Zither

Zither

Different concert zithers
String instrument
Classification	(Chordophone), String instrument
Hornbostel–Sachs classification	314.122-5,6 (Resonated box zither, plucked by fingers or a plectrum)
Developed	Antiquity
Related instruments
Bar zither, musical bow, stick zither, tube zither, raft zither, board zither, box zither, ground zither, harp zither, trough zither, frame zither
Sound sample
Zither solo from G'schichten aus dem Wienerwald (1:04) Problems playing this file? See media help.

Zithers (/ˈzɪðər, ˈzɪθ-/;^[1] German: [ˈtsɪtɐ], from the Greek word cithara) are a class of stringed instruments. Historically, it could be any instrument of the psaltery family. In modern terminology, it is more specifically an instrument consisting of many strings stretched across a thin, flat body, the topic of this article.^[1][2][3]

Zithers are typically played by strumming or plucking the strings with the fingers or a plectrum. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, the term refers to a larger family of similarly shaped instruments that also includes the hammered dulcimer family and piano and a few rare bowed instruments like the bowed psaltery, bowed dulcimer, and streichmelodion. Like an acoustic guitar or lute, a zither's body serves as a resonating chamber (sound box), but, unlike guitars and lutes, a zither lacks a distinctly separate neck assembly. The number of strings varies, from one to more than fifty.

In modern common usage the term "zither" refers to three specific instruments: the concert zither (German: Konzertzither), its variant the Alpine zither (each of which uses a fretted fingerboard), and the chord zither (more recently described as a fretless zither or "guitar zither"). Concert and Alpine zithers are traditionally found in Slovenia, Austria, Hungary, France, north-western Croatia, the southern regions of Germany, Alpine Europe, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Emigration from these areas during the 19th century introduced the concert and Alpine zither to North and South America. Chord zithers similar to the instrument in the photograph also became popular in North America during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These variants all use metal strings, similar to the cittern.