Tunings
Of all the descriptions of the bell harp from the 18th century, William Tans'ur's, in his Elements of Musick (1767 and later), is the only one to mention tuning. The bell harp, he says, 'may be tuned according to the common Scale of Musick.' Given that most of the known swung zither instruments from the 18th century have around 14-18 different courses, this probably indicates a diatonic tuning of about two octaves.
Three instruments have the actual notes written on them. The illustration of John Simcock's English harp in F.W. Galpin's Old English Instruments of Music (1908) is detailed enough to get a close-up of the playing area. The longest, lowest course is on the outer right.
Illustration from Galpin (1908).
It shows a two-octave scale from d' but with a c natural as well as c# in the lower octave.
Carl Engel (see References) reads the tuning as:
Carl Engel Descriptive Catalogue 1874.
This does indeed look like a literal reading of the illustration. But why is the note 'd' in two places? It is important to note that the scale of this instrument, similar to others, is not 'straightforwardly' from left-right and then right-left. The note on the outer right side is a low note (see Instruments).
This repeated note 'd' could be because of some unknown, idiomatic technique, but it also could also be a misreading. Galpin's interpretation is that the first note on the left-hand side is an 'e' not a 'd'. This makes a complete two-octave scale in D major but with an additional c natural in the middle. Other things being equal, Galpin's interpretation seems more useful and, perhaps, more likely.
Countless simple tunes in D major and G major could be played with this range of notes and many other tunes too, using the natural minor scale and some modal scales.
It is possible that some simple tunes in D major, with a very short range, could be played with the right-hand thumb and a basic accompaniment with the left-hand thumb, but scope for playing in two parts is very limited when holding and playing the instrument.
There is a surviving, anonymous swung zither instrument, classified as a bell harp, in St Cecilia's Hall Museum in Edinburgh and it has the notes written on it. This too is set for the keys of D major and G major but the notes are differently disposed.
Edinburgh MIMed 3360.
This instrument has eight courses (seven triples and one double) on each side of the instrument. rather than the nine triple plus seven triple courses of the instrument above. Again the longest, lowest course is on the right-hand side. The instrument is seen here with its lid off and with it in place. The single lid was made from two pieces of wood that have come apart. This instrument has a soundboard with two roses. There are more details on this in Instruments.
Close-up of playing area.
(Thanks to the staff at St Cecilia's Hall Museum for allowing me to take these photographs). It's not possible to say if these notes are original or a later addition. The notes are:
(left) a d1 e1 f#1 g1 a1 b1 c2 (right) b2 a2 g2 f#2 e2 d2 c#2 g
The range is from g to b2 but missing out 'a' and 'b'. The longest course and lowest note, 'g', is on the right side. Again countless simple tunes in G and D major could be played with this range of notes. Perhaps this array of notes in D and G major was thought to be in some way more useful or superior to the plain two octaves in D of the instrument described above.
This Edinburgh instrument was acquired with quills in the form that they might be used as pens and certainly not as possible plectrums to be attached to each thumb. Somewhere in its history an owner of this instrument must have been playing it on a table or on the lap, and not swinging it. It is still worth describing the instrument as a kind of swung zither because it could be swung and it is significantly similar to instruments that probably were swung.
The third instrument with notes written on it is the 24-course English harp made by John Simcock, now in the V&A in London but buried away so deeply it is not available for any kind of access.
John Simcock, English harp, V&A London.
The photograph of this instrument on the V&A website is low resolution and it is impossible to discern any details, but, according to Carl Engel, the notes are:
Carl Engel Descriptive Catalogue 1874.
With the exception of the high f# on the left hand side, the outer notes on both sides of the instrument form a two-octave scale in C major upwards from d, but with an additional fourth below at g. The instrument is basically a two octave, not quite fully chromatic, instrument. The intervening chromatic notes are towards the middle of the instrument.
Was this a one-off experiment or simply the only instrument like this that has survived? It's impossible to say. Obviously, in principle, this instrument could be played in many more keys and could accommodate more accidentals in simpler keys than the other bell harps.
There are no 'lugs' protruding from the playing area as in other Simcock instruments. But also, there are no lugs on some other swung zithers with far fewer courses. However in the case of this instrument the lack of 'lugs' could suggest that it was never designed to be held and swung. Reaching over 12 courses on each side with the thumbs, while grasping the instrument with each hand would be quite daunting, if not impossible! Perhaps this instrument would have been played on the lap or on a table so that each hand could be free to move around.
Nevertheless it is still worth categorising this instrument as a form of swung zither although a borderline case, because it is so similar to other swung zithers and very different from any other kind of zither.