How the Byzantine lyra makes its sound
In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the Byzantine lyra belongs to the lutes: strings run parallel to a soundboard and along a neck – the family of the guitar, violin, sitar and oud.
More broadly it is one of the chordophones (string instruments), where sound comes from vibrating strings, amplified by a resonating body.
Its timbre – the colour that lets you tell it apart from other instruments playing the same note – comes from the mix of overtones its body and resonator emphasise.
From Wikipedia
The Byzantine lyra or lira (Greek: λύρα) was a medieval bowed string instrument from the Byzantine Empire. In its popular form, the lyra was a pear-shaped instrument with three-to-five strings, held upright and played by stopping the strings from the side with the fingertips and fingernails. The oldest known depiction of the instrument is on a Byzantine ivory casket, dated to circa 900–1100; it is preserved in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello in Italy.
Modern variants of the lyra are still played throughout the Balkans and in areas surrounding the Black Sea (and most of the historical territories of the Byzantine Empire), including Greece, Crete (Cretan lyra), Karpathos (Karpathian lyra), Albania, Montenegro, Serbia, Bulgaria (the gadulka), North Macedonia, Croatia (Dalmatian lijerica), Italy (the Calabrian lira), Turkey (the politiki lyra) and Armenia.
Other lutes
Frequently asked questions
What does the Byzantine lyra sound like?
As one of the lutes, its sound comes from the way strings run parallel to a soundboard and along a neck.
What type of instrument is the Byzantine lyra?
It is classified as lutes (Hornbostel–Sachs 321.321-71).
Sources & credits
- Wikidata Q2606162 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Byzantine lyra – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Image by No machine-readable author provided. Arent assumed (based on copyright claims). – CC BY-SA 3.0