An acoustic musical instrument includes a sounding board which has a top and a bottom surface. The top includes a bridge and the bottom includes a plurality of tone bars. A string block extends between two of the tone bars and is spaced from said sounding board. The string block includes means for anchoring at least one string end. The instrument is strung by anchoring a first end of each string to the string block and attaching a second end of each string to a tensioning device.