'Kinnor' is the
Hebrew name for an ancient
stringed instrument, the first mentioned in the
Bible (Gen. iv. 21), where it is now always translated
harp. The identification of the instrument has been much discussed, but, from the standpoint of the history of musical instruments, the weight of evidence is in favor of the view that the
Semitic kinnor is the
Greek ''cithara''. This instrument was already in use before 2000 s.c. among the Semitic races. It is unlikely that an instrument (which also appears on Hebrew coins) so widely known and used in various parts of
Asia Minor in remote times, and occurring among the
Hittite sculptures, should pass unmentioned in the Bible, with the exception of the verses in Dan. iii.
Tuning
There are different variations of the Kinnor, each having a different number of strings. The following sample tunings are based on the E♭ Major / C Minor scale:
★ 12-string Kinnor: E♭,D,C,B♭,G♯,G,F,E♭,D,C,B♭,G♯ (High to Low)
★ 10-string Kinnor: E♭,D,C,B♭,G♯,G,F,E♭,D,C (High to Low)
References
★
★ http://www.chelseashul.org/Music/Skarbova.htm
★ http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0003-097X(199802)309%3C41%3ADACPAI%3E2.0.CO%3B2-C
★ http://www.rakkav.com/kdhinc/pages/suzanne.htm
★ http://www.jubilee-harps.com/history.htm
★ http://www.klezmershack.com/articles/horowitz/horowitz.klezmodes.html
★ http://www.chazzanut.com/articles/on-chazanut.html