n.
Plucked or struck stringed instrument with a shallow soundbox.
The common Austrian zither is roughly rectangular and has 3040 strings; it is placed on the player's knees or on a table. Several melody strings pass over a fretted fingerboard; the player's left hand stops these strings, while the right hand plucks with the fingers and a thumb plectrum. Zither is also a generic term for stringed instruments, the strings of which are fastened across a frame that lacks any projecting neck or arms. The larger zither family thus includes instruments such as the Aeolian harp , autoharp, cimbalom, dulcimer , koto , and even the clavichord , harpsichord , and piano .
Zither made in Vienna
Courtesy of A.V. Ebblewhite, London; photograph, Behr Photography/EB Inc.