Welcome to the Atlas of Plucked Instruments, where you will find some interesting information about many types of instruments that fall into the plucked category.
You’ll find two ways to navigate this Web site. You can use the side menu or you can click on the images of the instruments on the first page. I used the side menu, because there were more links there.
On the side menu, you will find links to: About, Collection, Books, Index, Links and then the different types of plucked instruments, followed by a listing of countries.
About – Here you will discover why the Web site exists, what instruments can be found here, how the site got its name, how to best use the site, as well as, more information about the measurements and names of the instruments. So, as you can see, it’s a great place to stop by for information.
Collection – Here you can learn the history behind the site author’s collection of instruments.
Books – Here you will find a listing of recommended reading on the different instruments and instruments from different countries.
Index – This is another way you can navigate the site. It is divided into instruments and countries.
Links – First of all, I love the fact that the author put a picture of a lynx on this page. It made me laugh out loud at my computer desk! Here you will find some links to sites about tuning, collections, shops and other interesting pages. Each of those links take you to a page of links for that category.
By this point, we’ve made it to the instrument listings on the side menu. Click the name of an instrument to learn all about it. You will also learn all about the different types of that particular instrument, as well as, historical versions of it. I found the section on Lutes to be the most interesting, as they have quite a bit of history.
After the instrument links, there are the country links. What you get if you click on one of the country links is a way to learn about the instruments by country. For example, if you select Europe West, you will learn about the instruments of Spain, Portugal, Canary Islands, Madeira, Azores, Cape Verde and Ireland. Just click the name of the country on this page to jump down to it or you can scroll down the page and view them all.
I hope you enjoy this look into plucked instruments and their often interesting histories!
http://www.atlasofpluckedinstruments.com/
~ Amanda