Sheminith

Sheminith (Hebrew: eighth) is a musical term appearing in the headings of Psalms 6 and 12 and in 1 Chronicles 15:21, where certain Levitical musicians were appointed to play on harps on the sheminith. The term most likely refers to the octave — the eighth note of a musical scale — and indicates either a specific pitch register or a type of instrument tuned to the lower octave.

Ancient understanding of the sheminith placed it in contrast to the alamoth (possibly the soprano register, associated with young women's voices) mentioned in the same Chronicler's passage (1 Chronicles 15:20). If this interpretation is correct, the sheminith designated the bass or tenor register, and the instruments playing on it would have produced the deeper harmonies of the Levitical ensemble. The presence of technical musical vocabulary in the Psalm headings reflects the sophisticated liturgical music culture of the Jerusalem temple, though the precise meaning of these terms was lost relatively early in the tradition.