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Celtic Lyre is term use to one of four instruments., The recent find on the Isle of Skye, Bean Lyres, Anglo-Saxon Lyres and Gallic Lyres.

The Gallic Lyre

The Gallic Lyre is an ancient lyre unique to France, there is very little knowledge about it.The only knowledge coming from Roman writers, a statue of a bard found in Paule and it being depicted on several Gallic coins. No Gallic Lyre has be found in any archaeological excavations.

The longest Roman reference to the lyre comes from Diodorus of Sicily, however it gives little indication of the instrument itself.

"There are lyrical poets among them, whom they call" bards ". These, with instruments

similar to lyres, evoke those whom they praise as well as those whom they mock.

"(Diodorus of Sicily, Historical Library, V, 31, 2)

V, 31, 2)

The only real image of it come the Statuette from Paule dating from 100-200 bc. The statue depicts a Bard holding a lyre which appears to have seven strings and is very similar in design to a Greek Lyre.

Lyres are also common on French coins dating back to 200bc. This is not unique to France though as both the Romans and Greeks commonly depicted lyres on coins too.

The lyre has been replicated twice.

The archaeologists at Atelier Skald created a replica based on their interpretation from the statue and coins. Another luthier Benjamin Simao also created replica based on his interpretation.

The origin of the Gallic Lyre is unknown, but its similarities in design to Greek Lyres and its appearance in the era just after the Greeks founded the settlement of Massalia (modern day Marseille), suggest a connection.

Bean Lyres

The term Celtic Lyre is most commonly used to refer to the small cheap Bean Lyres widely available at online music shops, eBay, Wish, Amazon and many other places. These lyres usually have 10 or 12 strings, are made of Rosewood Lyres and originate from Pakistan, where they are mass produced.

To maximize sales Pakistani companies manufacture these lyres with a large variety of patterns carved into them, some of which are Celtic patterns, these are then advertised as Celtic Lyres, (only the lyres with Celtic patterns are called Celtic Lyres).

Bean Lyres

Bean Lyres are modern lyres originating in the early 21st century and were the first cheap mass produced lyres, previously lyres had to be custom made by luthiers. Bean lyres emerged to fill the burgeoning online shopping industry, Pakistan having a long history of mass producing previously expensive hand made instruments.

The Anglo-Saxon

The term Celtic lyre has also occasionally found use to describe an Anglo-Saxon Lyre. The Anglo-Saxon Lyre is an ancient lyre found in England and identical to German and Scandinavian Lyres of the same period. It has a unique shape very different to Middle East, North African and Southern European Lyres.

It is usually referred to a Celtic Lyre in two capacities.

Some Anglo-Saxon makers have made Anglo-Saxon Lyres and sold them under the name Celtic or Irish Lyres to customers who wish to call their lyre Celtic. Also on Youtube there are a number of channels where the owners have either bought or made an Anglo-Saxon Lyres but are branding their music Celtic Lyre music, some of these channels attractive large numbers of views.

This pattern mirrors similar instruments such as the Tin Whistle an instruments originating in Manchester in England in the 19th Century, which is widely sold as the Irish or Celtic Whistle by lots of companies. With the massive growth in popularity of the Anglo-Saxon Lyre, going from only a handful of makers 20 years ago to dozens at present, the reference to it as a Celtic Lyre are increasing.

Scottish Lyre

in 2012 at a dig on the Isle of Sky Scotland archaeologists discovered a notched piece of wood. The object was dated to around 300bc. Some archaeologists suggested it was the bridge of a stringed instruments, if so this would make it the oldest known stringed instrument in Northern Europe.

If it is the bridge of an instrument, one potential candidate is a lyre. However the piece of wood only has notches for 3 strings (possible 4 if breaking is taken into consideration). This would be unique for a lyre and make it very limited in musical capacity. An alternative suggestion is a middle eastern style Oud were contempory and had 3 strings. Alternatively bowed lyre have between 2 and 4 string so could be an early Crwth.

Construction

Frame Drums are the most basic design of drum and are similarly made worldwide. They are constructed by steam bending a thin plank of wood into a circle, an animal skin is then soaked in water and stretched across it, the type of animal skin varies around the world based on animal availability and time period. Crocodile, buffalo, sheep, pig, goat, seal, whale, deer snake and cow have all been used.

Frame drums around the world range greatly in size, from 8cm to a metre in diametre. Ornaments can then be added to the drum to give sound effects, such as snares, jingles and metal rings. The drums are then held and played in a variety of methods using hands and many different kinds of sticks.

History

Frame drums are one of the oldest kinds of drum in existence. They have been around since prehistoric times, been used in some form in most societies in the world and their still legacy remains in many countries today.

The oldest record of a frame drum goes back 8000 years to a wall painting of people of dancing and frame drumming located at the Turkish Neolithic site of Çatalhöyük. A sculpture of a woman playing a frame drum dating back 4000 years was found in archaeological excavations of the city of Ur in Mesopotamia. Images of frame drums become quite regular in sculpture and murals in North Africa from around 3500 ago years onwards. The oldest known surviving frame drum is from Ptolemaic Egypt and is held in the Cairo museum. From 2500 they are common in the whole Near East and begin to appear on statues and vases in the Greek world. [2]

Frame drums are also found in the Far East and Americas. In Japan (Paranku) and Korea (sogo) small frame drums are played with sticks. Another type of Japanese frame drum (Uchiwa daiko) has a handle, is played standing up with a stick and is almost identical an Inuit (kilaut) frame drum. The oldest footage of frame drumming in the world is of American Indians performing the Buffalo Dance in 1894 and is held in the Library of Congress. [3] In the film while some Indians dance, seated frame drummers can be seen beating the drums with long thin sticks.

Frame drums were common across Europe until late Medieval times and were mostly played Middle Eastern style holding the drum facing forward and playing it with the fingers, beating them with sticks also existed too, but was less common. Many frames drums are illustrated in medieval paintings. Their popularity declined rapidly in post medieval period as newer more sophisticated drums emerged leaving only the tambourines as their legacy in most countries. However tradition continued with in Easter Europe, England and Sami.

Playing

Traditionally Frame drums are played using a variety of methods, some with fingers and hands in variety of styles, especially in North Africa, Middle East and Europe. Sticks are used by most cultures too, these can be long and thin or short and thick, be single ended or double ended, have cushioned ends and are held in a variety of differing ways. Playing positions vary, some are played while sitting down for others to dance to, while others are dancers instruments themselves, some are held from underneath, some side on and face on.

especially in North Africa, Middle East, East Asia, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia and among Native Americans and Inuit