Topic: Any Zither players?

My mom is from Ausburg Germany--she played the Zither in her youth, but war being war and all, lost it in '44.

So for Christmas this year, we're getting her a Zither (thank heavens for the internet!).  So, any Zither players out there who can give me advice on where to get books, music, etc.?

Looking forward to jaming with my mom...I'll be on my les paul, she'll be on her zither....have to figure out a way to plug the thing in!

Re: Any Zither players?

Hello Frankster . Your post was interesting so I googled
Zither and found a bunch of info . Hey it looks like a cool instrument to play.

  Take Care... Badeye.

one caper after another

Re: Any Zither players?

It really does...she talks about tuning like, 90 strings with a tuning fork---think I might spring for a $14 tuner while I'm at it!

Re: Any Zither players?

Hi 25Frankster,
I play autoharp which is a type of chorded zither.  Autoharps are an American adaptation of the basic zither design.  There are many different types of zithers - some have drone strings, some also have fretted strings, some have other features.  It is a very broad classification of instruments.

If possible, get your mother to look at what is available and help you select the sort of zither she had back in her youth.

What a wonderfully thoughtful gift!

"That darn Pythagorean Comma thing keeps messing me up!"
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagorean_comma[/url]

Re: Any Zither players?

Came in the mail yesterday--very, very excited.  Got it from a website called Lark in the Morning, they have an incredible aray of unusual insturments from all over the world--very cool stuff.

Re: Any Zither players?

Just found this site and offer the following:
The first person you may wish to contact is Janet Stessl in Chicago. She can be reached at janstessl@aol.com. Jan edits a Zither Newsletter and can provide strings, books and other materials.
If your Mother is interested, there is a Chicago Zither Ensemble that is the country's oldest continuously operating Zither "club". Philadelphia's Zither Ensemble has recently started meeting again. There is an active group of players that meet with Jane Curtis in Virgina several times a year. This April we established the National Zither Orchestra in Davenport, IA, with the assistance of Tomy Temerson of Hanau, Germany, and will meet in Davenport again every 18 months or so, the next meeting is in the Fall of 2009. A select group of players from the NZO plus some other professional musicians will be performing in Montrose, CO, in September. We are making plans to have a Zither workshop plus performances at the 2009 Gaufest which will be held in Toledo, OH. If your mother is interested in learning about any of the above, please let me know. Conversely, I have a young student who may need to purchase a zither. If you could share any information about the zither you purchased (what, where, how much, satisfaction level, etc.) I would greatly appreciate it. Concerning amplification, I have two contact microphones, one made for guitar and another by the firm AKC for "acoustic instruments". I use them both only for zither. My Gibson Les Paul and Fender Jazzmaster don't need anything but what they already have!