Playing the Psaltery

This week I am practicing the psaltery for our church's annual music program after our Harvest dinner.   The psaltery I have is called a 'bowed psaltery' because it is played with a bow.   Back in 2001, I attended an event called a Frontier Rendezvous in Aitkin MN and saw a woman there playing a psaltery.   These frontier rendezvous events are a re-enactment of life and skills back in the pioneer days, and this lady was playing the psaltery with two bows (she had the psaltery on a little lap stand so she could play with both hands) and played a variety of Appalachian and folk tunes.  She was an excellent psaltery player and I was very impressed, both with her and the instrument.  I knew right then that this was an instrument I wanted to learn to play!  A very dear friend bought me a psaltery for Christmas that year, and so I began to learn.   A bowed psaltery is easier for a keyboard player like me to learn because the strings are arranged with octaves of notes on one side, and the sharps and flats on the other side.  The arrangement of the instrument is more or less like a piano keyboard, but the opposite in sound - i.e. the higher up you go, the lower the tone.  The psaltery is played by moving the bow on the strings in between the metal pegs, and how fast or slow you play is determined by your touch on the strings and technique. 
     Over the years I have improved somewhat, although I will never be as good as that lady at the Rendezvous.  I still have a hard time with string technique.  But I do a fair enough job that I feel confident playing at church.   For the past couple years I have done hymns on the psaltery, and this year I will play the hymn 'God Will Take Care of You'.  (Last year I played 'Let All Things Now Living' to the tune of Ash Grove)  The psaltery has a very delicate sound, so I need to play in front of a microphone in order for the congregation to hear me in a large room.  But the sound of a psaltery is soothing and mellow, and music like Christmas carols or folk/mountain/Celtic music or hymns sound especially good on it.   You can hear what a psaltery sounds like by Googling it (try You-Tube) and then you can hear really good musicians!

The psaltery is played by holding it against your body and moving the bow between the pegs on the strings

A close-up of the bowed psaltery.  It is tuned by adjusting the pegs on the bottom.

Putting rosin on the bow.

A close-up of the strings

   Over the years I have learned to play accordion, organ and piano.  Playing the bowed psaltery adds a new skill, and certainly helps to pass the time on those long winter evenings!