I am gettin this lyre as a beginner. But I don’t really want steel strings. Was gonna swap out for Nylon but idk anything about restringing a lyre.
Do I need special strings? How do I know which strings to put where? That stuff
Hello, I really enjoy the sound of this instrument and also the limited strings (especially in videos where nylgut is used).
Lots of videos of this instrument being played has caught my interest but sadly it seems that it’s pretty niche and there’s probably even fewer learning resources compared to more common lyres.
So I was wondering…. I have no musical knowledge. I barely have a concept of what a “chord” is. Or a “scale” or anything like that. Or what the letters mean. Think it’d be unwise to take this instrument up?
I've been learning to play the chromatic lyre for about a year now and I am still as in love with it as I was at the start! Loads to learn still (also as far as my vocals go, since my teacher is helping me with that part too), but if anyone has any questions about this type of lyre, ask away!
Do you use your nail, the tip of your finger or the flat end of your finger? Or do you pinch the cords in another way? As I have long nails, I naturally use my nails, but not sure this is the right way, and it produces a higher-pitch sound. I don't dislike it, but I wonder if 'that's how it's supposed to be'. Would love to improve my way of playing, so thanks ind advance for the tips!
How can I play on my Lyre but I only have the Piano alphabetical notes of the song? Like how do I know which key on the Piano would it be in the Lyre? please let me know since I think translating the piano notes into lyre is easier since there’s not enough tutorials on how to okay songs with the lyre
I just got my first instrument: an acoustic 19 string diatonic lyre.
I am tuning it and it’s crazy! The tuning pins have this annoying amount of friction where when I use the socket tuning wrench it either doesn’t move or moves too much. Like I build up pressure and then it “gives” and goes too far. But if I don’t put pressure then nothing will happen
And then! By the time I got the last string tuned, other strings are now no longer in tune. It’s like plugging 19 holes of a sinking ship using only my fingers.
Is this normal? I got mine from Brandon John Luthery which seemed to have good reviews and backing. Looks like this but with different colored wood: https://www.etsy.com/listing/4294999012/19-string-acoustic-lyre-sugar-maple?ref=shop_home_feat_2&pro=1&frs=1&sts=1&logging_key=d4addd1d2e6486591bbed1675f7df30b9eed3223%3A4294999012
Ended up taking me over an hour just for it to all be out of tune in the end anyways
I just bought my first lyre (it will arrive tomorrow). I have no prior experience with playing the lyre or even seeing it played up close (though I’ve watched a lot of videos of people playing it, and I’m sure I’ve seen it played on stage before). I play piano and ukulele. I use uke tabs when playing ukulele, but for the lyre, I don’t understand why I wouldn’t just use standard sheet music (either using the kinds written for singers or people playing instruments like the violin where the notation includes one line at a time, or else using piano sheet music but just playing the melody/ the part typically played with the right hand). Obviously, I would make sure it was written in or transposed to C Major or A Minor. But I keep seeing people referencing where to find music written or adapted for the lyre. I get why you’d need this for a 6-10 string lyre or if you just are unfamiliar with reading standard sheet music, but I’m not sure if the need for lyre-specific sheet music goes beyond that.
For context, although the lyre I bought is basic in terms of quality/ brand due to budget limitations (it’s Cega), it does have 19 strings with F3 to C6 diatonic tuning, so it spans 2.5 octaves. I want to play pop music plus popular children’s songs, children’s movie themes, and some ditties (Irish and American) that my grandparents used to sing. I’d also be interested in playing some songs from certain Broadway musicals (and I do have piano sheet music for the scores of a few different musicals). I understand that particularly Broadway songs and also some pop songs will extend outside of the 2.5 octave range, but I don’t really see it being a major issue since normally that’s just for the bridge or for a few notes or whatever in these types of music, and most untrained singers automatically condense songs within 2 octaves when they sing them, anyway. So I don’t really feel like it would be a problem to just play up or down an octave if needed…
Am I missing something, or is the need for lyre-specific notations/ sheet music/ adaptations limited to either lyres with less than 16 strings (I have 19, but I would imagine regular sheet music would largely work fine for 16 as well) or people who don’t know how to read standard sheet music or who are trying to play like, classical piano pieces? I’m asking because finding music written/ adapted for the lyre, and specifically for a 19-string lyre, for most of the kinds of songs I’d want to play (except some of the children’s songs) seems like it’d be pretty difficult, and I just genuinely don’t understand why it’d be necessary. But I also have no experience and limited specific relevant knowledge re: the lyre and so could absolutely be missing something here.
So, I am completely new and don't know anything and would like to tune it. I'm using a Veelah Electric Tuner. Is this good, or did I make a mistake? And any advice on if this is a good tuner at all as I use it.
I’ve put together a YouTube playlist of 7‑string lyre song tutorials and thought some of you might find it helpful. These are tutorials, not just covers. They show you how to play each song on a 7‑string lyre.
The majority of these songs are “modern” pieces (as opposed to historical / ancient Anglo‑Saxon, Viking, Greek, or Germanic lyre music). Some videos are my own, but most are from other creators. I just curated them into one place so anyone who needs them doesn’t have to search all over YouTube. I hope it'll be helpful!
Some songs in the playlist include: