Sunday 26 October 2014

How To Make Handmade Psalteries

By Patty Goff


For those who do not know, a psaltery is an instrument that is somewhat a combination of a violin and a harp and is often played in the olden days. Now if one likes to play a string instrument that produces a somewhat unique sound, then he can actually play this instrument. This guide will help him be able to create his own handmade psalteries.

To begin the process, one has to first make sure that he makes the frame. Now do take note that the frame is one of the most important parts of the entire instrument because it is the thing that holds everything. So if one would want to make the frame, he has to first cut out two thin pieces of plywood for the sides and a thick piece for the base.

Once one has already gotten the three pieces of wood, then the next step would be to glue them together. Of course one has to make use of a special glue that is able to glue the pieces of wood together. Once he has done that, then he has to just wait for the glue to dry then he can go to the next step.

The next thing to do now would be to attach the back. Now since the entire shape of this instrument is a triangle, then naturally the back would also be in the shape of a triangle. When a triangle pieces of wood has already been cut up, then one can attach it to the back using that special glue.

After he has done that, then the next thing that he has to think about would be attaching the soundboard. Now the soundboard would be the front of the psaltery and would be where the strings and the pins are. So to make this, one just has to make a duplicate of the back and attach it to the front instead.

Once he has created the entire thing, he must now cut out a small tuning hole in the middle of the creation and put some pins. Now in order to put the pins, he must drill some holes in the wood where he will stick the pins. To know where he should put the pins, he may actually search the internet for some instructions.

Now the next part in the process would be to put the strings. Now in order to do this, one has to buy some tuning strings from a music store and start tying the strings around the pins of the psaltery. He may use a pair of pliers to do the job if he cannot do it by hand.

After doing that, then the last thing that one has to do would be to attach the bridge. Now the bridge is a very important part of the entire psaltery because it is what will make the strings sound really good. It should be located on the pins that are on the bottom of the instrument. Once that is already done, then one now has a psaltery which he can start plucking and strumming away. He may also want to build a bow along with it but that is already a different story.




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