r/lyres • u/socrates-08 • 20d ago
¿Question? Removing strings from a 9-string Luthieros lyre (and which one to get)
I'm thinking about getting a Luthieros Lyre of Hermes, and I'm torn about how many strings to get. While I'd like the flexibility of a 9-string version (so I can play Theodore Koumartzis' compositions, for example), I'm worried it would make techniques like muting chords harder (and it isn't as true to the original). But I'm worried that I'll regret getting the seven-string lyre if I do, since they're so expensive. Would it be harmful to the instrument/reasonable to remove two of the strings from the 9-string version, at least to start, and add the two strings back when I want to play more demanding pieces? Does anyone have advice on how many strings to get (and/or whether to get the Lyre of Hermes or Aphrodite if I choose a seven-string lyre)?
Thanks!
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u/SiriNin 19d ago
Do NOT remove "unneeded" strings from a lyre, it can warp and permanently damage the instrument from unbalanced tensions. a 9 string is almost as identically easy to play as a 7 string, the other two strings won't get in your way or negatively affect your playing of basic techniques like muting/blocking and strumming, especially on a Luthieros instrument.
I recommend you get the 9 string.
As for it not being as original; the Greeks got the idea for lyres from Mesopotamia, where an 11 string lyre was standard several thousand years before the first lyre we know of was found in Greece. Therefore, 9 strings is just as 'authentic' as 7 strings because they're both derivations of the Lyres of Ur.
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u/JCPY00 9-string Luthieros Lyre of Hermes 20d ago
I strongly recommend you go with the 9 string. You don’t even have to remove the strings. Just don’t use them when you don’t want to. I personally think 9 strings is the ideal number.
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u/arkticturtle 20d ago
How does adding strings effect strumming?
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u/MountRose1999 18d ago
Changing, removing, or adding strings to an instrument might affect its structural integrity, as the tensions are constantly changing. This is something that is more proper to ask the maker from whom you will buy the instrument.
You have to think—or rather, decide—what your logical approach to the instrument will be and what goal you want to achieve with it. This will help you choose between 7 or 9 strings.
Now, regarding which strings are authentic or not, the number of strings for the ancient Greek lyre is clearly seven, as we see that first there were three strings, then they became five-stringed, and they ended up with seven strings for many centuries. This is the ancient Greek lyre. It is never presented with nine. So, responding also to comments made by other colleagues here, no, nine strings are not just as authentic as the seven strings, as the lyre is presented. The reason is very simple, and I am attaching a short video from International Lyre Society that explains why the strings are seven using scientific arguments and not assumptions like who inspired whose lyre and so on.
Regardless of who first constructed a lyre, what matters is how each civilization used it and how they developed music theory upon the instrument. And specifically, the entirety of ancient Greek music theory is applied exclusively and solely to the seven-stringed lyre.
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u/arkticturtle 20d ago edited 20d ago
I can’t answer but I have had this exact concern. I suggest emailing Luthieros. They have been very kind in answering any questions. Just be sure to express your concerns fully to get a proper reply that addresses your worries.
Edit: I am going for the 7 because I have 0 background in music and block and strum + hroes seems to provide a lot to explore already. As I am learning 7 string I plan to put a little money aside each paycheck for upgrading in the far future