What on Earth is a Cittern?
Okay I confess. Until December 2013 I knew a cittern was a string instrument in the mandola family but I had never seen one, and if at that time I had been asked to describe one I would have really struggled. So to those who thought I said ‘sitar’ when I replied to their question “what is that instrument you’re playing?” don’t worry, I was also blissful in my ignorance until then.
I bought my first cittern from Johnny Roadhouse in July 2014, six months after picking one off the wall thinking it was a 10 string bouzouki – Bouzouki Plus Plus Plus maybe? So the difference between a standard cittern and a standard bouzouki is probably a good place to start. Most bouzoukis have 8 strings, arranged in four pairs, with the treble strings being the same gauge and the bass strings being octaved (ie: a thick string and a thin string in the same pairing). Most citterns have 10 strings, arranged in five pairs with each pair of strings being the same gauge.
It does of course get much more complicated than that because there are 8 and 12 string citterns, and there are 10 string bouzoukis, and they are all different shapes and sizes according to where in the world they are made and when. Just like the oud and the lute, the string instruments in the mandola family predate the guitar. Their origins lie in the Renaissance period (loosely, the 15th& 16thcenturies) that emerged from the Middle Ages in Europe.
My first cittern is an Ashbury, designed by an Englishman and manufactured to specification in Vietnam. It is a 100% acoustic instrument and I feel like I own a perfect acoustic instrument. Production line instruments can sometimes be a little disappointing, with a flat sound, but the Ashbury is positively choral with a resonance that belies its relatively compact size. It’s only drawback is that it didn’t come with strap knobs, and because it is an awkward shape to hold I have to sit when I’m playing it.
When I had my arch top cittern made in 2017 by Fylde Guitars of ~Penrith, I specified that it should be semi acoustic and that it should have strap knobs! So I now have the freedom to stand and play, which is much more comfortable, enables me to sing louder, and has helped to build my confidence as a performer. Although the Fylde has a more mellow tone than the Ashbury, it is still one of the loudest acoustic instruments, so I warn every sound engineer not to assume they are dealing with just another guitar. The ones that don’t listen generally shout ‘Fucking hell!’ or similar when their battered eardrums finally settle down!
I don’t play the cittern in a traditional way, preferring instead to play it more as a rhythm rock guitar. More folky sounds started to creep in during the recording of The Breeding Ground OF Vile, and my output became more varied in that time. My song writing is almost all done with the cittern. Have a listen to the following songs to hear what a cittern sounds like without any effects added:
https://johnreed.bandcamp.com/track/watergrove-farm
https://johnreed.bandcamp.com/track/dry-the-life-cittern-version
https://johnreed.bandcamp.com/track/bleeding
https://johnreed.bandcamp.com/track/dependence