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The Pontian Lyre.



The Pontian Lyre (Ποντιακή Λύρα) or just lyre (λύρα) is a traditional musical instrument from Pontus which is an ancient instrument dated back to the 10th century. It is, without doubt, the musical instrument that defines Pontic culture, and has a very distinct melody, unlike any other instrument.  


The Pontic lyra is a 3 stringed musical instrument which is made out of wood. The best lyra is said to be made of extremely dense wood such as plum, mulberry, and walnut (Pontos World, n.d). It comprises a narrow box-shaped body which includes a neck and a pegbox, and a soundboard that covers the body (Pontos World, u.d). According to Pontos World, "The chords are made of wire although sheep's gut was used historically" . The bow which is used to play the lyra is called doksar (δοξάρι) and it is made of a light piece of wood, however, historically it was made out of horsehair (Pontos World, u.d).

A lyra player touches the chords his/her fingers and not nails and the wrist movement is commonly used while playing fast tunes. In addition, it can be played either seated, while lyra is placed between the thighs of the player, or standing up. Lyra should be held vertically. 







In the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest, the European audience was introduced to the Greek lyra in a very creative way. Helena Paparizou, who is a famous Greek singer, included elements of traditional Greek music along with contemporary music, and her song "My number one" won the competition and the hearts of the European audience.  In 2.31 minute we can see Helena "playing" the lyra and in the 1.14 minute, we can see her dancing.





References

·Eurovision Song Contest, 2016. Helena Paparizou - My Number One (Greece) Live - Eurovision Song Contest 2005. [video] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcOwvZ26KFQ&ab_channel=EurovisionSongContest> (Accessed 6 December 2020).
·Pontos World. n.d. The Pontic Lyra (Kemenche). [online] Available at: <https://pontosworld.com/index.php/music/iistruments/331-the-pontic-lyra> (Accessed 6 December 2020).
·Sholi Music Foundation Holy Archdiocese of Athens, 2015. Ποντιακή Λύρα: Σταύρου Θοδωρής | Σχολή Ιεράς Αρχιεπισκοπής Αθηνών. [video] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUR8xfEWAEU&ab_channel=SholiMusicFoundationHolyArchdioceseofAthens> (Accessed 6 December 2020)









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