The Lyre in the Modern Classroom

The lyre offers children in their early school years a gentle introduction to making music together. «The sound resonates, calms the breath and the body, and stimulates the sense of hearing in a special way», teachers report. This instrument could become particularly relevant in a classroom where children are active. The Active Classroom is a concept used at many Waldorf schools to support the urge to move in lower-grade children by furnishing the room with flexible benches and cushions. When first-grade class begins with everyone playing the lyre together, harmonious string sounds fill the classroom and set the children’s mood for the day. This opening helps facilitate the transition from the outside world into a shared learning atmosphere. Listening, tuning in to one’s inner self, letting the sounds linger. What makes it special is the tuning of the seven strings. Their tones are so finely attuned to one another that no dissonance is audible. Every sequence of notes sounds harmonious to European ears, thanks to the perfect fifth intervals
between the notes.

«There are no ‹wrong› notes on the lyre», says Christian Giersch. «And that’s exactly why it’s particularly well-suited for the first two grades.» Giersch was a lyre and music teacher at the Michael Bauer School in Stuttgart-Vaihingen, as well as an instructor for the lyre and children’s harp at the Freie Hochschule Stuttgart. He is now retired. Time and again, teachers at Waldorf schools make a conscious decision to introduce the lyre—tuned in seventh-string fifths—as the first instrument, instead of the usual pentatonic flute. This makes it easier for many children to get started with instrumental music. While playing the flute requires mastering breath control, finger coordination, and covering the holes all at once, the lyre allows for an immediate musical experience by bowing all the strings and listening to the collective sound. This quickly creates a unifying orchestral experience in the classroom, regardless of individual musical talents or personal challenges. Using the lyre as an introductory instrument also lays the foundation for a future class orchestra featuring traditional instruments.

The lyre as a beginner's instrument

«Playing the lyre with the children is a wonderful experience», says Matthias Kräutle of the Freie Waldorfschule Biberach. He is a class teacher who chose the lyre as the instrument for first grade. Making music together on the lyres can bring people together—not only the class community but also the parents. That’s because they built the instruments for their children together with the class teacher. «It’s a wonderful opportunity for parents to get to know one another while carving the lyres at the start of the school year», says Kräutle. «In that regard, great importance is placed on bringing plenty of barbecue food and cake for the carving sessions. Some parents from my previous class specifically encouraged me to do this again with the new first-grade class, since it fostered a sense of unity among the parents right from the start.»

However, to ensure that the children can play the correct notes, all lyres must be tuned before class—a time-consuming task for the teacher. This poses a significant organizational challenge in the day-to-day school routine and is certainly one of the reasons why the lyre has not yet become established in the first grades at Waldorf schools. For many schools, the extra effort is simply too much to handle. «If no one helps out, that might be a deal-breaker for playing the lyre», says Kräutle.

Lyre sound as an offer

The lyre as a contemporary instrument traces its origins to a development in 1926. At the Goetheanum in Dornach, musician Edmund Pracht and artist Lothar Gärtner designed the lyre in its present form.

The impetus for developing the instrument came from Pracht’s work with children with disabilities, particularly as a musical accompanist for eurythmy. In their search for an alternative to the sound of the piano, Pracht and Gärtner conceived an idea and eventually put it into practice: By eliminating the mechanical parts and outer casing and radically reducing the instrument’s size—while retaining the high-tension chromatic steel strings—they created a new musical instrument, the lyre, which was put to use in curative education immediately after its development.

In 1968, musician and special education teacher Julius Knierim, in collaboration with instrument makers, developed the simplified lyre as a seven-stringed children’s harp. «The sound of the lyre is always an invitation to the ear, never an intrusion», says Giersch. The lyre’s tone lingers even long after the fingers have left the strings. In the classroom, this often leads children to listen quietly for a moment before playing again themselves. This stimulates listening, calms the breath, and relaxes the body. «Some children are so relaxed that the instrument even slips out of their hands», Giersch reports. «A very special atmosphere can develop in the room when the instruments are simply allowed to resonate for a while—especially when the teacher manages not to speak during this time but truly lets the sound unfold.»

Freedom of movement as an educational value

But playing the lyre has another, almost opposite aspect that suits children at this stage of development: freedom of movement. The instrument allows for large, flowing movements. It can be played while standing, walking, or in various postures. «The children can almost dance with the lyre in their arms», Giersch notes from his experience as a music teacher. In this way, sound production is directly linked to physical experience.

Especially in the early school years, when learning occurs largely through movement, rhythm, and imitation, this provides a unique gateway to music. In this respect, the lyre fits well into a teaching approach that views movement not as a distraction but as part of the learning process. Singing can take place simultaneously while playing the lyre; a whole treasure trove of songs in fifth tuning is now available for classroom use. At the same time, the use of the lyre in everyday school life involves an organizational effort that plays a role in determining how often it is actually used.