The Dune Lyre

Construction

A 6 course stringed instrument with a 7th singing string. It has 12 adjustable floating frets tuned to a scale while the strings pitched to an open chord. The body is made of 3 separate thin curved slices of palm wood that all start at the bridge that also houses tuning pegs, then fan outwards then finally rejoin at the head. The frets are arched bone made from the spines of various birds attached to a fretboard running the length of the instrument. The hollow bone allows for a strong resonance and lighter weight. Some have decorative engraving or artwork painted upon the branches. The most expensive might even have smaller branches interconnecting them in an artistic framework. The light frame allows the wind to pass through and gives it an airy quality. It also makes it comfortable to play in the desert heat and light to travel with.

Playing the Dune Lyre

Players will use a fingerpicking technique to play the melody of a song on the singing string while accompanying themselves with the other 6 cources using open chords and harmonics often. Some players will use bone picks when just struming chords which usually happens when another singer or musican is handling the melody. The flexible palm wood allows the player to bend the neck to create a vibrato effect which is used often.