Due to the few number of strings on the lyre, it is possible to tune in lovely, pure just intonation with all those wonderfully geometrically pure whole number ratios...but without any wolf tones or increase in dissonance which one would get by stacking up these interval ratios on a keyboard instrument.
That was because it was custom built by Luthieros, with an actual foraged Greek land tortoise parapace - all their regular commercially available models feature epoxy resin 3D printed shells, scanned from these foraged tortoise shells.
The tortoise shell lyre was the analogue of a rough & ready guitar throughout classical antiquity, in both Greece & probably also Greek culture-infuenced Rome - used predominantly at drinking parties (symposium) & due to the more delicate tone (since tortoise shell is a poor resonator compared to wood), domestic use - in contrast to the more versatile, far more resonant kithara, the much larger wooden lyre of the professional musicians of classical antiquity (contests of virtuosity on the kithara were common at many ancient Greek festivals!).
@@Noblebird02 pretty much so - it was also analogous to the 'school recorder' of antiquity, used as a teaching instrument - indeed, in "The Republic", Plato describes how music teachers should teach their pupils by avoiding the more virtuosic techniques common at that time, for example avoiding 'playing long notes with the short' (ie improvised polyphony!)
thats awesome mr Michael
This music is cool!
as i grow to love microtonal music i get to love more strange instruments
Due to the few number of strings on the lyre, it is possible to tune in lovely, pure just intonation with all those wonderfully geometrically pure whole number ratios...but without any wolf tones or increase in dissonance which one would get by stacking up these interval ratios on a keyboard instrument.
Thanks.
Thank you
0:32 the ancient note
I always liked this lyre, shame I could not get it 😅
That was because it was custom built by Luthieros, with an actual foraged Greek land tortoise parapace - all their regular commercially available models feature epoxy resin 3D printed shells, scanned from these foraged tortoise shells.
Would this instrument have still been fashionable in the time of Hadrian
The tortoise shell lyre was the analogue of a rough & ready guitar throughout classical antiquity, in both Greece & probably also Greek culture-infuenced Rome - used predominantly at drinking parties (symposium) & due to the more delicate tone (since tortoise shell is a poor resonator compared to wood), domestic use - in contrast to the more versatile, far more resonant kithara, the much larger wooden lyre of the professional musicians of classical antiquity (contests of virtuosity on the kithara were common at many ancient Greek festivals!).
@@MichaelLevyMusic so it was sort of a fun instrument to them. Like a barber shop cittern? And it remained in fashion until antiquity
@@Noblebird02 pretty much so - it was also analogous to the 'school recorder' of antiquity, used as a teaching instrument - indeed, in "The Republic", Plato describes how music teachers should teach their pupils by avoiding the more virtuosic techniques common at that time, for example avoiding 'playing long notes with the short' (ie improvised polyphony!)