What to tune the instrument to, you will need to indicate how long the instrument is. There are a few sizes of citera out there. I can't think right off what I tune mine to (it is the most common size) but when I go home I will find that out and send you the information in the morning.
Unless you are playing with others the primary concern is that the instrument be in tune with itself which means the following:
*All melody strings in tune with each other.
*Drone string row next to the melody strings: skinnier string tuned to same pitch as the melody strings and the heavier one is tuned one fourth *lower* than the melody strings
*Any other drone strings (if your instrument has them): tune them to sound the same as what the melody strings sound when you press behind the fret that would make them as short as the drone string. (They will be tuned to octaves and fourths from the bottom note of the melody strings.)
Concerning stringing a citera:
The recommendation I have had to restring my citera (and some may shudder at this) is to go buy comparable gauge (unwound) steel wire at a hardware store. If you really want to spend more money you could go see what sorts of strings are available for Mountain Dulcimer and autoharp (both of which are zithers of a sort). If these strings are available in the right length and look about right in terms of their gauge you could probably use them and get a better sound than you would from hardware store wire. (I think my citera is actually strung with wire from a store in Hungary and not with any special strings, but I could be wrong–the sound is nice and it responds well in any event).
One other thought, if you want to you can try contacting Lark in the Morning and they might have something that would work.
Seriously though, try the hardware store first–if you don't like the sound then you are only out $3 or so and if you do like it you'll have saved the time of trying to track strings down.
Send me an e-mail with the length of your instrument (and alwo how many rows of strings it has) and I can give you the precise tunings according to a citera reference book from Hungary that I have at home.
– -Arle
Arle,
My citera is 82 cm long and has 16 strings. Can you provide me with the precise tunings?
Thank you,
Greg Clapp
contact him directly: Support@larkinam.com
