Lyre
Guitar
The lyre guitar is one
of the revolutionary dead ends the guitar design
took before the six-string came into existence.
The lyre guitar originates
from the classical lyre, a small handheld harp-like
equipment used by the Greeks to accompany songs.
The lyre guitar extends
the sides of its body up in a pair of thin arms
on either side of the short neck. As with the
lyre, these arms are often joined across the instrument's
top with a thin horizontal bar or bars. The instrument's
forms are all perfectly balanced and symmetrical.
Lyre guitars always
carried six single strings. They were most popular
in France between 1780 and 1820, used mostly by
the upper-class ladies. They guitar was used as
accompaniment to many songs.
The bottoms of the
lyre guitar ended in a flat pedestal so that the
small instruments could be stood on top of a table
either when played, or most often, when used as
a decorative instrument.
