at the same time blocking selected strings from behind with the back (usually left) hand so the strings you are touching with the back hand do not sound. This is very comfortable to do and produces pleasing results. It matches the arm, hand, and wrist positions in the illuminations and allows for comfortable support of the instrument. Additionally, of the finds that have openings in the back of discernible size, the openings are longer than one half the string length. This would allow the left hand to produce half-length harmonics for occasional highlights. To do these you would pluck the individual string, which is the way I think plucking would be used occasionally. We do have a statement contemporary with the instrument's use mentioning how it was tuned, and an example of at least one piece of music for it. Hucbald's De Harmonica Institutione (ca. 880) contains discussion and an illustration of lyre tablature for the common 6-string lyre along with tuning information. Hucbald is explaining the work of Boethius, and gives his audience an example of how Boethius' musical system would describe their lyres. Thus Hucbald's examples are descriptive rather than prescriptive of the tuning found in his day. He notes that intervals between the strings of the lyre are tone-tone-semitone-tone-tone (Hucbald, 22-23). In modern notation, that tuning maps to C-D-E-F-G-a, or D-E-F#-G-a-b, these being the first six notes of a major scale or, looked at another way, the last three and first three notes of a major scale, or the last note followed by the first five notes of a Dorian scale.
Option 1
This lyre is made of a strong hardwood internal framework (the body) glued between two layers of thinner wood (the back and belly). It has a large hole through it across which the strings are strung (the handhole). See Figure 5.
Tools Required:
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Jigsaw or sabre saw and wood blade (If you are using a sabre saw instead of a jigsaw you will also need a small coping saw for cutting out the bridge and tailpiece.) Drill; bit for starter holes for saw, bit for tuning pins (usually 3/16" works for zither pins), bit for peg at bottom of lyre, small drill bit for holes for violin strap, tiny bit for string holes in tail piece Sanding device(s) of your choosing Clamps, clamps, clamps (or at least some bricks and boards)
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Materials Required:
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Hardwood, oak or maple, for the body (see chart for size). (This can be a piece of joined wood. I have used maple shelves, available at many home centers.) Small piece of hardwood about 1/4" thick for the bridge and tailpiece Hardwood dowel for end peg--3/8" diameter is good, about 2" long Cheap 1/4" 3-ply paneling for the belly and back (Make sure there is a clear area between any decorative grooving in the paneling as wide as your lyre is going to be to get what you want.) Metal tuning pins (get a few extra for testing hole size); you can use zither pins or piano pins.
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Violin end peg strap About 100 small brass brads or round headed tacks, nails, etc. Wood glue Boiled linseed oil, a small clean glass jar, and rags for finishing Tuning key to fit the pins you got (they are not all the same!)
Option 2
The differences between making this lyre and the one above are 1. using a router to make the sound box so there is no bottom board 2. using a better quality (not ply) wood for the top board 3. using extra pieces of wood with the grain running in a different direction to reinforce the area around the tuning pins See Figure 6 for an indication of how the insides of this lyre differ from the one in Figure 5.
Tools Required:
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Router and bit (I recommend a 3/16" or 1/4" cut diameter straight bit.) Jigsaw or sabre saw and wood blade (If you are using a sabre saw instead of a jigsaw you will also need a small coping saw for cutting out the bridge and tailpiece.) Drill; bit for starter holes for saw, bit for tuning pins (usually 3/16" works for zither pins), bit for peg at bottom of lyre, small drill bit for holes for violin strap, tiny bit for string holes in tail piece
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Sanding device(s) of your choosing Clamps, clamps, clamps (or at least some bricks and boards)
Materials Required:
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1/4" hardwood panel for belly, tuning area supports, bridge and tail piece 4/4 hardwood (see chart for size) for body Hardwood dowel for end peg--3/8" diameter is good, about 2" long Metal tuning pins (get a few extra for testing hole size); you can use zither pins or piano pins. Violin end peg strap About 50 small brass brads or round headed tacks, nails, etc. Wood glue Boiled linseed oil, a small clean glass jar, and rags for finishing Tuning key to fit the pins you got (they are not all the same!)
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13. Continue below, under "Options 1 and 2." Do not include the instructions listed in parentheses.
Options 1 and 2
1. Using a scrap of the wood from which you cut out the body, drill a hole slightly smaller than a tuning pin. Hammer a spare tuning pin in with a few strokes to test the hole size. Use a small piece of scrap hardwood as a buffer between the hammer and the pin. If the hole is the wrong size, experiment until you find the right size drill bit. 2. When you have found the correct size drill bit, lay out the holes for the tuning pins in the lyre. Spread them out across the top as evenly as possible: see Figure 2. Mark and drill the holes straight down--at right angles--into the surface. You can use a drill press for this step if you have one, but it is not necessary. 3. As with the tuning pins, test the drill bit size for the end peg in a piece of scrap hardwood before drilling the hole for the end peg in the lyre. You want a snug fit. Put a mark in the dead center of the outside of the bottom edge for the end peg. Drill the hole for the end peg approximately 3/4" to 1" deep. This hole should also be at a right angle to the surface. 4. Using your choice of the two patterns in Figure 4, cut out, shape, and sand the bridge. Gently round and smooth the surface where the strings will rest on the wood. Do not worry about cutting grooves for the strings; the strings will most likely seat themselves in the appropriate places when the instrument is strung. 5. Using the pattern in Figure 7, cut out, shape, and sand the tail piece. 6. Using the small drill bit, drill the two holes for the violin peg strap in the tail piece. Note that these two holes are drilled at an angle; see the cutaway view in Figure 7. If you wish, you may countersink the two holes on the top side of the tail piece in order to allow the metal ends of the violin strap to seat more firmly. 7. Using the tiny drill bit, drill the holes in the tail piece for the strings. 8. Sand, sand, and sand everything some more; it's not documentable, but it sure feels nice. This is your last chance to clean up all the edges around the instrument. 9. Glue in the end peg. 10. Using boiled linseed oil and a lint-free rag, oil all the wood, including the bridge and tail piece. If you can slightly warm the linseed oil, it will penetrate much better. Warming a small jar of oil in hot water works well. It's a pain to get to the area under the strings once the lyre has been strung, so repeat until the (cheap back and) belly wood have soaked up a few coats of oil. Please read carefully all instructions about working with linseed oil and disposing of your rag. 11. Nail down the belly and either the back, for Option 1, or the back tuning pin reinforcement, for Option 2, to the lyre with the brads, spacing them evenly around the entire perimeter of the lyre at approximately 2" apart and approximately 1/4" from the edge. Nail around the hand hole also. (Be careful to offset the brads on the belly and back sides slightly so you don't try to hammer a brad into another brad from the other side.) 12. Again using a small piece of scrap hardwood as a buffer between the hammer and the pin, hammer the tuning pins into the lyre with a few strokes. Hammer until the hole in the pin is between 1/4" and 3/8" above the body of the lyre.
Sources
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Babb, Warren, trans. Hucbald, Guido, and John on Music: Three Medieval Treatises, ed. and introd. Claude V. Palisca. Music Theory Translation Series, 3. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1978. Bruce-Mitford, Rupert and Myrtle. "The Sutton Hoo Lyre, Beowulf, and the Origins of the Frame Harp." Antiquity, XLIV (1970), pp. 7-13, Plates I-VIII.
Crane, Frederick. Extant Medieval Musical Instruments: A Provisional Catalogue by Types. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1972. Diagram Group. Musical Instruments of the World: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. New York: Facts on File Publications, 1976. Hall, Richard. The Viking Dig: The Excavations at York. London: The Bodley Head, 1984. Hucbald, of Saint Amand. De Harmonia Institutione, trans. Babb. Montagu, Jeremy. The World of Medieval and Renaissance Musical Instruments. Newton Abbot, England: David & Charles, 1976. Page, Christopher. "Instruments and Instrumental Music before 1300," pp. 445-484 in The Early Middle Ages to 1300, ed. Richard Crocker and David Hiley. New Oxford History of Music, II. Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press, 1990. Panum, Hortense. The Stringed Instruments of the Middle Ages: Their Evolution and Development, rev. ed. Jeffrey Pulver. Norbury, England: The New Temple Press, 1939; reprinted 1971 by Da Capo Press.
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About the Authors: Greg and Carolyn Priest-Dorman, priestdo@cs.vassar.edu (No Soliciting!), http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~priestdo/) both work at Vassar College, where they are allowed to use the library. Dofinn-Hallr Morrisson and Thra Sharptooth live on a stead outside the teeming metropolis of Jorvk, tending the land and making things out of things.
The illistrations
Figure 1, David playing the lyre(43k jpg) after an illistration in the Vespasian Psalter, an early eighth century English manuscript showing David playing the Lyre. Note blocking with left hand and strumming with right. Figure 2, Anatomy of the lyre(68k jpg) Figures 3 & 4 and Tables 1 & 2, Summary of the Finds (86k jpg) figures and tables comparing the extant Lyre and Bridge finds. Figure 5, Illustration for construction option 1(64k gif) Figure 6, Illustration for construction option 2(83k gif) Figure 7, Illustration for construction of the Tail Peice(44k gif) Back to: Saxon Lyre | My home page | CS faculty list | CS Home Page | CS Search
Medieval Interests
Yes, I'm in the SCA If you play, you may know me as Dofinn-Hallr Morrisson of the Shire of Frosted Hills. Thora is posting several of her articles on the web. If you are interested in the local shire you can write the Seneschal at Haraldr@drakkar.mhv.net if you have any trouble contacting him, send a note to me. Woodworking I am slowly trying to gather most of the tools available to the 10th century Northern European woodworker. Over the last two years I have been working with a foot powered reciprocating lathe and have recently started turning bowls. If you have any experience with spoonbits, pole lathes, frame saws, side axes or adzes, please write me. I would like to exchange information with you. Prior to the current lathe craze, I put together several Sutton Hoo style lyres and have extensive research on how to make, play and tune them. I have also built several other instruments from that time period and would happy to share the info. I hope to have the article on the history and construction of waxed writing tablets posted here soon. Keep watching this space! (ok, that's long enough, go back to what you were doing) This page was writen using emacs 19.19 and psgml mode with an html2.dtd. If you have any questions or comments about it, please send them to: priestdo@cs.vassar.edu No Soliciting! This page last was mucked with on 12/18/96 Back to: My home page | CS faculty list | CS Home Page | CS Search