Comments | eyja: On Lyres/Um hörpum

eyja

On Lyres/Um hörpum

Feb 06, 2008 15:15

I'm getting the yearning for a Lyre again...(Saxon style, not the Crwth style)

I finally found a site for a guy who makes them and other such instruments. The cheapest appears to be a six-string "Morning Thorp Lyre" about £400 with an oak body, maple soundboard and nylegut strings. He also sells a "How to build your own lyre" cd and has a few ( Read more... )

norse, lyre, research

Comments 8

akitrom February 6 2008, 22:14:21 UTC

The big issue isn't going to be tuning; it's going to be dullness / deadness. The best instruments sound loud, clear, and resonant. That involves getting the face of the instrument to vibrate freely and with sensitivity to the strings. Good guitar tops are very thin, with bracing inside so they don't cave in under the stress.

Or, if you decide to use metal strings, you could run in electric pick-ups. Then the thing could be a solid block of wood, and the pick-ups would carry the sound.

_valencia_ February 7 2008, 00:27:24 UTC

There was a woman at Tree-Girt-Sea Twelfth night who had one of those. Sadly, even though she brought it to the bardic circle, she never played it. :(

eyja February 7 2008, 03:03:18 UTC

eithni February 7 2008, 06:12:18 UTC

Do you know how to play a lyre? Where did you learn? The local weird music shop just looked at me crazily when I asked where to learn...

eyja February 7 2008, 16:14:08 UTC

Don't know how to play yet (I need the instrument first! ;-) ), but as soon as I get the instrument I'm going to teach myself (I don't know anyone locally who plays). As for "where to learn," tuning and some basics of "how this works" is given by Michael King.

Apparently there is some resources on how to play from lyre players on the Yahoo Group Anglo Saxon Lyres. [Site is for members only, so while I'll link some messages, they might not appear unless you become a member of the group.] For instance, Patrick, who used to play in the SCA, wrote in a message:

Back before I burned out on the SCA, I held classes on basic lyre playing. I even made half a dozen student lyres for the classes. You can see some of the pictures of making them in the pictures section of this group. I also recorded a very basic presentation of how to play the lyre (just what I covered in my classes - 3 chords and singing along). I don't have any idea how to turn it into something other than VHS, but if one of you can convert to electronic format, I am ( ... )

eithni February 7 2008, 17:46:32 UTC

Wow, thanks for the info! I'd actually like to talk to you about this in person - what events are you coming to in the near future?

eyja February 7 2008, 19:20:42 UTC

No problem! It's fun to research... :D

With the school year it's hard to say when I'll have time and when I won't for events. But ones that there's a likelihood of me being there are:

4/5 Spring Event: Iowa City, IA
4/19 Northshield Coronation: Northfield, MN
4/26 Bardic Madness: Phelps, WI

Still very much up in the air is:

2/16 Lupercalia: Nicollet, MN
2/29 Sunrise: Rochester, MN
OR Haire Affairesky: Wausau, WI
3/21 That Moot Thingy/Rumble in the Forest: Tomah, WI

Thread 5