"Frank Nordberg" <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> schrieb: > > And the most common (Thuringian) "basszither" is tuned in open G > > until nowadays. > > I was wondering about that. Wobersin (1922) states that the bass > waldzither is tuned in open A but open G would of course fit much better > with the tunings of the smaller instruments. > > Speaking of tuning, perhaps we also ought to mention that some modern > British musicians use (tenor) waldzithers for Irish/British folk music, > often tuning them in some variation of the GDAD/DADGAD theme. > > The tenor waldzither also works well in "guitar" tuning: A d g b e' > There's even some historical precedence for this tuning. According to > dr. Michel, one of the tunings used in Germany for the four course > cittern during the 18th century was d g b e'. >
Wobersin was a kind of "universal" musician. He edited music for Waldzither, Wandervogellaute, Guitar (whatever was asked for in printout), and even a tutor for the Portuguese Guitars fashionable in Germany before the first World War (tuned in open C) There are Bass Waldzithern in Thuringia in A, I have somewhere a chord scheme for it, but the more common combination is Soprano (G) for melodies like a mandoling, Tenor (C) in chords plus melody and Bass (G) mostly for chords. Myself I experimented much with several tonalities, (not different tunings) and meanwhile I've "landed" at open A on my Tenorzither with a 50,5cm stringlength. It fits my needs for songwriting best and I prefer the deeper sound. The Coimbra Cittern is in A, too, but in the portuguese tuning. best regards Martina Rosenberger -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
