citterns

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  7. [sound devices by acoustical characteristics]
  8. chordophones
  9. lutelike chordophones
  10. lutelike chordophones: plucked
  11. [lutelike chordophones with long neck: plucked]
  12. citterns
Scope note
European wire-strung plucked lutelike chordophones played with a plectrum, very popular in the 16th and 17th centuries, having a wedge-shaped body with a curved bottom and straight shoulders narrowing towards the neck, and a low flat bridge held in position only by the strings it supports. Their most characteristic feature is a long, fretted neck which is half cut away from behind the fingerboard on the bass side, making a channel along which the player's left thumb can slide to facilitate very rapid shifts to and from high positions.
citterns
Accepted term: 13-May-2024