A bowed box zither, used at one time in Scandinavian countries to regulate choral singing. There is some divergence of opinion as to its origin. Several reference works treat it (albeit with some reserve) as the invention of a Swedish pastor, Johann Dillner (1785–1862), but Ostenfeld (1976) provided convincing evidence that this was not so. Dillner did, however, introduce the instrument to Sweden, and had it approved by the Swedish Royal Academy of Music in 1829. Norwegian scholars have tended to claim that it was introduced somewhat earlier in Norway by a cantor, Lars Roverud, who in turn seems to have got his inspiration in Denmark. Yet it seems to have found little favour in Denmark in spite of its use in some schools. There is at present no evidence of any contact between Dillner and Roverud.
In its earliest form the psalmodikon consisted of a flat, rather shallow soundbox, in plan a tall trapezium (or occasionally a rectangle), with a single (bowed) string of gut supported by a nut at each end and passing over a bridge. Beneath and parallel to this string was a strip or ‘rule’ of wood transversely ridged to form frets, with the stopping positions marked by letters (see illustration). Thus the player could follow a printed cue-sheet instead of formal music notation. There were also a number of wire drone strings which passed over sections of the bridge that were cut lower so as not to impede free bowing. In some early instruments further clearance was provided by cutting the soundboard away in a concave ‘bout’ on the near side of the bridge. Additionally the more sophisticated examples were provided with several alternative rules differently marked so that the instrument could be played in several keys.
The presence of a bowed string associated with a fretted and lettered fingerboard recalls John Playford's 17th-century Psalterer (though there is no evidence that either Dillner or Roverud had any knowledge of Playford’s work). Both instruments were designed expressly to support choral singing in lieu of an organ or other skilled instrumental accompaniment.
The psalmodikon enjoyed great popularity in Norwegian and particularly Swedish schools until about 1860; it was also used by Scandinavian immigrants, for instance in the USA, where it is reported until about 1900. It appeared in a number of different versions, some with as many as four bowed strings, and with a variable number of drones. Such instruments were professionally made, but certain museum collections have examples of rustic copies of varying sophistication. Probably the most singular of these is one colloquially called notstok, in which the body was boat-shaped (sometimes not even hollowed out) while the fingerboard resembled a long handle passing through it. A keyed psalmodikon was also known at one time: all forms of the instrument, however, except perhaps the rural ones, seem to have gone out of use with the introduction of the harmonium in Scandinavian schools.
A. Hammerich: Das Musikhistorische Museum in Kopenhagen: beschreibender Katalog (Copenhagen, 1911), 105–6
O. Andersson: Stråkharpen: en studie i nordisk instrumenthistoria (Helsinki, 1923; Eng. trans., 1930/R)
O.N. Olson: ‘The Psalmodikon: a Forgotten Instrument’, Lutheran Companion, li (1943), 1256–8
K. Ostenfeld: Psalmodikon i Danmark: dets tilkomst og anvendelse i musikpedagogisk sammenhaeng (Copenhagen, 1976)
L. Eeg-Olofsson: Johan Dillner: präst, musiker och mystiker (Stockholm, 1978), 227–55
L. Eeg-Olofsson and K. Ostenfeld: ‘Förteckning över psalmodikonnoter’, Svenskt musikhistoriskt arkiv bulletin, no.15 (1978), 1–32
PHILIP BATE