Cretan lyra

E781105

The Cretan lyra is a traditional bowed string instrument from the Greek island of Crete, central to its folk music and often used for dance melodies and improvisation.

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Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf bowed string instrument
folk musical instrument
traditional Greek instrument
bodyShape pear-shaped
countryOfOrigin Greece
culturalSignificance symbol of Cretan musical identity
genre Cretan folk dance music
Greek folk music
hasComponent bow
bridge
pegbox
resonance body
soundboard
strings
tuning pegs
hasVariant bass Cretan lyra NERFINISHED
lyra with sympathetic strings
modern Cretan lyra
soprano Cretan lyra
historicalPeriodOfDevelopment Middle Ages NERFINISHED
influenced other regional lyra types in Greece
influencedBy Byzantine musical tradition
oftenAccompaniedBy Cretan lute NERFINISHED
laouto NERFINISHED
percussion
performanceContext dance gatherings
village festivals
weddings
placeOfOrigin Crete NERFINISHED
playingTechnique melodic line on upper strings with drone on lower string
region Eastern Mediterranean NERFINISHED
relatedInstrument Byzantine lyra
Calabrian lira NERFINISHED
Pontic lyra
rebec
violin
soundProduction bowed
tuning various modal tunings
typicalBowingTechnique short fast strokes GENERATED
typicalMaterial gut strings
metal strings
wood
typicalNumberOfStrings 3
typicalPlayingPosition held vertically on the knee
resting on the thigh
usedFor accompanying Cretan mantinades (rhymed couplets)
dance music
melodic improvisation
usedIn Cretan folk music

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Cretan music usesInstrument Cretan lyra