Zither
Anton Karas Zither
A clip of Anton Karas playing zither.
Washington Phillips, Leadbelly and the Dolceola

My interest in the Dolceola was piqued this past weekend when I discovered an 1870 Zither while rummaging through a flea market. Opening the worn hand painted box I had no idea what was under the torn frays of hand written music sheets with dates ranging from 1870 to 1911. After uncovering the oblong shaped Zither, I decided I had to have it and assumed that I could always pick up how to play it later on. While researching it online I came across the controversy and mystery of Washington Phillips Dolceola blues playing from the 1930’s. The Dolceola is the piano sibling of the Zither and only 25 are known to exist. Unlike the Zither which is either plucked or played with a bow, the Dolceola is played like a piano. Its sound is somewhat like a harpsichord although with more of a bluesy string resonation. For years the sole historical example (and source of much controversy) of the Dolceola was the mysterious and intriguing blues songs played by Washington Phillips from 1927 to 1939. In 2004 a photo surfaced with Phillips holding 2 Celestaphones, only fueling the fire of whether or not he played any Dolceola on his groundbreaking yet relatively unknown recordings. Regardless of whether or not one side of the argument is right- Washington Phillips incredible music is what should be the focus. When listening to his music you can’t help but be drawn into where the sound came from. The Dolceola perfectly captures the sound of the celestial sky being gazed upon by a minor leaving the mine after a grueling day. It was uncovered that Leadbelly was also known to use the Dolceola in several of his songs, these have all been collected into a single MP3 linked below:
...Zither - 55 items found
Zither News

![]() Viet Nam News | Asian Zither Festival attracts audience Viet Nam News, Vietnam - HCM CITY — Musicians from the Chinese mainland, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Viet Nam enchanted more than 1000 zither lovers with their diverse |
Zither Festival instills love of music VietNamNet Bridge, Vietnam - VietNamNet Bridge - The four-day Asian Zither Festival II -2008 concluded at the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory Thursday. During first three days of the |
![]() Nhan Dan | Vietnamese artists perform at the second Asian zither festival. Nhan Dan, Vietnam - Nhan Dan/VNA- The second Asian zither festival was opened on September 1 at the Labour Palace in Ho Chi Minh City. The event attracted the participation of |
Asian Zither Festival enlivens City in September Viet Nam News, Vietnam - HCM CITY — Performers from the Chinese mainland, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Viet Nam are expected to participate in the second Asian Zither Festival in |
Sept. 13 concert features zithers Delta County Independent, CO - Heidi Seelhoff of Spring Creek Chalet, a lifelong zither player has invited the National Zither Orchestra to Montrose to perform with master zither player |
String Directory
Guzheng - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
It belongs to the zither family of string instruments. ... Guzheng - Chinese zither history and information. Washington GuZheng Society " ...
zither -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia
Britannica online encyclopedia article on zither:European zither, made in Vienna.Courtesy of A.V. Ebblewhite, London; photograph, Behr Photography/EB Inc.any ...
Zither - Free Music Downloads - MP3 Downloads - Download.com Music
Zither @ Download.com Music - Download free & legal MP3s, post reviews, and find similar artists. ... Zither is composed of metalheads who do homework, some ...
zither - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
Definition of zither from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary with audio pronunciations, thesaurus, Word of the Day, and word games.
Zither
First, the term zither is used by musicologists to refer to a whole category of ... Fretless zither is the best term to use for describing any of the instruments on ...









