Bumblebee (instrument)
The bumblebee , also known as Hommel , is a stringed instrument belonging to the zithers , more precisely to the family of the drone zithers , in which the melody strings are pressed down with the fingers of the left hand or a playing stick, while the right hand pulls a plectrum (a plate or a quill pen ) over the melody and drone strings . The swinging of the drone strings is reminiscent of the hum of bumblebees ; the French word bourdon means "bumblebee". The onomatopoeic name is possibly from the Dutch hommelen("Hum, hum") derived. A type of bagpipe with drone whistles, the Hümmelchen , also takes its name from this.
The bumblebee was popular as a folk musical instrument, particularly in northern Germany. In Holland and North Frisia it has been known as Hommel since 1508. It was presumably developed in the Netherlands from the quieter sounding Scheitholt and the épinette des Vosges .
literature
- Alexander Pilipczuk: The "bumblebees" in Schleswig-Holstein, Vierlanden and Lower Saxony . In Lichtwark booklet . The Kult (ur) -Magazin from Bergedorf, Lohbrügge, the Vier- und Marschlanden, No. 63, publisher: HB-Werbung in cooperation with Bergedorf District Office, 1998 ISSN 1862-3549 .
- Joan Rimmer: Hommel. In: Grove Music Online, 2001
- Wilfried Ulrich: The bumblebee - history of a folk music instrument . Museumsdorf Cloppenburg , 2011, ISBN 978-3-938061-23-7 .