Zither
The zither (citera in Hungarian) was a very popular instrument in Hungary around the turn of the century and in the second half of the 19th century as well. Its exact origin is unknown but is form and structure is similar to those of the old Austrian and German zithers. The old zithers are diatonic, the new ones are chromatic. The zither generally plays the same melody that is usually sung by the singers. Today the strings of the zither are tuned to G and C (or to A and D). The melody strings are tuned to G and the accompanying or background strings are tuned to G and C an octave apart. Nowadays the zither is again an extremely popular instrument in Hungary.