What does cittern mean?
Definition of cittern : a Renaissance stringed instrument like a guitar with a flat pear-shaped body.
What is cittern made of?
In large parts of Europe (but specially France, the Low Countries and England) the cittern became popular as a folk instrument in the 16th and 17th century. However in this type the body was not carved, but built from separate pieces of wood, glued together.
Where did the cittern come from?
Derived from the citole, a similar 14th- and 15th-century instrument with gut strings, the cittern had four unison courses of wire strings. Diapasons, additional courses to reinforce the basses of chords, were also common.
Who invented the cittern?
Cittern mid to late 18th century. watch-key mechanism, invented by James N. Preston in about 1760. The keyboard mechanism with six keys, enabling hammers to strike the strings, was attached to the instrument somewhat later.
How is a cittern tuning?
How is the cittern tuned? The cittern survives in many different tunings. Generally it has a “re-entrant” tuning (i.e. a tuning in which what would normally be the lowest sounding string is actually tuned higher than another string).
What is Renaissance cittern?
The cittern is a small, metal-wire strung, plucked instrument from the Renaissance with a generally limited note range. It looks much like the modern-day flat-back mandolin and is the ancestor of the modern Irish cittern and bouzouki, as well as the so-called “English Guitar”.
How is a cittern tuned?
The cittern may have a range of only an octave between its lowest and highest strings and employs a re-entrant tuning – a tuning in which the string that is physically uppermost is not the lowest, as is also the case with the five-string banjo and most ukuleles for example.
Is harpsichord A Baroque?
The harpsichord was widely used in Renaissance and Baroque music, both as an accompaniment instrument and as a soloing instrument. During the Baroque era, the harpsichord was a standard part of the continuo group. The basso continuo part acted as the foundation for many musical pieces in this era.
What is the origin of the cittern?
The cittern or cithren ( Fr. cistre, It. cetra, Ger. Cister, Sp. cistro, cedra, cítola) is a stringed instrument dating from the Renaissance. Modern scholars debate its exact history, but it is generally accepted that it is descended from the Medieval citole (or cytole).
What is a cittern in Skyrim?
Citterns were pear-shaped musical instruments, similar to yartings. Citterns had four sets of paired strings that produced a rich array of tones and were said to “add spice to peasant music” by the Patriarch of Song in Waterdeep. They were available for purchase through Aurora’s Whole Realms Catalogue.
What is a cittern in music?
The cittern or cithren (Fr. cistre, It. cetra, Ger. Cister, Sp. cistro, cedra, cítola) is a stringed instrument dating from the Renaissance.
What is the difference between cittern and lute?
The cittern or cithren (Fr. cistre, It. cetra, Ger. Cister, Sp. cistro, cedra, cítola) is a stringed instrument dating from the Renaissance. Modern scholars debate its exact history, but it is generally accepted that it is descended from the Medieval citole (or cytole). Its flat-back design was simpler and cheaper to construct than the lute.