Hi Everyone!
I am looking to learn how to play a bowed psaltery. My question is: who are reputable manufacturers/dealers? I don't need a top of the line model while I am learning, but...I don't want to end up with a lovely Pakistani wall decoration! (yes, I play Irish flute, and yes...I do understand about the cheaper qualilty instruments)
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!
Thanks!
Peach
Bowed Psaltery Help Wanted
Re: Bowed Psaltery Help Wanted
Hi Peach,
Song of the Wood, Omega Strings, Ringing Strings, Master Works, and Phantasy Psaltries seem to take the loin's share of the BP market, with many individual builders who also produce beautiful custom instruments. Folkcraft makes an interesting diatonic model.
My personal favorite is Phantasy Psalteries. The luthier, Eric Meier, has a very in-depth knowledge of the various woods and other materials used and their effect on tone. He also offers a great many useful options such as rear sound holes and tripod mount sockets, which come in very handy as your psaltery journey continues. He offers a variety of bridge designs and materials that can tailor the sound more to a specific preference, such as increasing or supressing sustain.
Although you already mentioned it, about the only thing I would suggest you avoid are the very inexpensive, no-name models that hit the gift shops around the holidays. They tend to be very poorly made as you know. You'll likely encounter the EMS brand as well. They are the leading manufacturers of beautifull wall hangings.
Much like a recent discussion about beginner's lutes, there is little middle ground in psalteries. There's the cheap junk and the good stuff. But a well made, very servicable psaltery can be had in the $300- $400 range easily. Some makers concentrate on basic designs using exotic woods, while others offer advanced designs that make use of contemporary construction and feature things like wound strings, concave string planes, and other useful advancements.
The sizes of psalteries don't seem to follow a strict convention. The terms soprano, alto, tenor and bass are used loosley. Most instruments are either two, two and a half, or three octaves. Be aware that a three octave BP can be very large indeed. The 37 string Omega is over three feet long, and that an be an uncomfortable reach for many players. Some makers use traditional plain wire for strings, while others use wound strings that allow deeper voices with smaller instruments.
An often overlooked but very important thing is the choice of bow. Like all bowed instruments, the psaltery's bow is half the sound, if not more. While almost all instruments come with a bow, there are two important choices. The traditional bow is a short arch of wood with a course of hair tied to it. Many contemporary players are now using fractional violin bows. It is a personal choice, of course, but please do experiment with bows. The violin bow tends to be louder and faster, depending on your type of music, while the tradional bow has the right look and softer voice.
As to the actual playing of the psaltery, it has often been described as the world's easiest stringed instrument. I have handed mine to friends with no music experience and they've picked out simple tunes in a few minutes. An experienced musician should master it in a week or so. That means it behooves an experinced player to go ahead and invest in a better instrument straight off. There is a very short, shallow learning curve.
If you're looking to play the Irish fiddle tunes and flute repertoire, you'll need at least a 30 string chromatic model or a 15 string diatonic. The diatonics can be re-tuned to provide a D scale with C# and C natural while having the usefull range of the whistle.
If you haven't guessed, I'm a psaltery enthusiast. I'm familiar with almost all the makers and designs, and would be happy to answer any specific questions I can.
Best wishes,
Song of the Wood, Omega Strings, Ringing Strings, Master Works, and Phantasy Psaltries seem to take the loin's share of the BP market, with many individual builders who also produce beautiful custom instruments. Folkcraft makes an interesting diatonic model.
My personal favorite is Phantasy Psalteries. The luthier, Eric Meier, has a very in-depth knowledge of the various woods and other materials used and their effect on tone. He also offers a great many useful options such as rear sound holes and tripod mount sockets, which come in very handy as your psaltery journey continues. He offers a variety of bridge designs and materials that can tailor the sound more to a specific preference, such as increasing or supressing sustain.
Although you already mentioned it, about the only thing I would suggest you avoid are the very inexpensive, no-name models that hit the gift shops around the holidays. They tend to be very poorly made as you know. You'll likely encounter the EMS brand as well. They are the leading manufacturers of beautifull wall hangings.
Much like a recent discussion about beginner's lutes, there is little middle ground in psalteries. There's the cheap junk and the good stuff. But a well made, very servicable psaltery can be had in the $300- $400 range easily. Some makers concentrate on basic designs using exotic woods, while others offer advanced designs that make use of contemporary construction and feature things like wound strings, concave string planes, and other useful advancements.
The sizes of psalteries don't seem to follow a strict convention. The terms soprano, alto, tenor and bass are used loosley. Most instruments are either two, two and a half, or three octaves. Be aware that a three octave BP can be very large indeed. The 37 string Omega is over three feet long, and that an be an uncomfortable reach for many players. Some makers use traditional plain wire for strings, while others use wound strings that allow deeper voices with smaller instruments.
An often overlooked but very important thing is the choice of bow. Like all bowed instruments, the psaltery's bow is half the sound, if not more. While almost all instruments come with a bow, there are two important choices. The traditional bow is a short arch of wood with a course of hair tied to it. Many contemporary players are now using fractional violin bows. It is a personal choice, of course, but please do experiment with bows. The violin bow tends to be louder and faster, depending on your type of music, while the tradional bow has the right look and softer voice.
As to the actual playing of the psaltery, it has often been described as the world's easiest stringed instrument. I have handed mine to friends with no music experience and they've picked out simple tunes in a few minutes. An experienced musician should master it in a week or so. That means it behooves an experinced player to go ahead and invest in a better instrument straight off. There is a very short, shallow learning curve.
If you're looking to play the Irish fiddle tunes and flute repertoire, you'll need at least a 30 string chromatic model or a 15 string diatonic. The diatonics can be re-tuned to provide a D scale with C# and C natural while having the usefull range of the whistle.
If you haven't guessed, I'm a psaltery enthusiast. I'm familiar with almost all the makers and designs, and would be happy to answer any specific questions I can.
Best wishes,
Re: Bowed Psaltery Help Wanted
Oh, BTW. You might want to visit www.everythingdulcimer.com to find quite a number of players and even some builders. There's something about the mountain dulcimer and the bowed psaltery that kind of goes together. Like in this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kulJAJls ... re=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kulJAJls ... re=channel
Re: Bowed Psaltery Help Wanted
Thank you Tim!
As it turns out, I had ear marked "Song of the Wood" as one of the makers I was interested in; also on the list was "Unicorn Strings". I looked thru the ones you suggested and also was very interested in "Master Works".
So tomorrow I will be contacting both places to discuss the woods used and how they affect tone.
If you have any suggestions on that level, I would love to hear what you have to say!
Again, thanks for your help!
Peach
As it turns out, I had ear marked "Song of the Wood" as one of the makers I was interested in; also on the list was "Unicorn Strings". I looked thru the ones you suggested and also was very interested in "Master Works".
So tomorrow I will be contacting both places to discuss the woods used and how they affect tone.
If you have any suggestions on that level, I would love to hear what you have to say!
Again, thanks for your help!
Peach
Re: Bowed Psaltery Help Wanted
Hi Peach,
You won't go wrong with any of those three. They are excellent makers and none of them are wall decorations. Though I admit I've never played one by Unicorn Strings, they have a good reputation.
The three things that influence the tone of a BP most are the wood of the soundboard, the type of string, and the bow.
Soft woods like spruce and cedar produce mellower, violin-like tones with shorter sustain. Hardwoods like the many exotic species BP makers use, produce a crisp, traditionally sharp-edged tone with greater sustain. The sides and back of a BP are always made of hardwoods, of course.
Plain wire strings are traditional. They produce the ethereal tone of the classic BP. Wound strings generate more energy and are more violin-like in tone. By their nature, low-voiced BPs with plain wire have to be large. Wound strings allow a lower range in a compact instrument. You cannot put wound strings on a psaltery designed for plain wire. The tensions are disasterous.
As I said earlier, the bow is half the sound. Traditional bows and violin bows both have their charms and uses. Experiment with them. Many players use small 1/4 or 1/8 size violin bows that are not expensive.
The kind of music you'll play is the determining factor. What sort of music do you have in mind? Do give careful consideration to chromatic vs. diatonic instruments. They are quite different.
From a purely personal standpoint, my newest psaltery has two features I wouldn't live without. The rear soundhole and the intregal tripod mount have proven indispensable to me. They only cost a few dollars extra as options, but have been worth every penny. The tripod mount is used mostly for two and three bow techniques, but you'll probably want to explore those soon enough (the psaltery is EASY!), and they have to be built in to the instrument.
If you haven't got one, now would be a good time to buy an electronic tuner. And do invest in a long-handled tuning wrench. Most instruments come with a T-handle wrench, as those are cheaper. Many makers offer those as an option, or they can be bought seperately from lots of places. The single hardest job with a psaltery is getting all those strings tuned, but the right tools make it a snap.
I'm glad you've decided to look at good instruments first. Honestly, there is no such thing as a beginner's psaltery. There's just cheap junk.
You won't go wrong with any of those three. They are excellent makers and none of them are wall decorations. Though I admit I've never played one by Unicorn Strings, they have a good reputation.
The three things that influence the tone of a BP most are the wood of the soundboard, the type of string, and the bow.
Soft woods like spruce and cedar produce mellower, violin-like tones with shorter sustain. Hardwoods like the many exotic species BP makers use, produce a crisp, traditionally sharp-edged tone with greater sustain. The sides and back of a BP are always made of hardwoods, of course.
Plain wire strings are traditional. They produce the ethereal tone of the classic BP. Wound strings generate more energy and are more violin-like in tone. By their nature, low-voiced BPs with plain wire have to be large. Wound strings allow a lower range in a compact instrument. You cannot put wound strings on a psaltery designed for plain wire. The tensions are disasterous.
As I said earlier, the bow is half the sound. Traditional bows and violin bows both have their charms and uses. Experiment with them. Many players use small 1/4 or 1/8 size violin bows that are not expensive.
The kind of music you'll play is the determining factor. What sort of music do you have in mind? Do give careful consideration to chromatic vs. diatonic instruments. They are quite different.
From a purely personal standpoint, my newest psaltery has two features I wouldn't live without. The rear soundhole and the intregal tripod mount have proven indispensable to me. They only cost a few dollars extra as options, but have been worth every penny. The tripod mount is used mostly for two and three bow techniques, but you'll probably want to explore those soon enough (the psaltery is EASY!), and they have to be built in to the instrument.
If you haven't got one, now would be a good time to buy an electronic tuner. And do invest in a long-handled tuning wrench. Most instruments come with a T-handle wrench, as those are cheaper. Many makers offer those as an option, or they can be bought seperately from lots of places. The single hardest job with a psaltery is getting all those strings tuned, but the right tools make it a snap.
I'm glad you've decided to look at good instruments first. Honestly, there is no such thing as a beginner's psaltery. There's just cheap junk.
Re: Bowed Psaltery Help Wanted
All righty!
I have a tuner... a few actually, so that part is set.
From what you've said, it seems like I want a hard wood with plain wire strings, as I want that ethereal sound that I fell in love with! As for its use...that will be a pretty broad spectrum! Everything from Traditonal Irish to RenFaires and possible weddings....and I believe I want it to be fully chromatic, as I play with an Irish band and my bandmates play a few tunes in E (freakin' ) flat!!! ugh. so Full chromatic range would be very useful!
Again, I am deeply greatful foy your help!
Sue
I have a tuner... a few actually, so that part is set.
From what you've said, it seems like I want a hard wood with plain wire strings, as I want that ethereal sound that I fell in love with! As for its use...that will be a pretty broad spectrum! Everything from Traditonal Irish to RenFaires and possible weddings....and I believe I want it to be fully chromatic, as I play with an Irish band and my bandmates play a few tunes in E (freakin' ) flat!!! ugh. so Full chromatic range would be very useful!
Again, I am deeply greatful foy your help!
Sue
Re: Bowed Psaltery Help Wanted
You're very welcome! I'm glad I could help and I'm happy to have had a chance to talk about psalteries
If I may make one last comment, if you're playing a lot in Eb, you might want to very, very seriously consider a psaltery with a tripod mounting socket. At very least please get two bows when you buy. For any key that has more than one or two notes on the 'other side' of the psaltery, two bows are nearly indispensable (one in each hand). The tripod mount facilitates the technique even further. These things are much cheaper if you get them right in the beginning.
Here's a video of Celeste Ray using the two bow technique on a tripod-mounted psaltery. This is what you'll need to aim for to do what you've described:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pubx5Bupmks
Although that looks complicated, you'll be doing it in a week or two.
I wish you the very best of luck with it! I'm sure you're going to have a blast!!!
If I may make one last comment, if you're playing a lot in Eb, you might want to very, very seriously consider a psaltery with a tripod mounting socket. At very least please get two bows when you buy. For any key that has more than one or two notes on the 'other side' of the psaltery, two bows are nearly indispensable (one in each hand). The tripod mount facilitates the technique even further. These things are much cheaper if you get them right in the beginning.
Here's a video of Celeste Ray using the two bow technique on a tripod-mounted psaltery. This is what you'll need to aim for to do what you've described:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pubx5Bupmks
Although that looks complicated, you'll be doing it in a week or two.
I wish you the very best of luck with it! I'm sure you're going to have a blast!!!