WEBVTT - How Do Lyres Work? 0:00:01.920 --> 0:00:04.320 Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio, 0:00:06.120 --> 0:00:10.400 Hey brain Stuff, Lauren bog Obam here. It's not an 0:00:10.400 --> 0:00:13.080 instrument you're likely to see make an appearance during a 0:00:13.200 --> 0:00:17.479 modern musical performance, but the liar played a major role 0:00:17.520 --> 0:00:21.040 in ancient Greek culture, and even before it began popping 0:00:21.079 --> 0:00:24.880 up at private drinking party performances and religious ceremonies. An 0:00:24.880 --> 0:00:27.800 earlier version of the stringed instrument likely originated in the 0:00:27.840 --> 0:00:32.240 ancient Middle East. For the article this episode is based 0:00:32.280 --> 0:00:35.320 on How Stuff Work. Spoke by email with Richard P. Martin, 0:00:35.600 --> 0:00:39.919 a professor in classics at Stanford University. He said, depending 0:00:39.960 --> 0:00:43.120 on how you define it, the liar or another simple 0:00:43.159 --> 0:00:47.080 handheld stringed instrument like it, seems to be popular from 0:00:47.080 --> 0:00:50.599 the Mediterranean through to India and in many parts of Africa. 0:00:51.200 --> 0:00:55.400 Musicologists debate whether one very ancient prototype spread with different 0:00:55.400 --> 0:01:02.440 cultures borrowing from others, or whether these were independent creations. Traditionally, 0:01:02.560 --> 0:01:06.600 the liar had two fixed upright arms or horns, and 0:01:06.720 --> 0:01:11.120 a crossbar, and its tuning pegs were made of bronze, bone, ivory, 0:01:11.280 --> 0:01:15.280 or wood. The instrument's seven strings measured the same length 0:01:15.480 --> 0:01:18.480 but varied in thickness and were stretched between the crossbar 0:01:18.600 --> 0:01:23.800 and a fixed tail piece. How Stuff Works also spoke 0:01:23.840 --> 0:01:27.960 with professional musician Dave Mostart. He explained that the earliest 0:01:28.000 --> 0:01:31.520 liars were likely made from the forearm bones of sheep, goats, 0:01:31.600 --> 0:01:34.880 or donkeys, and images of the instruments were depicted on 0:01:34.880 --> 0:01:40.319 Sumerian carvings dating from approximately two thousand BC quote. There 0:01:40.319 --> 0:01:43.920 are many representations of liars on classical Greek vase paintings, 0:01:44.120 --> 0:01:47.240 and according to the accounts of various historians, the body 0:01:47.280 --> 0:01:51.800 shape of liar instruments varied greatly over the years. The 0:01:51.880 --> 0:01:54.640 versions of the liar that existed in Mesopotamia and the 0:01:54.680 --> 0:01:58.160 Near East around two thousand BC or earlier included bigger 0:01:58.360 --> 0:02:01.240 box liars. There were some times so large that they 0:02:01.240 --> 0:02:03.480 had to be set on the ground like a modern heart. 0:02:05.200 --> 0:02:07.600 Martin explained that the liar that many of us are 0:02:07.640 --> 0:02:11.200 familiar with today is the bowl liar, typically associated with 0:02:11.240 --> 0:02:15.840 Greek culture, which was invented after a thousand BC quote. 0:02:15.880 --> 0:02:18.040 It was small and light and had from three to 0:02:18.080 --> 0:02:21.120 eleven strings that you would play by plucking. The bowl 0:02:21.200 --> 0:02:25.480 liar was associated with private entertainment at drinking parties. Apparently, 0:02:25.560 --> 0:02:27.960 the sound was not too loud, and you'd hear it 0:02:28.000 --> 0:02:31.400 better in a room. At the same time that the 0:02:31.440 --> 0:02:35.200 liar was becoming a favorite among Greek partiers, another instrument 0:02:35.320 --> 0:02:39.840 was also picking up popularity. Martin said. Ancient Greeks also 0:02:39.919 --> 0:02:43.440 had what they called kithera, a much larger box style 0:02:43.520 --> 0:02:45.960 liar that you played with a pick and which had 0:02:46.040 --> 0:02:50.400 a resonating soundbox. This was used in musical compositions, either 0:02:50.480 --> 0:02:54.000 for instrumental pieces or to accompany singers. It was also 0:02:54.040 --> 0:02:57.160 played during rituals, where it would accompany more formal public 0:02:57.200 --> 0:02:59.920 songs like a hymn of praise and celebration of vic 0:03:00.040 --> 0:03:05.080 Jory houstuf Works also spoke via email with Jed Macosco, 0:03:05.360 --> 0:03:08.640 professor of physics at Wake Forest University and academic director 0:03:08.800 --> 0:03:12.280 of Academic Influence dot com. He said that there's solid 0:03:12.360 --> 0:03:16.040 science to explain the unique sound of the liar quote. 0:03:16.400 --> 0:03:19.040 In the ancient world of liar players, no one had 0:03:19.080 --> 0:03:22.880 an electronic tuner or even a tuning fork, So how 0:03:22.880 --> 0:03:25.560 did they keep their liars sounding good? They had to 0:03:25.639 --> 0:03:29.280 use math. Pythagoreus, the guy with the A squared plus 0:03:29.280 --> 0:03:32.440 B squared equal C squared theorem, and his students were 0:03:32.440 --> 0:03:35.440 among the first to associate the lengths of equally tight, 0:03:35.680 --> 0:03:40.440 equally heavy strings with their tones, and more importantly, recognize 0:03:40.480 --> 0:03:43.840 the ratios of the lengths of those strings was super important. 0:03:44.480 --> 0:03:46.880 In the end, he was able to explain why the 0:03:46.920 --> 0:03:49.280 four strings and the liars that people played in his 0:03:49.400 --> 0:03:52.520 time sounded good together, and he was able to help 0:03:52.600 --> 0:03:56.200 people keep them in tune. But when it comes to 0:03:56.240 --> 0:03:59.560 the actual acoustics of the liar, people have described the 0:03:59.640 --> 0:04:03.320 gentle sound in a variety of ways. Martin said, they 0:04:03.360 --> 0:04:07.960 sound like Hawaiian slack key guitars, only tinier must get 0:04:08.040 --> 0:04:11.840 confirmed the liar's delicate sound, attributing the acoustic effect to 0:04:11.880 --> 0:04:16.040 the instrument's construction. Quote. The strings on a liar are 0:04:16.120 --> 0:04:19.599 generally stretched over a frame because of the force they exert. 0:04:20.279 --> 0:04:22.800 The sound of a liar is light and airy and 0:04:22.880 --> 0:04:28.400 not powerful enough for orchestral performance. Martin, an expert in 0:04:28.480 --> 0:04:32.080 Greek mythology, says the liar played an important role in 0:04:32.160 --> 0:04:35.720 many famous tales of the gods. He said, the most 0:04:35.760 --> 0:04:38.920 famous story is how Hermes, when only a one day 0:04:38.960 --> 0:04:42.680 old baby, enticed a tortoise into his home, killed it, 0:04:42.800 --> 0:04:45.480 gutted it, and made a liar out of it, stretching 0:04:45.560 --> 0:04:48.240 skin on top of the hollow shell and then tightening 0:04:48.360 --> 0:04:52.440 seven sheep gut cords over the skin. Hermes then went 0:04:52.560 --> 0:04:56.200 and secretly stole the cattle of his brother Apollo. When 0:04:56.240 --> 0:04:59.240 the older god tracked him down, the baby god enchanted 0:04:59.279 --> 0:05:03.120 Apollo by playing on his newly invented instrument. Apollo was 0:05:03.200 --> 0:05:05.400 so taken with the music it produced that he made 0:05:05.440 --> 0:05:08.000 a deal with Hermes. He would take the liar and 0:05:08.040 --> 0:05:11.560 give Hermes a golden wand and also power over some 0:05:11.640 --> 0:05:15.640 forms of divination. The instrument also made an appearance in 0:05:15.680 --> 0:05:19.080 another famous myth regarding Hercules, who killed his first music 0:05:19.120 --> 0:05:22.440 teacher in anger using the liar as a bludgeon. A 0:05:22.480 --> 0:05:26.800 constellation is even named after the instrument. Martin said. Orpheus, 0:05:26.839 --> 0:05:29.719 the famous singer who could move rocks and trees and 0:05:29.800 --> 0:05:33.360 animals with his music, played a liar, and when Orpheus 0:05:33.400 --> 0:05:36.600 was killed, the gods placed his liar in the sky. 0:05:36.720 --> 0:05:42.280 It became the constellation Lyra. Another Greek god, also has 0:05:42.320 --> 0:05:45.919 ties to the liar. Martin explained, we get the word 0:05:46.120 --> 0:05:49.520 lyric as in lyric poetry, from the instrument that was 0:05:49.640 --> 0:05:53.840 used to accompany ancient songs and recitations Apollo, who was 0:05:53.839 --> 0:05:57.520 shown playing the big concert style kithera more often does 0:05:57.600 --> 0:06:00.720 play the liar as well, as represented on ancient Greek 0:06:00.800 --> 0:06:04.359 vase paintings. It is interesting that Apollo is also the 0:06:04.360 --> 0:06:08.039 god of archery, famous for his unerring arrows and bows, 0:06:08.080 --> 0:06:11.239 because in some cultures, for example, in parts of South Africa, 0:06:11.560 --> 0:06:16.279 people even today actually convert their hunting bows into musical instruments. 0:06:16.440 --> 0:06:21.320 They're multifunctional. Martin says. The liar is still alive and 0:06:21.360 --> 0:06:24.800 well in some parts of the world. Quote in the 0:06:24.839 --> 0:06:28.480 island of Crete there are famous liar makers and liar players. 0:06:28.920 --> 0:06:31.240 If you go there in the summer especially, you'll see 0:06:31.240 --> 0:06:34.719 big posters every weekend advertising who's playing at what club 0:06:34.800 --> 0:06:37.920 or other venue. Players sing along to it, or there 0:06:37.960 --> 0:06:40.160 can be others in a group who recite short Cretan 0:06:40.240 --> 0:06:43.839 poems while the music plays. The Cretan lyra is played 0:06:43.839 --> 0:06:46.479 with a bow not usually plucked, and seems to be 0:06:46.520 --> 0:06:50.599 the descendant of a medieval Byzantine instrument. There's a fantastic 0:06:50.680 --> 0:06:54.360 Musical Instrument museum in Athens that has on display folk 0:06:54.480 --> 0:07:02.560 instruments like it from other parts of Greece. M Today's 0:07:02.560 --> 0:07:04.960 episode is based on the article A light and airy 0:07:05.040 --> 0:07:07.320 Liar has plucked its way through the ages on how 0:07:07.360 --> 0:07:11.280 stuff works dot Com, written by Michelle Konstantinovski. Brain Stuff 0:07:11.320 --> 0:07:13.280 is production of I Heart Radio in partnership with how 0:07:13.320 --> 0:07:15.679 stuff works dot Com and is produced by Tyler Clang. 0:07:16.280 --> 0:07:18.680 Four more podcasts from my heart Radio. Visit the i 0:07:18.760 --> 0:07:21.560 heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 0:07:21.600 --> 0:07:22.480 your favorite shows.