Theiling Online    Sitemap    Conlang Mailing List HQ   

Re: OT strummin' on the old banjo

From:R A Brown <ray@...>
Date:Sunday, September 9, 2007, 7:32
ROGER MILLS wrote:
> Mark J. Reed wrote: > >> On 9/8/07, caeruleancentaur <caeruleancentaur@...> wrote: >> > I think the dictionaries will need to modify their definitions. I >> > wonder how long picks (plectrums) have been in use. >> >> At least as long as there have been harpsichords, since that is how >> the strings in that instrument are sounded. >> > And the first harpsichord builder must have got the idea from > somewhere...? Lute/guitar techniques?
They were used among the ancient Greeks for striking the strings on a lyre.
> Their plectra were originally > goose quills as I recall (plastic now, harrumph)
I believe this was so, but I'm not sure what the ancient plectrums were made from (but not from plastic :) -- Ray ================================== ray@carolandray.plus.com http://www.carolandray.plus.com ================================== Nid rhy hen neb i ddysgu. There's none too old to learn. [WELSH PROVERB]