A spontaneous improvisation on the wonderfully recreated Kithara of the Golden Age of Classical Greece - hand-made in modern Greece by Lutherios:

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Since late 2014, I have been collaborating with Lutherios in their inspirational "Lyre 2.0 Project" - dedicated to reintroducing the wonderful lyres of antiquity back into the modern world, to make these beautiful instruments accessible to each and every modern musician:

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This improvisation briefly demonstrates some of the playing possibilities of this instrument, which hopefully shows why it was so venerated in antiquity, as the instrument of the professional musician.

In particular, I hope to show a taste of the wonderfully reconstructed 2500 year old vibrato mechanism, for which there is an almost overwhelming body of visual evidence to support this theory. All original illustrations of the ancient Greek kithara clearly show what appear to be curved springs beneath the yoke to which the strings are attached, with the top of the arms carved almost wafer thin, which almost certainly was to allow for lateral movement of the yoke and the attached strings, creating an eerie vocal vibrato effect - some 2500 years before the invention of the 'whammy bar' of the Fender electric guitar!

The vibrato mechanism can be operated either by light lateral movement of either of the vertical wooden levers at each end of the yoke, or a more subtle vibrato can be achieved by pushing the discs either side of the yoke.

The improvisation is in the poignant ancient Greek Phrygian Mode (misnamed the 'Dorian' mode in the Middle Ages), which also shows how the kithara could accompany the voice by the opening technique of 'string stopping' to create simple harmony by leaving open only those strings the player wishes to sound. Other techniques possible which are demonstrated, include using the carved bone plectrum as a fret on the string to achieve accidentals, to create tremolo and also how harmonics are possible.

For full details on all my research into the kithara of ancient Greece and Rome, please also see my blog:

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Many thanks for watching!






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