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For photographs of our beguiling instruments click here

GLOSSARY

Baroque Triple Harp
A chromatic harp with three rows of strings.

Baroque Guitar
A small guitar with 5 pairs of strings.

Bass Violin
An exceptionally large cello.

Bray Harp
A diatonic harp with bray pins which buzz when pushed close to the soundboard.

Cajon
A large box with a hole in the back.

Clarsach or Celtic Harp
A harp with levers which can change the pitch of each string by a semitone.

Dulcimer
A stringed instrument where a set of strings are stretched over a trapezoidal sounding board and struck with small wooden hammers.

Gittern
A small guitar-like instrument that came to medieval Europe via Moorish Spain.

Hurdy Gurdy
A stringed instrument played by turning a wheel which causes the strings that lie across it to vibrate. Melody strings are stopped by tangents attached to keys while the other strings act as drones.

Leg Bells
Metal bells braided onto a woven band which is tied around the leg.

Low Bass Viol
A six stringed viol and standard bass instrument of the German speaking countries throughout the 17th century.

Medieval Harp
A small diatonic triangular harp.

Nyckelharpa
A Scandinavian bowed keyed fiddle with sympathetic strings.

Oud
An Arabic, fretless lute shaped instrument, plucked with a plectrum.

Renaissance Guitar
Smaller than the baroque guitar, this instrument has 4 pairs of strings.

Santur
A hammered dulcimer of Persian origin.

Santouri
A large Greek island dulcimer.

Tabor
A two headed military drum played with a stick.

Three String Bass
An 18th century bass instrument with 3 strings.

Theorbo
A long necked lute with an extended bass range.

Trumpet Marine
A tall monochord payed with a bow.

Qanun
A zither with a narrow trapezoidal soundboard played by plucking the strings.

Vielle
A medieval bowed fiddle with 5 strings and a flat bridge.

Viola da Gamba
A bowed, fretted instrument developed in the 15th century and popular in the Renaissance and Baroque periods.

Viola d'Amore
The viola d'amore is a 6 or 7 stringed bowed instrument with sympathetic strings and is held under the chin. It was at its most popular in the 18th century.

Voice
The most strange and ancient instrument of all.