Sound is Art
Listen to field recordings, instruments, performances and other noise. Maintained by Margaret Noble
Bowed Psaltery

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

psaltery

Psaltery [sawl-tuh-ree]

1. An ancient musical instrument made of a flat sounding box with strings which are plucked or bowed.

This is the bowed psaltery. It produces long, lush sustained sounds and can be played with one or two bows. I ordered this custom made Psaltery with a built in pick-up for electronic amplification and effects. The bowed psaltery is a lovely way to catch sustained string sounds when you’re not a seasoned cello or violin player. It was made by James Jones and the sound clip here is from his website. (I did not want to torture you with my interpretations of it just yet. Soon I will…)

Click here for brief history of how this modern psaltery came to be.

Click here to find out more about the Bowed Psaltery and the instrument maker James Jones

More on Margaret Noble’s work here.

2 Comments to “Bowed Psaltery”

  1. Joshua says:

    I love this…

  2. Jocelyn says:

    It was as if I were in a sea of violins flooding and crowding all over me but then I could just imagine that I was on the titanic next to the string orchestra playing there romantic soft melodies.The way this instrument plays is like if you were in a dream of wonders just prancing by your mind every other day.

Leave a Reply