Lira da braccio

High school (ages 12+)
Art & Creativity

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/lira-da-braccio

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the instrument type?Renaissance chordophone, bowed string instrument
2. What is the geographical origin?Primarily associated with Italy during the 15th and 16th centuries
3. How many strings does it have?It usually had seven strings—five that you play on the fingerboard and two extra strings that stay open to give a steady background sound.
4. Why did people use it to sing poetry?Poets liked the lira da braccio because its rich chords and melody could follow the words and emotions of their poems, making the performance feel like a musical story.

Chordophone: A musical instrument that produces sound by the vibration of strings.
Poet-musician (Poeta-cantore): An artist combining poetic composition with musical performance, often improvisational.
Drone Strings: Unfretted strings designed to produce a continuous harmonic tone, adding resonance.
Intermedii: Musical and theatrical interludes performed between acts of plays during the Renaissance.