Psaltery Instrument by Schoenhut Toy Piano Company: Model 2204

Model: 2204

The Schoenhut Bowed Psaltery is a twenty-two stringed, fully chromatic musical instrument. It is arranged similar to a piano; the white keys on one side and the black keys on the other.

By having each string tuned to a specific pitch, it is easy to attain a pleasing violin-like sound without fretting any strings. A CD with play-along songs and tuning tones (to assist in tuning) as well as a video clip illustrating playing techniques is included in the package.

The Psaltery was a popular instrument during the middle Ages; it is depicted in various forms in manuscripts and carvings. It was brought to England during the time of the crusades and is thought to have been based on the North African instrument the Qanun. By the 18th century it had developed into several other instruments, hit with hammers it became the Hammered Dulcimer, fitted with a keyboard mechanism the Harpsichord. These two eventually combined to produce the most important instrument of modern times - the piano.