The zither is a stringed instrument consisting of many strings stretched across a thin, flat wooden soundbox. It is placed horizontally on a table to be played. The Alpine zither typically has 5 melody strings over a fretted fingerboard and up to 37 open harmony strings. The player plucks the melody with a thumb plectrum and uses the other fingers to pluck the open strings for chords. The zither became globally famous in 1949 due to the film 'The Third Man.' The entire soundtrack, composed and performed by Anton Karas on a zither, featured the 'Harry Lime Theme,' which became a massive hit. The instrument's unique, metallic, and slightly melancholic twang became synonymous with the atmosphere of post-war Vienna. While it is a complex professional instrument, it is also a staple of Alpine folk music in Austria, Bavaria, and Switzerland.