Kinnor is the Hebrew name for an ancient lyre, the first mentioned in the Bible (Gen. iv. 21), where it is now commonly translated harp. In Modern Hebrew, It means a violin. The identification of the instrument has been much discussed, but, from the standpoint of the history of musical instruments, the weight of evidence is in favor of the view that the Semitic kinnor is the Greek cithara. This instrument was already in use before 2000 s.c. among the Semitic races. It is unlikely that an instrument (which also appears on Hebrew coins) so widely known and used in various parts of Asia Minor in remote times, and occurring among the Hittite sculptures, should pass unmentioned in the Bible, with the exception of the verses in Dan. iii.
It is also sometimes called David's harp in English, and has been called the national instrument of Israel.
Tuning
There are different variations of the Kinnor, each having a different number of strings. The following sample tunings are based on the E♭ Major / C Minor scale:
- 12-string Kinnor: E♭,D,C,B♭,A♭,G,F,E♭,D,C,B♭,A♭ (High to Low)
- 10-string Kinnor: E♭,D,C,B♭,A♭,G,F,E♭,D,C (High to Low)
References
- http://www.myspace.com/jubalslyre
- http://www.rakkav.com/biblemusic/index2.htm
- http://www.rakkav.com/biblemusic/pages/instruments.htm
- http://www.chelseashul.org/Music/Skarbova.htm
- http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0003-097X(199802)309%3C41%3ADACPAI%3E2.0.CO%3B2-C
- http://www.jubilee-harps.com/history.htm
- http://www.klezmershack.com/articles/horowitz/horowitz.klezmodes.html
Note
See Also
Nevel (instrument)
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Last updated on Thursday July 24, 2008 at 12:31:48 PDT (GMT -0700)
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