Forming The Rayiro Orchestra part 5 - The Fafariva Hammered Zither
By:
Anesu Ndoro
On
30/11/2024Reading time:
2 min
Summary:
Introducing the Fafariva Hammered Zither, a new creation of mine that is joining my dream of making the Rayiro Orchestra! Inspired by the ingenious creations of Nicholas Bras, I made this instrument using recycled wood, recycled tins and guitar strings. I believe it will add sounds that aren't present in any of my other instruments and can be a valuable member of the Orchestra line-up. Enjoy the read!
The Fafariva Hammered Zither uses cans as part of the resonator system
The Fafariva Hammered Zither
If you're wondering what it sounds like, check out this video where I play the instrument!
So, there I was, looking at all the empty tinned fish cans, guitar strings and large scraps of wood in my workshop room. "Unused materials, dreams waiting to be realized," I thought. One thing led to another and here we are!
Fafariva means "a flat large rock". In other dialects of ChiShona, fendefa/hwendefa/gwendefa mean the same thing. I have named it thus because you have to set it up at an angle to play it, kinda like how such rocks will sometimes occur in nature. But really, because of the type of wood I used, this instrument is called the Fafariva because it is unnecessarily heavy!
The workshop where it all happens!
I've been working on my instrument making skills and one of my biggest inspirations has been Nicolas Bras' creations. If you don't know his work, please check out his amazing work in self-made instruments!
Nicholas created a design for his instrument called the Tin Can Cymbalum. This instrument (as well as the Fafariva) is built in the tradition of hammered zithers, which are percussion stringed instruments. Examples include the Indian santoor, the Persian santur, the Mongolian yoochin, the Swiss hackbrett, the Chinese Yangchin, the Hungarian cimbalom and so many more.
Construction, Changes and Depatures
I took this concept of using cans to make the hammered zither, but I changed a few things.
Firstly, instead of only the cans being the resonating chambers of each string, I turned the cans over so they are in contact with the sound board, and put wooden small bridges between the cans and the strings. This has made them easier for me to tune them without guitar tuners.
Secondly, I was constructed a hollow soundboard to optimize the volume of the strings. This leads to a louder sound and a sympathetic resonance effect with the rest of the strings.
Thirdly, I added a few strings and made use of thicker steel guitar strings, seeing that the thinner strings would not be as loud as I would have liked. Smaller cans seemed to also allow for a sharper, clearer sound in my opinion.
Et cetera et cetera.
All said and done, I'm happy with this sound and hope that with access to quality materials, this will look and sound better. Here's some acoustic experimenting on the Fafariva Hammered Zither. What song does this sound like to you?
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