Lyre, Lyre.

As far as we know, the lyre is the oldest stringed instrument known to man. While the oldest examples we have come from a Mesopotamian city called Ur, in modern-day Iraq, most of what we know about them came from their deep relationship with ancient Greece. As musical education was important to the Greeks, lyres were a common instrument used for teaching, similar to how we use recorders in the modern age. Since it is a relatively simple instrument, and as more complex stringed instruments were designed, it somewhat disappears from the archaeological record as the Roman Empire fell, popping up here and there as different varieties throughout Europe, Northern Africa, and the Middle East.

The strongest remaining examples of lyres used traditionally are found in Africa, like the Krar, Obokano, and Ksir. Even though European lyres fell out of use during the Middle Ages in favor of lutes, zithers, and harps, there has, however, been a resurgence of Celtic, Germanic, and Norse-style instruments in the last hundred or so years.

So, 

Why the breakdown? Well, I've started playing around with building my own. More specifically, I've been working on redesigning the Anglo-Saxon lyre found at Sutton Hoo, in England, found in 1939 and dating back to about 625 C.E. After several iterations over the last couple of years, I've ended up with a modernized instrument using techniques similar to traditional acoustic guitar building. Rather than carving out a board and attaching a top with a sound hole to it, these versions use bent sides, coupled with a separate back and spruce or cedar tops. The sound hole has been replaced with an opening on the headstock side of the body.

Recently, I've finished a set of four smaller soprano-sized instruments, with the plan now being to scale up two more sizes. As of writing this, I'm halfway through with another batch of six, including a couple with contrasting species of wood. From here, I'll start designing and prototyping the next two sizes up, concert and tenor. After I get the framework laid out, I may make some one-off "fancy" versions with some inlay and more exotic wood.

The soprano will be available for sale by Thanksgiving this year, with the others hopefully hitting the store around New Year's or early spring of 2026. I'm working on getting a mailing list set up, so stay tuned and you can find out exactly when they drop!