Courtesy of A.V. Ebblewhite, London; photograph, Behr Photography

The modern zither—named after the ancient Greek instrument known as a kithara, or cithara—is a stringed instrument with a flat, shallow sound box. Stretched across the wooden sound box are five metal strings situated above a fretboard and a large number of fretless strings, which are usually of gut, nylon, or other materials.

Typically a melody is played on the metal strings, which are plucked with a plectrum (a pick), while the accompaniment is…

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