Putting aside the question of WHY one would make a fiddle out of a girl's bones

[conuly]

Or a harp, or a guitar, or an accordian, or any other instrument, what I want to know is how. Is it even *possible* to make your fiddle out of a breastbone, from any sort of person? Now, I know of versions where the instrument of the dead girl is a flute, which makes some sense, but - would a string instrument out of a breastbone even work?

Of course, I'm assuming that it's a whole breastbone. If he chopped it up for some reason, would that make it better or worse?

And stringing your instrument with hair? The bow, maybe, but the instrument itself, strung with hair? Gruesome, and honestly, aren't most instrument strings nowadays metal? What were they before they were metal? Surely not actual hair?

On that note, I'm sure I know of a version of Cruel Sister which inserts a verse about the cruel sister running to tell her parents about her sister's tragic, um, "accident" prior to the dead sister being found dead, but now I can't find it for the life of me. It's possible I'm confusing myself with a prose rewrite that was my very first introduction to the story, but does anybody else have any ideas here?

Comments

[siderea]

I have heard it claimed (I think even in an academic context) that there is in fact a history (very ancient) of stringing harps with horse hair. But in all my work in early music, I've never seen or heard a hair-strung harp.

Today, there are conceptually two sorts of string for string instruments: gut and wire. Except that gut's wicked expensive, so we have the more affordable substitute, nylon.

Those to basic flavors come in variations, such as wrapped vs. not. Wire comes in a variety of metals: brass, bronze, and steel are the most common and important. Sometimes specific metals are considered intrinsic to the instrument, e.g. IIRC mandolins are strung exclusively in steel wire, and "steel strung guitar" is definitionally. There is also hybrid stuff like "wire-wrapped nylon".

ETA: I should mention, an instrument is built to handle one of either gut/nylon or metal, but the tensons on the body of the instrument are so different, one generally can't swap freely between them. Metal strings are MUCH higher tension, and as such instruments built to have them must be much stronger and usually thicker. Instruments built for gut or nylon are built very light, so they don't dampen the sound. A 4 course gut-strung lute is so light it feels like it is made of paper. Which, considering how thin the wood is, it pretty much is.

[janewilliams20]

I'd add to that that while I can't speak for other instruments, gut-strung and wire-strung harps have totally different playing techniques. Gut string (like mine), you pluck with the pads of your fingers. Wire-strung you pluck with the nails, and damp each note with the pads just after you play it - well, unless what you're after is the "heavenly cascade" effect rather than actual music.