Search found 212 matches

by kenbloom
Wed Mar 18, 2015 8:47 am
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Introducing Myself
Replies: 3
Views: 965

Re: Introducing Myself

Hi Jeff, Welcome to the forum. The concert zither is a fabulous instrument and is capable of doing all sorts of things. For many years I have mainly used it to play American music. I do play a bit the zither standards but I find that jazz and blues work great on it. I've played tons of country music...
by kenbloom
Wed Mar 04, 2015 9:21 am
Forum: Learning
Topic: "Der Weg zur Virtuositaet" - Method Book for the Right Hand
Replies: 4
Views: 987

Re: "Der Weg zur Virtuositaet" - Method Book for the Right H

You're welcome. After you have worked your way through a few of the pages, you will begin to see the thinking behind the exercises. These books really freed up my thinking about right hand fingering. The real fun comes when you start to take a melody that you really like and start to work out more i...
by kenbloom
Fri Feb 13, 2015 10:32 am
Forum: Zitherists
Topic: The Portable Zither Stand
Replies: 5
Views: 2302

Re: The Portable Zither Stand

All of these look very substantial and would probably sound ok. If you are building your own and you're are looking for legs that are adjustable, I have often adapted the legs on a photographic tripod to accomplish that feat. If you design it right, three legs actually work somewhat better than four...
by kenbloom
Fri Feb 13, 2015 10:23 am
Forum: Learning
Topic: Young zither players, tender fingers
Replies: 10
Views: 12421

Re: Young zither players, tender fingers

Hi Rudi, There are three factors to consider when designing an instrument as far as the string goes, length, thickness and tension. Any instrument is built to withstand a certain degree of tension. This limits the amount of tension that the string can exert. Now you are left with length and thicknes...
by kenbloom
Tue Feb 10, 2015 8:29 am
Forum: Learning
Topic: Young zither players, tender fingers
Replies: 10
Views: 12421

Re: Young zither players, tender fingers

Hi Rudi,

The 17" length is the longer one. There are many instruments around with much shorter lengths, in the 15" range and I've even seen smaller ones. They should be relatively inexpensive to obtain. Let us know how this goes. It's great having more young ones playing!

Ken Bloom
by kenbloom
Sat Feb 07, 2015 11:35 am
Forum: Learning
Topic: Young zither players, tender fingers
Replies: 10
Views: 12421

Re: Young zither players, tender fingers

Hi Rudi, I think there are several things you could do. For starters I would use one of the older concert zithers with a shorter string length and then use harfenzither fingerboard strings. At the shorter length, these strings would have lower tension. Have a qualified technician go over the instrum...
by kenbloom
Thu Jan 29, 2015 9:21 am
Forum: Learning
Topic: Gutmann Zither-Schule
Replies: 23
Views: 5191

Re: Gutmann Zither-Schule

When I started with book 1, I just took each exercise and did it with a metronome. I started with a speed that was so slow I couldn't mess it up and then proceeded to gradually increase the speed. After a while I began to see the reasoning behind what I was doing and began to apply it to some arrang...
by kenbloom
Wed Jan 28, 2015 9:30 am
Forum: Learning
Topic: Gutmann Zither-Schule
Replies: 23
Views: 5191

Re: Gutmann Zither-Schule

Hi Tom, That is a good book and has some very helpful things in it. Let me recommend a series of books that really helped me a lot. Ludwig Karlbrunner past these on to me. The author is Willy Hintermeyer and the title is Der Weg zur Virtuositat. There are three volumes. Book one will probably be fin...
by kenbloom
Sat Jan 24, 2015 10:16 am
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Good Vibrations
Replies: 6
Views: 1117

Re: Good Vibrations

Hi Rudi, What I have observed over the years is that a surface that is thicker and larger gives you more volume than thinner and smaller. Thickness seems to be more important than size. The table for my perfekta has great volume and bass end. Having an enclosed airspace doesn't seem to help. The woo...
by kenbloom
Thu Jan 22, 2015 10:11 am
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Good Vibrations
Replies: 6
Views: 1117

Re: Good Vibrations

I got the same result when I played my zither on a large mahogany dining room table. I found the table at a yard sale and it became my work table in my studio. I wasn't concerned with the small punctures that the little feet gave the table. The sound was amazing! A big bass response and the volume w...