LEARN TO PLAY
WHAT IS A ZITHER ?
The chord-Zither is a wonderful instrument with many colors. The box allows for a wonderful ringing effect.
Etienne has been playing it since he was 22 and adapted many pieces and songs from different genres, mostly classical and folk. He composed plenty of pieces for the 5-chord Zither, which is his favorite... and transcribed dozens of sheet music that you can download on the website. Checkout his biography by clicking below to know more.
Chord-Zithers can be found in many configurations : 5-chords, 6-chords... always with a melody section.
With a bit of training, anyone can play the Chord-Zither and enjoy its calming effect on the mind. Though it sounds a bit like a harp, when played correctly it almost sounds like two instruments at the same time : a guitar and a mandolin. Some chord-zither have double-strings, some have simple strings. To know more, checkout this Chord-Zither history :
Etienne’s way of playing is quite unique : He revised the tuning so that a musician can use it for actual music pieces, not just with the melody cards (mostly for beginners). He also uses a system of diamonds and dots to navigate on the instrument. All of these informations can be found in the tutor that Etienne wrote. It can be used for both 5 and 6 chord-Zither, and it is available in e-book format or in physical book format. Below, you will find extracts to help you get started with this beautiful instrument.
LEARN TO PLAY
TUNING OF THE INSTRUMENT
The original, chromatic tuning is obsolete. Start by tuning your Chord-Zither with the revised tuning provided in PDF.
You can book tuitions in person or via Zoom with Etienne. Please contact him for any further informations.
Why I changed the tuning