The Crwth

T he crwth is a medieval bowed lyre and is one of Wales' most exotic traditional instruments. It has six strings and a flat bridge and fingerboard. The strings produce a soft purring sound, and the melody is played on four of the six strings, with the other two acting as plucked or bowed drones and the octave doublings producing a constant chordal accompaniment.

The crwth has been played in wales in one form or another since roman times. It was an instrument of the highest status during the middle ages whose best players could earn a stable income in the courts of the Welsh aristocracy. Crwth players had to undergo years of apprenticeship and memorise twenty-four complex pieces of music.

Uncopywritable Crwth

The crwth, as such, is uncopywritable. The U.S. copywrite laws protect published and unpublished literary, scientific and artistic works. Thus, a photo of a crwth could be the subject of a copywrite, but not the instrument itself.