OT: Chinese zither

>   Yes! One interestin' musical notational system that has some striking
>similarities to Korean _hangul_ is the logograms used in composing and/or
>transcribing Chinese _qin_/_ch'in_ (fretless, bridgeless long-board
>zither) music.
>The notation "describes" the string-length/pitch, tone-colouration/timbre and
>how to finger and pluck the sounding string(s).
>     The guitarist Henry Kaiser writes: "The chin (a bridgeless zither), one
>of the most ancient stringed instruments in the world, is also one of my very
>favorite instruments.
>Sometimes it can sound kind of like a drunken slide guitar player playing
>together in a trio with a virtuoso fretless bass player and a harp player
>on an
>acid trip...."
How difficult is it to make an instrument like this?  (Just because the
instrument is ancient doesn't mean that it doesn't take a lot of technichal
finesse to manufature it.  I saw the exhibit China: 7000 Years of Discovery
as a child, and have been aware ever since the the Chinese were
technologically advanced at an early date.)

The reason that I am asking is that I would like to give one of my
concultures stringed instruments, but don't know what is involved in their
manufacture (except for modern concert violins, etc., and that takes an
insane amount technical expertise.)  The culture that I would like to have
strings is a pretty technologically unadvanced one.  They do not have
metalurgy.  (Which means that they make excellent stone weapons.)  They
don't manufacture metal items themselves, but they do buy steel knives,
iron nails, and other metal items from the people who live to the south of
them.  For musical instruments, I already know that they have flutes and drums.

What is the minimum amount of technology needed to make stringed
instruments of any sort, plucked or bowed, with or without
resonators?  What sort of stringed instrument(s) would be likely in a
culure like this?  (And what does anyone here happen to know anything about
primative bowed strings?  My other two cocultures might have those.)

Out of curiosity, how loud is a chin?

Isidora

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