chordophone

The harp is a chordophone which has its strings positioned perpendicular to the soundboard. All harps have a neck, resonator and strings. Some, known as frame harps, also have a forepillar; those lacking the forepillar are referred to open harps. Harp strings can be made of nylon (sometimes copper-wound), gut (more commonly used than nylon), or wire. Various types of harps are found in Africa, Europe, North and South America, and a few parts of Asia. In Antiquity harps and the closely related Lyras were very promi ...

Including:

• Harp - Origins of the harp
• Harp - Types of Harps Harp-playing and Harp-building
• Harp - Playing style of the European-derived harp
• Harp - The pedal/concert harp
• Harp - Folk harps/lever harps
• Harp - Wire-strung harps clarsach or clairseach
• Harp - Multi-course harps
• Harp - Harp technique
• Harp - Other harps around the world
• Harp - The harp in music
• Harp - Recommendations for beginning harpists
• Harp - As a symbol
• Harp - Political
• Harp - Corporate

Read more here: » Harp: Encyclopedia - Harp

The bandurria is a plectrum plucked chordophone from Spain, similar to the cittern, primarily used in Spanish folk music. The original bandurrias of the Medieval period had three strings. During the Renaissance they gained a fourth string. During the Baroque period the bandurria had 10 strings (5 pairs). The modern bandurria has 12 strings (6 pairs). The strings are tuned in unison pairs, a major-third above ...

Including:

• Bandurria - See Also

Read more here: » Bandurria: Encyclopedia - Bandurria

Choro, also called chorinho, is a Brazilian popular music style. Its origins are in 19th century Rio de Janeiro. Originally choro was played by a trio of flute, guitar and cavaquinho (a small chordophone with four strings). Other instruments commonly played in choro are the mandolin, clarinet, and saxophone. These melody instruments are backed by a rhythm section composed of guitar, 7-string guitar (playing bass lines) and light percussion. The cavaquinho appears sometimes as a melody in ...

Including:

• Choro - Notable Brazilian choro musicians
• Choro - Notable choro compositions

Read more here: » Choro: Encyclopedia - Choro

The name laud means "The Lute". La (The female form of the word "the" in spanish) Ud (oud which is the Arabic name for Lute). Laud - Spanish Laud. The laúd is a plectrum plucked chordophone from Spain. It consists of twelve metallic strings (six double), as the bandurria, but the neck is longer than a bandurria. Traditionally it forms part of serenaders or folk string musical groups, together with the guitar and the bandurria. Like in the bandurria, it is tuned in fourths. The tuning is like ...

Including:

• Laud - Spanish Laud
• Laud - Cuban Laud

Read more here: » Laud: Encyclopedia - Laud

"Iskelmä" (coined directly from the German word Schlager, meaning "a hit") is a traditional Finnish word for a light popular song. Georg Malmstén started his career in the 1930s. After World War II and pre-rock music era, such names as Olavi Virta or Tapio Rautavaara, for example, were among the most popular male singing stars in Finland, and Toivo Kärki and Reino Helismaa most popular song-writers. Such foreign musical genres as tango would find their domestic audience as their Finnish appropriations. Laila Kinnunen, Annikki Tähti, Brit ...

See also:

Music of Finland, Music of Finland - Folk music, Music of Finland - Sami music, Music of Finland - Music history, Music of Finland - Early Christian music, Music of Finland - Classical & Opera, Music of Finland - Finnish popular music, Music of Finland - Rock music, Music of Finland - Jazz, Music of Finland - Revival in the modern age, Music of Finland - Popular opera, Music of Finland - Biggest radio stations

Read more here: » Music of Finland: Encyclopedia II - Music of Finland - Finnish popular music

In Cuba, among the Creole class, the Son was created as a song and a salon dance genre. Originally, a guitar, tiple or bandola, played rhythm and lead in the son, but ultimately these were replaced by a new native-born instrument which was a fusion of all three called the Cuban Tres. The Cuban tres has three courses (groups) of two strings each for a total of six strings. From the low pitch to the highest, th ...

See also:

Tres, Tres - The Cuban Tres, Tres - The Puerto Rican Tres

Read more here: » Tres: Encyclopedia II - Tres - The Cuban Tres

The laúd is a plectrum plucked chordophone from Spain. It consists of twelve metallic strings (six double), as the bandurria, but the neck is longer than a bandurria. Traditionally it forms part of serenaders or folk string musical groups, together with the guitar and the bandurria. Like in the bandurria, it is tuned in fourths. The tuning is like the bandurria's, but 1 octave lower. Tuning: 1st: A (la) 2nd: E (mi) 3th: B (si) 4th:F# (#fa) 5th: ...

See also:

Laud, Laud - Spanish Laud, Laud - Cuban Laud

Read more here: » Laud: Encyclopedia II - Laud - Spanish Laud

Harp - Playing style of the European-derived harp. Most European-derived harps have a single row of strings with strings for each note of the C Major scale (over several octaves. Harpists can tell which strings they are playing because all F strings are black or blue and all C strings are red or orange. The instrument rests between the knees of the harpist and along their right shoulder. The Welsh triple harp and early Irish and Scottish harps, however, are traditionally placed on the left shoulder. The first fou ...

See also:

Harp, Harp - Origins of the harp, Harp - Types of Harps Harp-playing and Harp-building, Harp - Playing style of the European-derived harp, Harp - The pedal/concert harp, Harp - Folk harps/lever harps, Harp - Wire-strung harps clarsach or clairseach, Harp - Multi-course harps, Harp - Harp technique, Harp - Other harps around the world, Harp - The harp in music, Harp - Recommendations for beginning harpists, Harp - As a symbol, Harp - Political, Harp - Corporate

Read more here: » Harp: Encyclopedia II - Harp - Types of Harps Harp-playing and Harp-building

There are two major traditions of folk music of Finland, kalevalaic music and pelimanni music. The kalevalic music is the older one, its most important form called rune chanting or rune singing. It is a four-footed trochaic form using only the first five notes of a scale. Highly alliterative, rune chanting doesn't rhyme and frequently tells stories about heroes like Väinämöinen, Lemminkäinen and Kullervo. The songs were memorised, not written down, and performed by a soloist, or by soloist and chorus in antiphony. Songs of ...

See also:

Music of Finland, Music of Finland - Folk music, Music of Finland - Sami music, Music of Finland - Music history, Music of Finland - Early Christian music, Music of Finland - Classical & Opera, Music of Finland - Finnish popular music, Music of Finland - Rock music, Music of Finland - Jazz, Music of Finland - Revival in the modern age, Music of Finland - Popular opera, Music of Finland - Biggest radio stations

Read more here: » Music of Finland: Encyclopedia II - Music of Finland - Folk music

Music of Finland - Early Christian music. Christian music appeared in Finland immediately after the Christianization, i.e. as early as in the 12th century, with polyphony known at least from the 14th century. The royal court in Stockholm greatly influenced Finnish music during the 16th century, when Sweden after the dissolution of the Kalmar Union evolved into a centralized nation state. Hymnals were distributed during the 16th century, with an early collection of church songs (in Latin), Piae Cantiones, ...

See also:

Music of Finland, Music of Finland - Folk music, Music of Finland - Sami music, Music of Finland - Music history, Music of Finland - Early Christian music, Music of Finland - Classical & Opera, Music of Finland - Finnish popular music, Music of Finland - Rock music, Music of Finland - Jazz, Music of Finland - Revival in the modern age, Music of Finland - Popular opera, Music of Finland - Biggest radio stations

Read more here: » Music of Finland: Encyclopedia II - Music of Finland - Music history

In the 18th century, public concerts were established in Turku and Erik Tulindberg wrote six very famous string quartets. After Russia's 1809 annexation of Finland, the cities of Viipuri and Helsinki became cultural centers and opera became very popular. The first Finnish opera was written by the German composer Fredrik Pacius in 1852. Pacius also wrote Maamme/Vårt land (Our Land), Finland's national anthem. In 1874 the Society for Culture and Education (Kansanvalistusseura) was founded in order to provide opportunities ...

See also:

Music of Finland, Music of Finland - Folk music, Music of Finland - Sami music, Music of Finland - Music history, Music of Finland - Early Christian music, Music of Finland - Classical & Opera, Music of Finland - Finnish popular music, Music of Finland - Rock music, Music of Finland - Jazz, Music of Finland - Revival in the modern age, Music of Finland - Popular opera, Music of Finland - Biggest radio stations

Read more here: » Music of Finland: Encyclopedia II - Music of Finland - Classical & Opera

Harp is a rewarding instrument to learn because every note sounds good. However, there are several things to consider: picking a teacher, picking the harp, cost, tuning, and repairs. A student should pick a teacher who teaches the type of music that he or she wants to play. A classical teacher will not necessarily be the best to teach Paraguayan sambas or Celtic dances. There are teach-yourself books and videos for the Celtic harp. The harp should ...

See also:

Harp, Harp - Origins of the harp, Harp - Types of Harps Harp-playing and Harp-building, Harp - Playing style of the European-derived harp, Harp - The pedal/concert harp, Harp - Folk harps/lever harps, Harp - Wire-strung harps clarsach or clairseach, Harp - Multi-course harps, Harp - Harp technique, Harp - Other harps around the world, Harp - The harp in music, Harp - Recommendations for beginning harpists, Harp - As a symbol, Harp - Political, Harp - Corporate

Read more here: » Harp: Encyclopedia II - Harp - Recommendations for beginning harpists

The harp's origins may lie in the sound of a plucked hunter's bow string. The oldest documented references to the harp are from 4000 BC in Egypt (see Music of Egypt) and 3000 BC in Mesopotamia. While the harp is mentioned in most translations of the Bible, King David being the most prominent musician, the Biblical "harp" was actually a kinnor, a type of lyre with 10 strings. Harps also appear in ancient epics, and in Egyptian wall paintings. This kind of harp, now known as the folk harp, continued to evolve in many different cultures all over the world. It may ...

See also:

Harp, Harp - Origins of the harp, Harp - Types of Harps Harp-playing and Harp-building, Harp - Playing style of the European-derived harp, Harp - The pedal/concert harp, Harp - Folk harps/lever harps, Harp - Wire-strung harps clarsach or clairseach, Harp - Multi-course harps, Harp - Harp technique, Harp - Other harps around the world, Harp - The harp in music, Harp - Recommendations for beginning harpists, Harp - As a symbol, Harp - Political, Harp - Corporate

Read more here: » Harp: Encyclopedia II - Harp - Origins of the harp

Harp playing uses all of the fingers except for the pinky, which is generally too short and weak to effectively pluck a string. In order to make notation of fingerings easier, each finger is given a number, "1" for the thumb, "2" for the index finger, "3" for the middle finger, and "4" for the ring finger. Most types of harp only require use of the hands. The exception is the pedal (concert) harp, where the harpist ...

See also:

Harp, Harp - Origins of the harp, Harp - Types of Harps Harp-playing and Harp-building, Harp - Playing style of the European-derived harp, Harp - The pedal/concert harp, Harp - Folk harps/lever harps, Harp - Wire-strung harps clarsach or clairseach, Harp - Multi-course harps, Harp - Harp technique, Harp - Other harps around the world, Harp - The harp in music, Harp - Recommendations for beginning harpists, Harp - As a symbol, Harp - Political, Harp - Corporate

Read more here: » Harp: Encyclopedia II - Harp - Harp technique

In South America, there are Mexican, Andean, Venezuelan, and Paraguayan harps. They are derived from the Baroque harps that were brought from Spain during the colonial period: wide on the bottom and narrow at the top, with perfect balance when being played but unable to stand independently for lack of a base. The Paraguayan harp is the most popular, and is Paraguay's national instrument. It has about 36 strings with narrower spacing and lighter tension than other harps, and so has a slightly (four to five notes) lower pitch. It does not nece ...

See also:

Harp, Harp - Origins of the harp, Harp - Types of Harps Harp-playing and Harp-building, Harp - Playing style of the European-derived harp, Harp - The pedal/concert harp, Harp - Folk harps/lever harps, Harp - Wire-strung harps clarsach or clairseach, Harp - Multi-course harps, Harp - Harp technique, Harp - Other harps around the world, Harp - The harp in music, Harp - Recommendations for beginning harpists, Harp - As a symbol, Harp - Political, Harp - Corporate

Read more here: » Harp: Encyclopedia II - Harp - Other harps around the world

The harp is used sparingly in most classical music, usually for special effects such as the glissando, arpeggios, and bisbigliando. Italian and German opera uses harp for romantic arias and dances, an example of which is Musetta's Waltz from La bohème. French composers such as Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel composed harp concertos and chamber music widely played today. In the nineteenth century, the French composer and harpist Nicolas-Charles Bochsa composed hundreds of pieces of all kinds (opera transcriptions, chamber music, conc ...

See also:

Harp, Harp - Origins of the harp, Harp - Types of Harps Harp-playing and Harp-building, Harp - Playing style of the European-derived harp, Harp - The pedal/concert harp, Harp - Folk harps/lever harps, Harp - Wire-strung harps clarsach or clairseach, Harp - Multi-course harps, Harp - Harp technique, Harp - Other harps around the world, Harp - The harp in music, Harp - Recommendations for beginning harpists, Harp - As a symbol, Harp - Political, Harp - Corporate

Read more here: » Harp: Encyclopedia II - Harp - The harp in music