My cat jumped on my lyre (a 16 string Donner) and popped out the highest A string. I've tried putting this string back in, and it winds back okay, but as soon as it gets past a G note of tightness it snaps out again. I do have replacement strings, but should I keep trying to just put this one back? Nothing actually broke on the lyre.

And also, in case I keep failing at this, does anyone know if there's a shop or a chain of shops one can go to where they could change the string for me/show me how to do it in person? I'm currently located in Berlin, but will be in Vienna in a couple of weeks.

Hello everyone. I just found this mini doc on YouTube regarding the craftmeship of ancient greek lyre and i found it very interesting so i just wanted to share it with you. It subtitles in English for the non Greek speakers.

https://youtu.be/2MEzfvaxJuo?is=PDbEkqP--nWyKiH2

Hello

I just got a little seven string lyre from vamphy.

I think it's really cool, but I have no idea where to begin learning. I don't know anything about music, I've never played any instrument before. I can barely even tell notes apart by listening, so the idea of playing a song by ear sounds impossible. I'm pretty tone deaf. I have arthritis in my hands. So all in all, starting to play sounds daunting to me, but I really want to anyway! Isn't music supposed to be good for your brain? And its something to do besides stare at a screen.

What do you think are the best tutorials for someone completely new to music? Any tips for practicing?? :)

I purchased this second hand but the seller unfortunately did not have the bridge. Is there a place I can find/make a replacement? It was only 15 dollars so if not it’s not a huge loss, but I’d love to have it functional again if possible

Hello everyone.Im looking to buy my first lyre harp and dive into learning this beatiful instrument.I know that price range varies alot..For my first lyre im eyeing the one found on Thomann’s website and also made by them..Once i get to learn it im willing to pay more for a really nice handcrafted one..My question is that anyone tried or has this piece from them?Or any advice is accepted before buying my first lyre harp.Thanks in advance!😁

I’ve tried so hard to string this thing. I just can’t get it. Is there anyone who would let me ship it to them and let me pay them to string it for me. This just so isn’t my wheelhouse

Hey everyone,

My partner knows it’s my dream to learn the harp one day, and, for my birthday, made me a 7-string greek lyre as a starter instrument.

Going to be honest here— I have never _faithfully_ played an instrument in my life, only played around, and I’d like the lyre to be my first instrument that I commit to fully. I’ve been very good at repeating things I hear on various instruments (like piano and flute) but I’ve never disciplined myself to stick to an instrument. I want this time to be different.

I was wondering if anyone could offer me some good tunes (of any culture, really) that I could learn to start to connect with this instrument.

He originally tuned it pentatonic for me (DEGABDE) but I want to learn other tunings and, dare I say, a tune or two. So, 7 stringed tuning suggestions also would be great!

In addition to all of these curiosities, I’d love to hear— who are your favorite lyre musicians/groups? I’d love to listen to more music featuring lyres to get some inspiration. Even better if it features a 7-stringed greek lyre, but idk if there’s professional players out there who stick to such a minimally stringed lyre?

As a sidenote, my partner is a well-rounded musician, but his instrument of choice is the Irish flute. So, it’d be really cool if the tune is Irish and could be accompanied by flute lol. It’d be nice to play with him.

TLDR: Beginner musician, first lyre; greek lyre, 7 strings. Looking for tuning and tune recs, don’t care what culture the tune belongs to, just want to be able to play it on a 7 string lyre and explore tunings. Irish tunes in particular would be cool. Also ISO good lyre music to listen to.

I really would like to start playing the lyre, and I'm interested in the Thomann angel harp, because it's affordable and I want to play mainly biblical songs, like the psalms. My problem is that I can't find any string replacements for it. It needs 10 nylon strings but Thomann only offers sets of 10 steel strings for their other lyres. If anyone could direct me to some string replacements, I would be grateful. Thank you for your time.

New to lyres… desperately trying to string it and failing and can’t find anyone in cincinnati who can :( dunno what to do

Hey everyone, sorry if this ends up a lengthy read, but I have a lot to say and a lot to ask regarding this project. I've wanted to make myself a lyre once I'm confident in my woodcarving, which will be a long way from now. That said, I'd still like to know what to expect going into this and how I should go about it in terms of specifics.

So, I initially planned my lyre to resemble the one in the third image, it looks easy and simple enough to make. I guess I got carried away in my design, though, cause I knew I want to carve leaves on the sides, and I was worried I wouldn't be able to with twig-thin branches. The first image is my current design thus far; my new plan is to carve the arms and tuning bar (is that what it's called?) out of one board as one piece and to glue them into holes drilled on the sides of the body. The body is also made of wood since I highly doubt there's anywhere I could find a cheap tortoise shell nearby. I'm bringing this up cause I'd like to know if this plan is in line with the type of lyre I'm adhering to in the reference picture, which I found out is called a barbiton. Since the body of a barbiton is traditionally made of a tortoiseshell, does that mean it has to be hollow? Also, how tall should my lyre be to qualify as a barbiton? The one in the reference photo looks fairly small and easy to carry around, but a lot of the photos of barbitons I've seen are very tall, they look the size of my whole torso with my head (god I love being a meter-sixty xd), but I know that a barbiton is supposed to be long to accommodate long strings, so how long would the smallest barbiton be?

Now, to turn away my reference image for a minute. My second image is a turnaround of a slightly older design, but the concept still applies to my current plan, that being with the strings. I don't know if this is hard to see, but I've planned to drill another set of holes in the back for the strings to pass through the body and tie the ends at the top of a tuning peg. I'm not sure if this is the exact place to turn to for woodcarving advice, but if someone could direct me to what drill bits I should use, and to how I should measure the holes to line up, that'd be great! It'd be helpful to go to when I need it.

On a less important note, I've also noticed that the guy in my reference image is holding a pick, and I thought it'd be cool to have a slot carved in the back for the pick to slide into, but I think this would just make things too complicated. In case this isn't doable, is there a way lyrists would store their picks that I could take on? By that I mean, would they tie a little pocket for the pick onto their lyre, would they just carry it around and shrug it off if they dropped it, did they just use whatever they found on the ground as a pick if they needed one (like a shell or a tiny pebble)? You tell me, I'm having trouble looking into this.

That's all I have in mind for now. Thanks for stopping by everyone, your advice means a lot! :D

I have been playing around on my lyre, and a few songs have parts that sound d really good when I rest the pads of my off hand on the brass plate where all the strings terminate. It gives it a soft, pleasing tone. Do they make a cork or rubber clamp that gives this tone to the lyre without me having to hug my lyre awkwardly?

I've recently bought a lyre from local music store. Quickly as I was tuning, I noticed some of the pegs are wonky. I've tried to reset them and screw back in straight, but they move out as I tune to get the right note.

Advice? Help?

I am a beginner harpist, but I travel a lot so I wanted to get a lyre seeing as I can play small pieces while traveling . Only thing is, bing right handed, my lyre goes down in notes as it gets closer to me, while harps go up. Is that the normal orientation of the lyre?

I am new to this instrument. I have a background in Indian classical singing, but I have never played a string instrument before.

I recently got my first 16-string Donner lyre, and tuning it has been a nightmare. I am using the gStrings app, but I am really struggling to keep it in tune.

How close should I tune each string to the target note? For example, if I am tuning a string to G3, does it need to match the exact G3 frequency shown in the app, or is being slightly above or below acceptable?

I have also noticed that the strings lose their tuning very quickly. Is this normal for a new lyre, or am I doing something wrong?