Rediscovering the psaltery
P3 resit assignment #2: object personification
By Renee de Keijzer
My psaltery
The different shapes of the psaltery
I am a string instrument that can be compared to a harp or an acoustic guitar, this because it has strings and is played with either fingers or a guitar pick.
My origins are a bit confusing seeing that there are many variations made of me in different countries. My orginial form however comes from Ancient Greece, this I know because I fit the typical description.
I am made of wood, I have a flat soundboard, I have strings of metal and rely on natural acoustics.
Psaltery's are made in a lot of variations and countries. However my shape is the most common shape in psalteries, this because I make it possible to create different tones with the same strings.
What am I?
I am made to create music and teach people how to make music in an easy way.
I was made for Renee when she was around five years old so she could practice what she learned in her music classes at home. Her dad customised me with 'K3' her favorite music to listen to at the time. Because I know and am able to portray Renee very well, I've been kept safely in the attic of Renee's parents house. Excuse me for the dust, I am not used at all anymore to make music.
What is my purpose?
Since the family moved I've been staying in the attic of the backyard shed on the country side. Here I am chilling with all the tools, Christmas decoration and camping equipment.
Nobody plays me anymore so I just lay around all day catching dust.
Where am I?
How am I activated?
Activating me is quite simple, you just pluck my strings and I will create music for you.
However after such a long time of not being played I believe you will have to do some tuning and clean me to get the best sound.
This instrument is an example of many that I have played in my youth and shows how important music was when I was raised.
Music was just something that was a part of our family and me and my brothers would always make music together.
Because my grandparents have a home in Gambia, Africa they often took music intruments from African culture home to us in the Netherlands. This meaned I was raised with unusual intruments and am now able to play or at least have knowledge of a lot of instruments.
When I got older I could never stay with one intrument and hopped from one to another. I played the psaltery, piano, flute and trumpet. I look back and regret not focussing on one instrument because I can't really play any of them anymore. I quit playing instruments when I was around 13 years old.
The psaltery & me
Education
Social environment
I was raised in a small village with little to basicly no diversity. However my parents found it very important that I was raised with acceptence of everyone and no discrimination was allowed.
I would often visit my niece in Almere, where the population is a lot more diverse, and this helped a lot for my view of the world and made it possible to step out of the bubble which we had in the country side.
I don't remember my friends playing any instruments but I had my brothers to share my music with which was enough for me. Sometimes we had group classes at the music school I went to and we would make music all together with people of various ages, something I enjoyed a lot because I could watch and hear all the different instruments being played.
How did the psaltery shape my identity?
The psaltery made me see that everyone is able to make music with the right instrument, even if it's really simple.
It has showed me that even people who struggle with making something, can do it if given the right and fitting tools.
This is something I still take with me today. It's impossible to think that everyone can get the same result by doing something with the same tools, some people will need less or more tools to reach their goal and that is fine.
Like I said before, the most important thing the psaltery has learned me is to be accepting of people and the time or tools they need when working on something.
I'd like to believe that when I interact with others this reflects in my patience when helping people or students (when I am teaching) with projects they are working on.
It means that when interacting with others, I keep in mind that everybody is different and has different processes when it comes to learning new things in life and that is perfectly fine.
How did the psaltery shape my interaction with people?
Concept & inspiration
I am still working on my complete story board but this is what I have so far. My idea is to make a mini documentary about my psalter who gets rediscovered, taken care of and being played again after roughly 15 years.
In this documentary I want the psalter to have its own voice and include its thoughts and feelings about being rediscovered by me. I have taken inspiration out of one of the references: Object Interview from Alexandre Humbert.
In the documentary is not only the psalter but also the environment I grew up in and throwbacks with pictures of the younger me with the psaltery (if I can find them).
My idea
Object Interview nr. 19 - "Colonna" by Alexandre Humbert
Story board - part 1
Ideas by JC5 Productions
CHILDHOOD MEMORIES by ThoseLittleThings