Thursday, May 14, 2009

Rhombus news

I am still unsure about Monday night's stringed rhombus. However, I saw another one in the new Micachu and The Shapes video so maybe you can help me with a name.

7 comments:

JessX said...

maybe it's a form of a psaltery? or a zither?

Alexandra said...

Forgive my insolence, but that is not a rhombus, it is a trapezoid. Whether it's a zither or a psaltery, I'm not sure.

Also, that's a cool song! Thanks, John A!

Sarah said...

That's a lap harp, or apparently, a "plucked psaltery." I used to encounter them as toy musical instruments, but never knew what they were called.

They're cool partially because you can slip cards with songs printed on them behind the strings, and follow the notes directly on the strings, rather than reading music on a separate sheet of paper. (If that makes any sense.)

I've never seen them used by bands before - very cool!

Ryan V said...

I think it is that thing that Joan Baez played, the "baezophone."

Anonymous said...

Possibly irrelevant, but speaking as someone who has enjoyed a lot of your music recommendations over the years, I'll endeavour to return the favour by recommending you listen out for Emmy The Great.

I got her album the other day and it's the most perfect thing I've had the good fortune to hear in a very long time.

V^e said...

It's a dulcimer, John.

Anonymous said...

Oh yeah, I used to have one of those as well. Ours was just called "The Music Maker" and, as Sarah pointed out, was nice because the music can be placed behind to line up with the strings to be plucked in order.
Here's the first site I found for them:

http://www.outofthebluetoys.com/chilwoodzitl.html