Koto
A Japanese arched-board zither with usually 13 strings and movable bridges.
What it means
The koto is a Japanese arched-board zither made of paulownia wood, usually strung with 13 strings of equal thickness stretched over a long, gently arched body. Each string runs over its own movable bridge, which allows its pitch to be adjusted individually.
Musical use
The koto is usually played seated, plucked with three plectra of ivory or plastic worn on the thumb, index and middle finger of the right hand, while the left hand alters pitch or adds ornaments such as vibrato by pressing the strings behind the bridge. Tuning generally follows one of the traditional pentatonic scales and is reset for each piece by moving the bridges. Historically the koto developed from Chinese models such as the zheng; it differs from the related Japanese shamisen, a three-stringed lute, by its construction as a neckless zither and its considerably larger number of strings.
Performance practice
When getting to know the koto, it helps to treat bridge placement as a compositional step in itself: the basic tuning is set before the piece, while the left hand and the right hand's plucking technique shape the actual music.