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Citterns

Scope note

European wire-strung plucked lutelike chordophones played with a plectrum, very popular in the 16th and 17th centuries, having a wedge-shaped body with a curved bottom and straight shoulders narrowing towards the neck, and a low flat bridge held in position only by the strings it supports. Their most characteristic feature is a long, fretted neck which is half cut away from behind the fingerboard on the bass side, making a channel along which the player's left thumb can slide to facilitate very rapid shifts to and from high positions.

Term type

AAT

Getty AAT term number

300042020

Equivalent Terms used

cittern

Created

13yrs ago

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The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Terminology definition for: citterns" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/terminology/term-93892 Accessed: 2024-11-15 15:21:24

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