Lyre

A Lyre or Lyrais a a stringed instrument resembling a small U-shaped harp with strings fixed to a crossbar although in contrast to a true harp it had a soundbox or resonator.It was one of the oldest instruments and already known to and most likely invented by the Ainur.The instrument may actually have been an invention of Salmar, the great maker of music instruments who was not only a master of the Harp and the horn but also of the Lyre.

The Elves played types of lyre or very lyre-like instrumentsthey called "Salma" and "quintl",the Númenóreans also played a type of Lyra they called "Zîn", the Haradrim played an instrument much like a lyra or rebab, even the Orcs knew a similar instrument, the "Lathi".