Lyre

What it means

The lyre is a string instrument in which the strings are stretched between a soundbox and a crossbar carried by two arms. Unlike the lute or guitar, there is no fingerboard; all strings sound at their full length and are plucked or struck with a plectrum. The pitches are thus fixed from the outset, and their number corresponds to the number of strings. Instruments of this construction are known from antiquity in the Mediterranean region and from further cultures; the term is also used for later and folk-music forms.

Musical use

In Greek antiquity the lyre belonged to education and to the performance of poetry: it accompanied sung verses, and the term “lyric” still points back to this connection today. The limited number of strings and the absence of a fingerboard shape the music — it moves within a fixed stock of notes that is set up by tuning before playing. Little is reliably known about the actual sound of this music, since notated sources are rare. The lyre should not be confused with the hurdy-gurdy, in which a wheel bows the strings and a keyboard shortens the melody string.

Performance practice

On reconstructions, playing is usually done with a plectrum in one hand, while the fingers of the other hand damp individual strings to filter chords; this damping is the actual technique, since otherwise all strings would ring on. Tune the instrument before each piece to the required stock of notes, because retuning during play is not possible. Keep the attack even and work with the point of contact to vary tone colour. Gut strings need protection from moisture and frequent retuning.

Bear in mind that the stock of notes is fixed by the tuning: for a piece with changing pitch levels it must be clarified beforehand whether it can be executed on the instrument at all. Plan retunings between pieces and not within them. Damping individual strings with the fingers of the free hand is the actual technique and decides whether chords sound clear. Practise it first without a melody. On reconstructions, scale length and string count differ considerably; figures from the literature are to be checked against the instrument.