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zither
zither. Folk instr., descendant of medieval psaltery, prevalent in Austrian Tyrol and Bavaria. Consists of flat wooden soundbox over which are stretched 4 or 5 melody str. and up to 37 acc. str. Melody str., nearest to player, are stopped on fretted fingerboard with fingers of left hand and plucked by plectrum on right thumb. Acc. str. are plucked by fingers of either hand. Used for ‘local colour’ in operetta scores. Gained great popularity in Eng. after World War II when film The Third Man had as theme mus. a zither tune written and played by Anton Karas.
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MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "zither." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "zither." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-zither.html MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "zither." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-zither.html |
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zither
zither , stringed musical instrument, derived from the psaltery and the dulcimer . It has a flat sound box over which are stretched from 30 to 45 strings; these are plucked with the fingers and a plectrum. In the 18th cent. one or both sides began to be curved to produce greater sonority. The term zither is also used generically for various instruments, including the dulcimer, the psaltery, and several Asian instruments. The dulcimer in use in the Kentucky mountains is, in fact, a zither. |
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"zither." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "zither." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-zither.html "zither." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-zither.html |
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zither
zith·er / ˈzi[voicedth]ər; ˈzi[unvoicedth]-/ • n. a musical instrument consisting of a flat wooden sound box with numerous strings stretched across it, placed horizontally and played with the fingers and a plectrum. It is used esp. in central European folk music.
DERIVATIVES: zith·er·ist / -ərist/ n. zither |
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"zither." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "zither." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-zither.html "zither." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-zither.html |
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zither
zither Stringed instrument. It consists of a resonator in the form of a wooden box with 30 to 45 strings stretched over it. A few of the strings are stretched over a fretted board for melody; the rest are used for accompaniment. The melody strings are plucked with the fingers or a plectrum.
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"zither." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "zither." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-zither.html "zither." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-zither.html |
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zither
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T. F. HOAD. "zither." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "zither." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-zither.html T. F. HOAD. "zither." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-zither.html |
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zither
zither
•blather, foregather, gather, slather
•farther, father, lather, rather
•grandfather • stepfather • godfather
•forefather
•altogether, feather, heather, leather, nether, tether, together, weather, wether, whether
•bather • sunbather
•bequeather, breather
•dither, hither, slither, swither, thither, whither, wither, zither
•either, neither
•bother, pother
•Rhondda • mouther • loather
•smoother, soother
•another, brother, mother, other, smother, t'other
•grandmother • stepmother
•godmother • housemother
•stepbrother • further
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"zither." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "zither." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-zither.html "zither." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-zither.html |
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