Broader and shorter in length than the usual Chromatic Bowed Psaltery, with its distinctive Gothic shape, the Diatonic Bowed Psaltery was designed to be a more Harmonious musical instrument, like an Irish harp.
The strings are arranged in a fan pattern, this was to make the bowing a little more fluid with the geometry of the human arm. Tuned to a white note scale rather like the old Irish harp, the instrument resonates sympathetically as different combinations are played.
As well as being a bowed instrument, this psaltery, like its medieval ancestor, responds well to plucking and also hammeringI designed this instrument in the early 1990's, initially to play Scottish pipe music and to get a more harmonic sound like the Irish harps I had started making but soon saw the potential as a folk instrument and changed the key to D.
The instrument was recently re-scaled and improvements made to the design including the use of plain steel treble strings, Viola bass strings, This means the D model no longer fits into a briefcase for travel but I build a case to fit and it still is a compact instrument for its pitch.
"The psaltery arrived today and is BEAUTIFUL. Thank you so much! It is amazingly resonant and I love the little harmonics it leaves hanging in the air at the end of a note. The curved edges really make a difference in how naturally you can move from note to note, in an arc rather than a straight line, and it's really lightweight and comfortable to hold. What a great design. It's beautifully made and the
Ordering an instrument:
Bowed Psaltery in D Diatonic Tuning
New improved model in D With 15 notes
I always use Hard maple for the Tuning pin block at the bottom for problem free tuning. easy to play and beautifully toned instrument!
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