 A rare tremoloa with staggered soundholes on display in the Dickinson County Historical Museum | |
| String instrument | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Hawaiian tremoloa,fr: Trémoloa |
| Hornbostel–Sachs classification | 314.122-6 (Boardzither sounded by aplectrum) |
| Inventor(s) | Harold Finney, John H. Large |
| Developed | Early 20th century |
| Playing range | |
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| Related instruments | |
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Thetremoloa/ˈtreɪmoʊloʊwə/,[1] pluraltremoloas, is astringed instrument belonging to thefretless zither family. It was produced inUnited States in response to the rapid increase in popularity ofHawaiian music during the 1920s, and continued to be produced until the 1950s.[2]Musical collectiveBroken Social Scene features the instrument in "Tremoloa Debut." The instrument is also featured sporadically onThe Magnetic Fields' album69 Love Songs.
The tremoloa simulates thetonal effects of theHawaiian steel guitar by passing a weightedroller stabilized by a swinginglever termed an arm, along amelody string.[3] Following, moving the roller after plucking createstremolo, aneffect which gave rise to its name. Additionally, the tremoloa possesses fourchords (C, G, F, and D major), tostrum out theharmony.[4]
The patent for the tremoloa was granted in 1932 to Harold Finney and John H. Large.[5][6]
