Strum and Pluck – A Breakdown of String Instruments

Articles on Musical Instruments | Topics: instruments, instrument

by Aron Underwood

A serenade preformed by a violin at that favorite restaurant where the corner booth is reserved for romance. Maybe you'll enjoy an evening of jazz when the biggest instrument on stage is playing the deep soulful moments. Is it the classical Hindu sitar with its eastern flavor you listen to? Or maybe you're listening to some oldies with Lennon and McCartney playing a little rock and roll. Whichever of these is your pleasure all of the music being played was with the use of stringed instruments.

An instrument is defined as belonging to the string family if makes its sound by the vibration of the strings. There are several different ways to cause the vibration of the strings depending on the instrument. Guitars, sitars and banjos are plucked. This is done with a finger, thumb or plectrum; a plectrum is also known as a pick. Cellos, basses, violas and violins are played by deftly pulling a bow across the strings. Over the years there have been exceptions to these rules. Rock musicians have experimented with using bows on their guitars. Picking instead of bowing an instrument is called pizzicato. The third method used to make sound with a stringed instrument is striking it. This is done with pianos when the musician hits the key, the key moves the hammer and the hammer causes the string to make a sound. Interestingly the piano is claimed by three instrument groups; keyboards, string and percussion.

The most often played instrument of the classical string family is the violin. The smallest in the family, with only four strings, it is also the most well known. To play the violin the musician must sit straight, feet on the floor, with the broader end between the left shoulder and chin. The left hand holds the neck; the fingers ready to move along the strings to help the bow make the right notes. Everyone has heard of the work of Antonio Stradivari. His violins are known not just for their wonderful sound but for their workmanship as well.

The viola is slightly bigger and heavier then the violin and so harder to hold for the player. One must adjust the arm length to ensure the strings are comfortably reachable for the fingertips. It is the alto member of the family and must be played with similar correct posture.

Bit of History

Fashionable women regard themselves, and are regarded by men, as pretty toys or as mere instruments of pleasure; and the vacuity of mind, the heartlessness, the frivolity which is the necessary result of this false and debasing estimate of women, can only be fully understood by those who have mingled in the folly and wickedness of fashionable life ...

—Sarah M. Grimke (1792–1873)

The cello is played in a seated position with the instrument held between the calves. It has what is called an endpin to keep it from resting directly on the floor. What a cello is made of is very important to the quality of the sound. Therefore the top is usually spruce or sometimes pine. This is because of how the sound is reflected off the wood. The neck, sides, back, pegbox and scroll are all made of maple.

The last member of the family is the double bass. It is the biggest and requires the musician to be standing when playing. It has the lowest sound and can be seen anywhere from the classical concert to the jazz band. Usually with four strings, it does sometimes have five.

Lets leave this family and move to guitars and how they differ. The acoustic guitar is usually much less expensive. The body of an acoustic guitar is hollow; there is a hole in the front called a sound hole. Acoustics usually have six strings. These instruments as usually used for folk or country music though any style can be played on this very versatile instrument. The stings are often made of steel. The acoustic guitar and classical guitar are very similar. But the classical guitar, which also has six strings, will be threaded with three nylon strings and three made of steel. This makes a very different sound from the acoustic. Electric guitars are made very differently. They are not hollow, so hitting the strings makes a very quiet sound. That is why an electric amplifier is required. Electric guitars also have more to be confused about with their knobs and buttons.

If none of these appeal and you are looking for a different sound there is still the mystical sound of the sitar or the bluegrass banjo.

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Please note: All personal opinions expressed in the "Strum and Pluck – A Breakdown of String Instruments" article belong to the contributing author and are not necessarily shared by MusicInstrumentsCds.com.

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