... Continued from pt. 3

The Tarhu

One of the most significant new developments in the technology behind spike fiddle instruments can be found in the form of the circular bodied instruments known as Tarhu, as they are made by an Australian luthier known as Peter Biffin. With these instruments there is no sound board, at least in the usual sense, but rather one foot of the bridge is resting very lightly n a rear facing wooden cone's apex inside of the body while the other one is resting on the body's front, taking the string pressure and then behaving much in the same way that a pivot might. The result here is an extremely efficient type of string vibration transfer, and as a result there is an excellent level of volume and a tone that is extraordinarily rich.

The Gusle

In the area where Yugoslavia used to be, you will find an instrument known as the Gusle, which is the instrument of the Guslars, bardic singers of ballads from the region. This is a single striked type of spike fiddle that features a skin sound board with a tear drop shaped body. The neck is cylindrical and is lacking a finger board. The instrument is typically ornamented at the top using a carved goat head or some other animal head. There is a similar instrument that hails from Albania, known as the lahuta.

The Lijerica

Along the Dalmation coast you will find an instrument that features three strings and is known either as the lijerica or the lirica. This instrument is shaped as a flask in its outline and has three gut strings that run from the pegs on the head, shaped like a disk, to the flat bridge, and then to an anchor point that is on the bottom head of the instrument. There are two different sound holes, shaped like D's, that sit on each side of the instrument's bridge. The bridge rests part way on the sound board, but one of its ends presses on a sound post that is removable and that goes through a D hole so that it can rest on the sound box on the back.

This instrument is held in a vertical fashion, and all three of its strings are bowed at the same time together. Two of the strings behave as drone strings, while the melody string is stopped from its side using the finger tips. There is no finger board to speak of on this instrument. The lira, which comes from Calabria, which is located at the southern tip of the mainland portion of Italy, is quite similar in nature however has its own uniqueness as well.

Photo Credits: dalbera

Originally posted 2009-08-27 03:11:27. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Categories:

Acoustic Musical Instruments, Fiddle, Instrument History

Tags:

anchor point, animal head, bottom head, dalmation coast, fash, finger board, flask, flat bridge, goat head, gusle, gut strings, lirica, luthier, peter biffin, s bridge, sound holes, spike fiddle, string vibration, tear drop, three strings