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A Player's Guide to Musical Instrument Alterations
This document outlines the musical instrument alteration
guidelines for Gemstone IV. It is offered in the hope that
it will be useful for players planning musical alterations.
A few short, IMPORTANT rules:
The noun of an instrument can never change. A tambourine
cannot become a drum, a tabla or a tabor. A tambourine is
always a tambourine.
Musical instruments can never be altered to be worn. In some
instances special straps, sold by merchants, can be added
to an instrument to be made wearable, but a merchant cannot
change an instrument so you can sling it over your shoulder.
Some adjectives change the entire nature of an instrument.
A “concert harp” is large, cannot be easily carried,
and has foot pedals; it is not readily portable. Uillean bagpipes
are not constructed like our highland-based pipes. The messaging
associated with them would not make sense transferred to Uillean
pipes. The same applies to panpipe flutes. A GM must refuse
to add any wording to an instrument that will make the instrument
inconsistent with the messaging.
Materials must make sense. Strings must be gut or metal,
most instruments are made of wood. Exceptions are noted below.
In some instances, merchants will deem a magical wood too
rare or its properties too dangerous to allow it to be made
into a musical instrument.
Ornamentation must be logical. Detailed paintings and elaborately
fine ornamentation should be put in a shown description. Ask
yourself if someone could notice what you are describing in
a room with poor lighting in the middle of a battle.
Following is a short physical description of each instrument
as it exists in Elanthia.
Elanthian horns cover two distinct classes of instruments:
double-reeds (crumhorns and shawms) and aerophones (cornetts
and lysards). They are made of wood. The wood of the horn
may very authentically be covered with leathers, hides
and skins. Rings, geometric patterns, tassels and streamers,
simple inlays, paint, lacquer, filigree or carved work
that suits the elongated, tube-like nature of the instrument
and miniature work is fine. There is no room on these
instruments for large-scale painting.
CRUMHORN
The Crumhorn is a capped double REED
instrument. The player causes the reed to vibrate by
blowing into the top of the CAP. Caps may be metal,
ivory or bone. Notes are formed by use of six FINGER
HOLES.
The instrument is made by steaming a wooden tube and
bending it into a "J" shape (think of a large
umbrella handle). The reed goes into the top of the
"J", finger holes are drilled along the length
of the tube so the musician can form various notes.
The end of the instrument may have a slight outward
flare, but does not have a shawm-like bell.
SHAWM
The shawm, like the crumhorn, is a double
reed instrument. Unlike the crumhorn, the reed on the
shawm is placed directly in the musician's mouth. The
body of the crumhorn is made from a single piece of
wood,
ivory or bone. It is straight and contains finger holes.
The instrument terminates in a BELL. These instruments
are approximately the size of a clarinet, or slightly
larger.
CORNETT
The body of the cornett (named from the
Latin for "little horn" it is said to have been
originally made from a cow's horn) is a made from a single
piece of wood, ivory or horn. It was frequently covered
with leather, hide or skin to reinforce any weak places
in the wood. The instrument has a cupped, trumpet-like,
MOUTHPIECE made of wood, bone, ivory or metal. The body
of the instrument may be straight or curved. The cornett
flares out slightly before terminating, but does not possess
a true bell. It has six finger holes on the top of the
body and one for the thumb underneath.
LYSARD
The lysard is a larger sibling to the
cornett. Its elongated S shape enables it to be longer
in length and deeper in tone, but still compact enough
to be carried.
ENSHAI
The enshai is an aerophonic instrument
which is thought to bring good luck, and as a result, it
is widely used by Erithians during wedding ceremonies and
festive occasions.
The enshai employs two sets of double reeds, making it a
quadruple reed woodwind. By controlling the breath, one can
play various tunes on it. The term "quadruple reed" comes from
the fact that there are four pieces of dried palm leaf vibrating
against each other, in pairs.
The enshai is created from a wooden tube that gradually widens
towards the lower end. It usually has eight holes. The instrument
is made of wood, and it has a brass or copper bell fixed to the end
and tied together internally with string. The length of the instrument
is one and a half to two feet.
The reed mounts in the mouth piece, the upper end, on the outside.
This instrument has a sealed air chamber. When playing, the lips
are placedon the upper end of the mouthpiece, which places the reed
inside the mouth.The mouth is now part of the instrument and acts as
an air chamber. Prior to playing, the reed must be soaked to soften it.
The fingers of the right hand cover the four bottom holes. The fingers
of the left hand play the upper four holes. Some players adjust the
instrument's sound by partially or completely filling some holes with wax.
The enshai is a very sensitive instrument, and it requires a great
deal of skill on a musician's part. It is actually the way in which the
lips and tongue play upon the reed mouthpiece and the manner in which the
holes are opened and closed with the fingers that render the semitones
and quarter tones effectively and attractively. The enshai is considered one
of the most difficult instruments to play.
The body of the enshai is always made of a dark hard wood, most commonly
ebonwood, rosewood, black ash, and black willow. The bell is always made of
either brass or copper. As the enshai is most commonly used during festive
occasions and weddings, it is often highly decorated. The bells are often etched
and polished, while the wood of the body is often carved and adorned with jewels.
NECKED
STRING INSTRUMENTS
The following instruments are part of the NECKED STRING
Family. They contain the same elements as a modern guitar.
Specific instruments carry specific requirements; please
look at these when planning alterations.
All of the instruments in this family may be played
with Picks, or Plectrums, in the opposite hand.
The Parts of a Generic Neck Stringed Instrument:
The hollow box over which the strings are stretched
is referred to as the BODY of the instrument. The body
consists of the wooden SOUNDBOX [the back and sides]
and the wooden SOUNDBOARD, the part of the instrument
facing away from the musician containing the SOUNDHOLE.
Alternate names for the Soundboard are Face and Belly.
The STRINGS on these instruments are counted in COURSES.
A course can be a single string, or, more normally a
group of two or three. Instruments rarely had more than
one single string course. Thus an 8 course instrument
would have 16 to 25 strings. Strings are attached to
the BRIDGE [wood, bone, ivory, metals] of the instrument
below the soundhole. Strings progress from the bridge,
crossing the soundhole and rise over the NECK, which
in some instruments contains FRETS, arriving at the
HEAD or PEGBOX [wood] of the instrument where there
are TUNING PEGS.
The neck is appropriate for FRETS [wood, bone, metal
gut or shapeable minerals (onyx, lapis or nacre, not
diamonds or emeralds)]. Necks are made of wood and may
have wood, bone and ivory veneers and inlays of wood,
bone, ivory and gems.
The head is an excellent place for carving as long as
there is room for the PEGS [wood, bone, ivory, metals].
AYR
The ayr is a small, pear-shaped, stringed
instrument. Unlike many other plucked stringed instruments, it
does not have a fretted neck.
The ayr features a pear-shaped sound box, a peg box which is
bent back at a 45-90 degree angle from the neck, five pairs of
strings which are paired in courses of two (except the lowest string
which is usually just a single string), a shorter neck, at least
one sound hole, a bridge, and keys for tuning the strings.
Each pair of strings is tuned by the same key, creating a distinctive
sound. The pairs of strings are tuned in unison, like the pairs of
strings on a mandolin. The bridge and the strings are attached to the
instrument in a similar fashion to the classical guitar, i.e. knotted
at the bridge.
The strings of the ayr are always made of gut and the bridge and neck
of the instrument are often inlaid with small pieces of ivory or bone.
Otherwise, the ayr is usually void of ornamentation or decoration. The ayr
is never to be painted, carved or the wood otherwise disturbed for fear of
changing the faint, haunting sound it produces.
The ayr is famous for its easy improvisation, unlike other instruments
which either require accompaniment or are too complex to play.
CITTERN
The strings are always metal with six
to eighteen strings [three to six double or triple courses].
The neck of a cittern may be longer than the body of
the instrument, but not greatly. It is always fretted.
The pegbox or head may be bent back, relative to the
neck, but the angle is slight, especially when compared
to the lute. A cittern always has a flat back and soundboard
and a slightly elliptical or pear-shaped silhouette.
LUTE
A lute always has a round soundbox
and a flat soundboard. The shape of the body of the
lute is like a teardrop or pearl or pear cut in half.
The curved nature of the soundbox means that the lute
does not contain defined "sides". The soundbox
is made by bent narrow strips of wood, bone or ivory.
These bent strips are called RIBS and multiple types
of material are often used for elaborate effects. These
ribs are wide at the bottom of the lute's body and taper
to points, joining behind the neck of the lute. The
soundhole of a lute is frequently carved in an elaborate,
decorative grid and is called the ROSE. The NECK of
the instrument is shorter than the body of the instrument
and fretted.
Strings – six to ten courses, sometimes with
a single string course at the highest note. A lute will
usually have 11 to 20 strings. A lute should usually
have gut strings. Metal strings are rare, but possible.
The PEG BOX is bent AWAY from the neck of the instrument
at an angle often approaching 90 degrees.
MANDOLIN
A mandolin is A SMALL LUTE with 4 to 6
courses of gut strings (7 - 12 strings). Its peg box,
though bent backwards, does not have as extreme an angle
relative to the neck as a lute. A 20 - 60 degree angle
(rather than approaching 90 degrees) is the norm. In other
respects the mandolin is a small lute.
THEORBO
The theorbo is unlike the other stringed
instruments in Elanthia. It is a large archlute. It
has a long neck and many strings. The easiest way to
picture a theorbo is to imagine a lute with a pegbox
that does not bend back, but is on the same plane of
the neck, much as a modern guitar.
This pegbox is home to standard lute strings and pegs.
A second neck is carved with its beginning at the top
of the first pegbox. At the top if this added neck is
a second pegbox, offset, for a second group of 6 to
9 strings. Because these additional strings are longer
than the set entering the lower pegbox, this second
set of strings play bass. They do not travel over the
soundhold, or neck of the instrument. Instead they rise
from the bridge and run parallel to the neck. These
free-hanging, unstopped strings are played with an open
tuning, and are called DIAPASONS. A theorbo may have
up to 40 strings.
A modified lute, the theorbo is identical in constructions
as far as the body, neck material and ornamentation
and soundhole.
PERCUSSION
TAMBOURINE
A tambourine consists of a wooden HOOP
or SHELL covered with a skin or hide HEAD. Metal JINGLES
are inset into the sides of the shell.
Paint shell and head liberally. Hoop decorated as any
wood, jingles of any allowed metal with decorations
fitting to their smallish nature. Streamers, ribbons,
tassels or other dangly ornaments may be attached to
the instrument.
FINGER
CYMBALS
Cymbals are small and metal, with a
leather, cord or fabric loop attaching them. General
rules for metals and leather/fabric apply. Remember
it's a small instrument. You can't engrave the pictorial
history of the Elven Empire on them.
PIPES
BAGPIPES
and CORNEMUSE
The bagpipe is played by blowing air
into the BLOWSTICK or BLOWPIPE where it fills a BAG
made from leather or hide. Please note the bag can be
covered with fabric and so may appear plaid, canvas,
etc.
The CHANTER is placed at the front of the bagpipe,
and is the pipe with finger holes that allow the musician
to form notes. The blowpipe is directly behind the chanter
in the array of pipes.
Behind the CHANTER are the DRONES. Most pipes have
a minimum of one drone. Three drones on a pipe are not
uncommon. The Chanter and drones have reeds at their
ends. The air forced through the blowpipe, into the
bag, up the drones or chanter and through the reeds
is what gives a bagpipe that buzzing sound. All of these
parts are referred to as the PIPES and are attached
to the bag with STOCKS made from wood.
Bag - Hide or skin, may be fabric covered to become
plaid; must be soft.
Pipes - Wood, bone, ivory, may carve, paint or decorate
with rings; must be hard and shapeable.
Tassels, Streamers, Feathers, amulets, etc, may be
hung from pipes.
STRINGED
INSTRUMENTS
All of the instruments in this family may be played picks
and plectrums.
ZITHER
This is the family name for all instruments
which have STRINGS set across a wooden box. This box
may also be called a SOUNDBOARD and is suitable for
paint, stain, and inlays of gems, bone, wood or metal
and filigree. The carving on the margins of the soundboard
can be quite elaborate. The body of the instrument,
logically, is square or rectangular. It is a fairly
large surface and can support elaborate paintings.
The strings are set at one side of the soundboard with
PINS [metal, bone, ivory, horn], stretch over the soundboard,
which may include a soundhole, and are fastened to TUNING
PEGS. .
Some zithers are fretted. The FRETS appear perpendicular
to the strings along the side of the instrument.
PSALTERY
A psaltery is NEVER fretted. A psaltery
consists of a raised wooden board or box with a soundhole.
Strings are stretched parallel to the soundboard and attached
at either side by pegs or metal pins. Aside from the 100%
prohibition on frets, it may be treated as a zither.
DULCIMER
Dulcimers in Elanthia are not hammered
dulcimers, which must be placed on a stand and struck
with mallets, but rather the "mountain" dulcimer
which is plucked. This instrument evolved from the northern
European scheitholt. The soundbox of a large dulcimer
is typically narrow and hourglass-shaped; smaller dulcimers
may have only one bulge, producing an elongated teardrop-shape.
The four strings of a dulcimer run close together on a
raised FINGERBOARD (aka FRETBOARD) with FRETS running
perpendicular to the strings. The strings are tuned with
four TUNING PEGS mounted in a SCROLL, similar to a modern
violin’s. There are typically one or two pairs of
SOUNDHOLES or TONEHOLES on either side of the strings.
Dulcimers are always fretted.
LYRE
One way to envision a lyre is as a zither
with a harp stacked on top of it.
The base of the lyre is known as the SOUNDBOX. It is always
made from a resonating, hollow material, traditionally wood or a
turtle shell. The soundbox of the lyre is never to be made from
metal, glass, crystal or stone. If the base of the lyre is made
of wood it may be flat-backed like a zither or arched like the back
of a lute. The face of the instrument must always be flat. The
soundbox may be painted, inlaid with decorative material, and generally
embellished in the ways permissible to the soundboxes of lutes and zithers.
Soundboxes may possess SOUNDHOLES.
At the top, two ARMS rise from opposite sides of the soundbox,
perpendicular to the base of the instrument. These arms are always made
from a strong, rigid material - wood, bone, horn, and metals should all
be permitted. The arms may be carved, asymmetrically proportioned,
wrapped with other material, etc.
The entire purpose of the arms is to supply a support for the YOLK.
The yolk lies across the top of the arms, parallel to the base of the instrument.
(Obviously if the arms are different lengths, i.e. asymmetrical, the yolk
will be at an angle to the base, but still roughly parallel.) The yolk must
be made from a strong and rigid material to support the tension from the strings.
The STRINGS, made of metal or gut, are wrapped around the yolk of the
instrument and descend between the arms and across the face of the soundbox
to the base of the instrument where they are fastened by PEGS or PINS.
The pegs/pins may be made of bone, shell, horn or metal. Strings are never
made of crystal, glass, emerald, diamond-dust, etc. A simple lyre may have only
three strings; a normal, professional quality lyre would possess twelve strings.
The soundbox of a lyre may have a BRIDGE, made out of bone, horn, metal or shell,
near the pegs/pins to provide proper placement of the strings as they begin their
rise across the face of the instrument.
HARPS
HARP
Harps are always made of wood. The
parts of a harp are consistent, though the size of the
instrument may vary. The major support of the harp is
the PILLAR or COLUMN. This pillar is vertical part of
the instrument which supports the rest. The Pillar or
column is an excellent place for carving, medallions,
paint, inlays, etc. A decorative cap may be placed upon
the pillar, if desired, this is called a CAP. The bottom
of the pillar is called the FOOT.
The piece of the harp that moves, in a graceful curve,
from the top of the pillar to the player's shoulder,
is called the NECK. The top line of the neck is an excellent
place for elaborate carving. The STRINGS are attached
to TUNING PINS, which are found along the length of
the neck. Strings may be made of GUT or METAL, but as
a side note, Scottish and Irish harps had strings made
from brass wire, not gut. Tuning Pins are made of bone,
metal, ivory or other hard, carvable material.
The point where the neck curves and rests against the
player's shoulder is called the SHOULDER, KNEE or KNEE
BLOCK. This is simply the small curve that allows the
harp to make the transition from the neck to the BODY
or SOUND BOARD.
The Body or Soundboard of the harp begins at the shoulder
and proceeds downwards away from the musician to the
bottom (FOOT) of the pillar.
Pedals are for concert later period concert harps and,
since our harp messages do not make any mention of them,
should be avoided. Harps must be described as small
enough to be held and played simultaneously.
WOODWINDS
When planning your alterations, please remember these
are small instruments.
FLUTE
The flute should be made of wood, metal,
bone or ivory. Crystal and glass are Not Allowed. The
flute is played by blowing, sideways, into the MOUTH
HOLE or EMBOUCHURE found in the HEAD of the flute. The
BODY of the flute contains finger holes. As early as
1430 a single KEY appeared in the foot of the flute.
Flutes were generally constructed from a single piece
of wood, bone or metal before the 1600's when flutes
with three joints and three keys became popular. An
Elanthian flute should not have more than three keys
and three joints.
PICCOLO
The piccolo is a small flute. Not much
difference between early piccolos and early fifes.
FIFE
A small flute. It has six finger holes
with a cork or plug in the head above the embouchure.
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