534c5: Lyre

Lyres have a four-sided frame consisting of a soundbox, two arms, and a crossbar. There is no bridge, the strings are suspended from the crossbar parallel to the resonator.

Usually the string(s) are played by plucking, but there are rare examples of bowing.

They are found in all shapes and sizes, but generally the soundbox or resonator is bowl-shaped or box-shaped.

• Ocm module: Lyre
• In ocm module: Chordophones
• In ocm module: Musical instruments
• In modular book: Expanded ethnomusicology categories for the Outline of Cultural Materials, by Kenneth R. Hollingsworth
• In bookshelf: Anthropology

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 3.5, published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 1999. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 21 March 1999

© 1999 SIL International