1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio, 2 00:00:06,120 --> 00:00:10,400 Speaker 1: Hey brain Stuff, Lauren bog Obam here. It's not an 3 00:00:10,400 --> 00:00:13,080 Speaker 1: instrument you're likely to see make an appearance during a 4 00:00:13,200 --> 00:00:17,479 Speaker 1: modern musical performance, but the liar played a major role 5 00:00:17,520 --> 00:00:21,040 Speaker 1: in ancient Greek culture, and even before it began popping 6 00:00:21,079 --> 00:00:24,880 Speaker 1: up at private drinking party performances and religious ceremonies. An 7 00:00:24,880 --> 00:00:27,800 Speaker 1: earlier version of the stringed instrument likely originated in the 8 00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:32,240 Speaker 1: ancient Middle East. For the article this episode is based 9 00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:35,320 Speaker 1: on How Stuff Work. Spoke by email with Richard P. Martin, 10 00:00:35,600 --> 00:00:39,919 Speaker 1: a professor in classics at Stanford University. He said, depending 11 00:00:39,960 --> 00:00:43,120 Speaker 1: on how you define it, the liar or another simple 12 00:00:43,159 --> 00:00:47,080 Speaker 1: handheld stringed instrument like it, seems to be popular from 13 00:00:47,080 --> 00:00:50,599 Speaker 1: the Mediterranean through to India and in many parts of Africa. 14 00:00:51,200 --> 00:00:55,400 Speaker 1: Musicologists debate whether one very ancient prototype spread with different 15 00:00:55,400 --> 00:01:02,440 Speaker 1: cultures borrowing from others, or whether these were independent creations. Traditionally, 16 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:06,600 Speaker 1: the liar had two fixed upright arms or horns, and 17 00:01:06,720 --> 00:01:11,120 Speaker 1: a crossbar, and its tuning pegs were made of bronze, bone, ivory, 18 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:15,280 Speaker 1: or wood. The instrument's seven strings measured the same length 19 00:01:15,480 --> 00:01:18,480 Speaker 1: but varied in thickness and were stretched between the crossbar 20 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:23,800 Speaker 1: and a fixed tail piece. How Stuff Works also spoke 21 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:27,960 Speaker 1: with professional musician Dave Mostart. He explained that the earliest 22 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:31,520 Speaker 1: liars were likely made from the forearm bones of sheep, goats, 23 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:34,880 Speaker 1: or donkeys, and images of the instruments were depicted on 24 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:40,319 Speaker 1: Sumerian carvings dating from approximately two thousand BC quote. There 25 00:01:40,319 --> 00:01:43,920 Speaker 1: are many representations of liars on classical Greek vase paintings, 26 00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:47,240 Speaker 1: and according to the accounts of various historians, the body 27 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:51,800 Speaker 1: shape of liar instruments varied greatly over the years. The 28 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:54,640 Speaker 1: versions of the liar that existed in Mesopotamia and the 29 00:01:54,680 --> 00:01:58,160 Speaker 1: Near East around two thousand BC or earlier included bigger 30 00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:01,240 Speaker 1: box liars. There were some times so large that they 31 00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:03,480 Speaker 1: had to be set on the ground like a modern heart. 32 00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:07,600 Speaker 1: Martin explained that the liar that many of us are 33 00:02:07,640 --> 00:02:11,200 Speaker 1: familiar with today is the bowl liar, typically associated with 34 00:02:11,240 --> 00:02:15,840 Speaker 1: Greek culture, which was invented after a thousand BC quote. 35 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:18,040 Speaker 1: It was small and light and had from three to 36 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:21,120 Speaker 1: eleven strings that you would play by plucking. The bowl 37 00:02:21,200 --> 00:02:25,480 Speaker 1: liar was associated with private entertainment at drinking parties. Apparently, 38 00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:27,960 Speaker 1: the sound was not too loud, and you'd hear it 39 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:31,400 Speaker 1: better in a room. At the same time that the 40 00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:35,200 Speaker 1: liar was becoming a favorite among Greek partiers, another instrument 41 00:02:35,320 --> 00:02:39,840 Speaker 1: was also picking up popularity. Martin said. Ancient Greeks also 42 00:02:39,919 --> 00:02:43,440 Speaker 1: had what they called kithera, a much larger box style 43 00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:45,960 Speaker 1: liar that you played with a pick and which had 44 00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:50,400 Speaker 1: a resonating soundbox. This was used in musical compositions, either 45 00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:54,000 Speaker 1: for instrumental pieces or to accompany singers. It was also 46 00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:57,160 Speaker 1: played during rituals, where it would accompany more formal public 47 00:02:57,200 --> 00:02:59,920 Speaker 1: songs like a hymn of praise and celebration of vic 48 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:05,080 Speaker 1: Jory houstuf Works also spoke via email with Jed Macosco, 49 00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:08,640 Speaker 1: professor of physics at Wake Forest University and academic director 50 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:12,280 Speaker 1: of Academic Influence dot com. He said that there's solid 51 00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:16,040 Speaker 1: science to explain the unique sound of the liar quote. 52 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:19,040 Speaker 1: In the ancient world of liar players, no one had 53 00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:22,880 Speaker 1: an electronic tuner or even a tuning fork, So how 54 00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:25,560 Speaker 1: did they keep their liars sounding good? They had to 55 00:03:25,639 --> 00:03:29,280 Speaker 1: use math. Pythagoreus, the guy with the A squared plus 56 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:32,440 Speaker 1: B squared equal C squared theorem, and his students were 57 00:03:32,440 --> 00:03:35,440 Speaker 1: among the first to associate the lengths of equally tight, 58 00:03:35,680 --> 00:03:40,440 Speaker 1: equally heavy strings with their tones, and more importantly, recognize 59 00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:43,840 Speaker 1: the ratios of the lengths of those strings was super important. 60 00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:46,880 Speaker 1: In the end, he was able to explain why the 61 00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:49,280 Speaker 1: four strings and the liars that people played in his 62 00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:52,520 Speaker 1: time sounded good together, and he was able to help 63 00:03:52,600 --> 00:03:56,200 Speaker 1: people keep them in tune. But when it comes to 64 00:03:56,240 --> 00:03:59,560 Speaker 1: the actual acoustics of the liar, people have described the 65 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:03,320 Speaker 1: gentle sound in a variety of ways. Martin said, they 66 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:07,960 Speaker 1: sound like Hawaiian slack key guitars, only tinier must get 67 00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:11,840 Speaker 1: confirmed the liar's delicate sound, attributing the acoustic effect to 68 00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:16,040 Speaker 1: the instrument's construction. Quote. The strings on a liar are 69 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:19,599 Speaker 1: generally stretched over a frame because of the force they exert. 70 00:04:20,279 --> 00:04:22,800 Speaker 1: The sound of a liar is light and airy and 71 00:04:22,880 --> 00:04:28,400 Speaker 1: not powerful enough for orchestral performance. Martin, an expert in 72 00:04:28,480 --> 00:04:32,080 Speaker 1: Greek mythology, says the liar played an important role in 73 00:04:32,160 --> 00:04:35,720 Speaker 1: many famous tales of the gods. He said, the most 74 00:04:35,760 --> 00:04:38,920 Speaker 1: famous story is how Hermes, when only a one day 75 00:04:38,960 --> 00:04:42,680 Speaker 1: old baby, enticed a tortoise into his home, killed it, 76 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:45,480 Speaker 1: gutted it, and made a liar out of it, stretching 77 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:48,240 Speaker 1: skin on top of the hollow shell and then tightening 78 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:52,440 Speaker 1: seven sheep gut cords over the skin. Hermes then went 79 00:04:52,560 --> 00:04:56,200 Speaker 1: and secretly stole the cattle of his brother Apollo. When 80 00:04:56,240 --> 00:04:59,240 Speaker 1: the older god tracked him down, the baby god enchanted 81 00:04:59,279 --> 00:05:03,120 Speaker 1: Apollo by playing on his newly invented instrument. Apollo was 82 00:05:03,200 --> 00:05:05,400 Speaker 1: so taken with the music it produced that he made 83 00:05:05,440 --> 00:05:08,000 Speaker 1: a deal with Hermes. He would take the liar and 84 00:05:08,040 --> 00:05:11,560 Speaker 1: give Hermes a golden wand and also power over some 85 00:05:11,640 --> 00:05:15,640 Speaker 1: forms of divination. The instrument also made an appearance in 86 00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:19,080 Speaker 1: another famous myth regarding Hercules, who killed his first music 87 00:05:19,120 --> 00:05:22,440 Speaker 1: teacher in anger using the liar as a bludgeon. A 88 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:26,800 Speaker 1: constellation is even named after the instrument. Martin said. Orpheus, 89 00:05:26,839 --> 00:05:29,719 Speaker 1: the famous singer who could move rocks and trees and 90 00:05:29,800 --> 00:05:33,360 Speaker 1: animals with his music, played a liar, and when Orpheus 91 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:36,600 Speaker 1: was killed, the gods placed his liar in the sky. 92 00:05:36,720 --> 00:05:42,280 Speaker 1: It became the constellation Lyra. Another Greek god, also has 93 00:05:42,320 --> 00:05:45,919 Speaker 1: ties to the liar. Martin explained, we get the word 94 00:05:46,120 --> 00:05:49,520 Speaker 1: lyric as in lyric poetry, from the instrument that was 95 00:05:49,640 --> 00:05:53,840 Speaker 1: used to accompany ancient songs and recitations Apollo, who was 96 00:05:53,839 --> 00:05:57,520 Speaker 1: shown playing the big concert style kithera more often does 97 00:05:57,600 --> 00:06:00,720 Speaker 1: play the liar as well, as represented on ancient Greek 98 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:04,359 Speaker 1: vase paintings. It is interesting that Apollo is also the 99 00:06:04,360 --> 00:06:08,039 Speaker 1: god of archery, famous for his unerring arrows and bows, 100 00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:11,239 Speaker 1: because in some cultures, for example, in parts of South Africa, 101 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:16,279 Speaker 1: people even today actually convert their hunting bows into musical instruments. 102 00:06:16,440 --> 00:06:21,320 Speaker 1: They're multifunctional. Martin says. The liar is still alive and 103 00:06:21,360 --> 00:06:24,800 Speaker 1: well in some parts of the world. Quote in the 104 00:06:24,839 --> 00:06:28,480 Speaker 1: island of Crete there are famous liar makers and liar players. 105 00:06:28,920 --> 00:06:31,240 Speaker 1: If you go there in the summer especially, you'll see 106 00:06:31,240 --> 00:06:34,719 Speaker 1: big posters every weekend advertising who's playing at what club 107 00:06:34,800 --> 00:06:37,920 Speaker 1: or other venue. Players sing along to it, or there 108 00:06:37,960 --> 00:06:40,160 Speaker 1: can be others in a group who recite short Cretan 109 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:43,839 Speaker 1: poems while the music plays. The Cretan lyra is played 110 00:06:43,839 --> 00:06:46,479 Speaker 1: with a bow not usually plucked, and seems to be 111 00:06:46,520 --> 00:06:50,599 Speaker 1: the descendant of a medieval Byzantine instrument. There's a fantastic 112 00:06:50,680 --> 00:06:54,360 Speaker 1: Musical Instrument museum in Athens that has on display folk 113 00:06:54,480 --> 00:07:02,560 Speaker 1: instruments like it from other parts of Greece. M Today's 114 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:04,960 Speaker 1: episode is based on the article A light and airy 115 00:07:05,040 --> 00:07:07,320 Speaker 1: Liar has plucked its way through the ages on how 116 00:07:07,360 --> 00:07:11,280 Speaker 1: stuff works dot Com, written by Michelle Konstantinovski. Brain Stuff 117 00:07:11,320 --> 00:07:13,280 Speaker 1: is production of I Heart Radio in partnership with how 118 00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:15,679 Speaker 1: stuff works dot Com and is produced by Tyler Clang. 119 00:07:16,280 --> 00:07:18,680 Speaker 1: Four more podcasts from my heart Radio. Visit the i 120 00:07:18,760 --> 00:07:21,560 Speaker 1: heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 121 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:22,480 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.