Karen Ingram

Your first thought was probably, what in the world is a zither and why would I want to see one?  My first answer would be that you should want to see it because you don’t know what it is?  Now I will tell you what a Zither is?

A Zither is a musical instrument.  Actually, a string instrument most commonly played throughout Eastern European and some East Asian Countries.  Being a non-musical person, I look at the Zither and think of a harp for your lap.  An internet search told me that the earliest known Zither was found in the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng dating back to 433 B.C.

The instrument was apparently made popular during the 1950’s and 60’s by an Australian born singer, Shirley Abicair, through her T.V. shows and live performances in Britain.  If you are a country fan, you probably know the name, June Carter Cash.  She also used the Zither to accompany herself for many of her recorded songs.  From what I read about the playing of a Zither, and with my non existent experience with playing an instrument of any kind, I would think it would be similar to playing a guitar.

So if your at all curious stop by the Taber Irrigation Impact Museum and while your there check out the hand made violin with the bow strings that are made from the hair of a favorite family horse.

The Zither was donated by Harry Winberg and the Violin by a member of the Clyde Sherwood family.  Any long time Taberites may remember the Sherwood name in conjunction with “Clydes Crackle Corn”, a very well known brand of popcorn in early Taber.