How the raft zither makes its sound
In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the raft zither belongs to the zithers: strings are stretched across a body without a neck, so the string bearer and resonator are one unit.
More broadly it is one of the chordophones (string instruments), where sound comes from vibrating strings, amplified by a resonating body.
Players shape its sound through technique and materials; the resonating body filters the raw vibration, boosting some harmonics and damping others.
From Wikipedia
A raft zither is a group of single-cord tube zithers, connected together to form a "raft". Tube zithers use a tube as a platform to hold a string (either tied onto the tube or cut out of the tube itself), raised with bridges.
The flat surface of the raft is the base for the strings, and the multiple instruments form a single instrument with many notes. Each tube zither in the raft zither has a different note, and the idiochord instruments become a single heterochord instrument. The raft zither is also related to the board zither, which uses a board as the base for its many strings.
Other zithers
Frequently asked questions
What does a raft zither sound like?
As one of the zithers, its sound comes from the way strings are stretched across a body without a neck, so the string bearer and resonator are one unit.
What type of instrument is the raft zither?
It is classified as zithers (Hornbostel–Sachs 313).