string instrument

Main article: Guitar pick A plectrum for guitars typically takes the form of a narrow isosceles triangle with rounded corners; the acutest angle is the one commonly used to pluck the string. Such a plectrum can also be called a pick (or a flatpick to distinguish it from fingerpicks). They are made of a variety of materials, including tortoise shell and celluloid, but today plastic is the most common. The size, shape and thickness may vary considerably. Items such as small coins may successfully be used as a ...

See also:

Plectrum, Plectrum - Plectra for guitars etc., Plectrum - Plectra for harpsichords

Read more here: » Plectrum: Encyclopedia II - Plectrum - Plectra for guitars etc.

The Autoharp is a zither-like musical string instrument having a series of chord bars attached to dampers which, when depressed, mute all the strings other than those that form the desired chord. It has been a registered trademark since 1927, and is currently owned by U.S. Music Corporation, whose Oscar Schmidt division manufactures Autoharps. The generic term for the instrument is chorded zither. Autoharps have been commonly used in the United States as bluegrass and folk instruments. They are known for being easy to learn. (In the North American folk-music community the Autoharp is sometimes c ...

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Below is a list of terms used in musical terminology which are likely to occur on printed or sheet music. Many of these terms have an Italian etymology, reinforcing the Italian origins of standard modern musical notation. Most of the other terms are taken from either the French or German languages; these will be indicated by "(Fr.)" and "(Gr.)", respectively. In different countries, the terms you see below may be written in the language of that country. Unless indicated otherwise, these terms are assumed to be Italian (or English) in origin. A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V ...

Including:

• Musical terminology - A
• Musical terminology - B
• Musical terminology - C
• Musical terminology - D
• Musical terminology - E
• Musical terminology - F
• Musical terminology - G
• Musical terminology - H
• Musical terminology - I
• Musical terminology - K
• Musical terminology - L
• Musical terminology - M
• Musical terminology - N
• Musical terminology - O
• Musical terminology - P
• Musical terminology - Q
• Musical terminology - R
• Musical terminology - S
• Musical terminology - T
• Musical terminology - U
• Musical terminology - V
• Musical terminology - W
• Musical terminology - Z

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The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The name derives from adding the suffix -et meaning little to the Italian word clarino meaning trumpet, as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed. (See Characteristics of the Instrument) Clarinets actually comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches. It is the largest such instrument family, with more than two dozen types. The unmodified word clarinet usually refers to the soprano ...

Including:

• Clarinet - Characteristics of the instrument
• Clarinet - Tone
• Clarinet - Range
• Clarinet - Construction and acoustics
• Clarinet - Usage and repertoire of the clarinet
• Clarinet - Classical music
• Clarinet - Concert bands
• Clarinet - Jazz
• Clarinet - Klezmer
• Clarinet - Groups of clarinets
• Clarinet - Extended Family of Clarinets
• Clarinet - History
• Clarinet - Famous clarinetists

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In music, a bow is a device pulled across the strings of a string instrument in order to make them vibrate and emit sound. In vernacular speech the bow is called a fiddlestick. Bow music - Materials. A bow consists of a length of wood with some other material stretched between its ends. The type of bow used to play the violin and related instruments has many hairs stretched between its ends, but bows used in other cultures often stretch a single piece of string between the ends of the wood.

• Bow music - Materials
• Bow music - Bowing
• Bow music - History
• Bow music - Origin
• Bow music - The modern bow
• Bow music - Historical bows
• Bow music - Other types of bow

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Bass guitar (also called "electric bass guitar," "electric bass," or simply "bass") refers to an electric bass or an electric/acoustic string instrument with a similar appearance to the guitar, but with a larger body, commonly four strings, longer scale neck and tuned an octave lower in pitch than a guitar. Bass guitar - Overview. The instrument is a descendant of the double bass (a cousin of the violin and viola da gamba) and shares design attributes of the electric guitar and features in common with a ran ...

Including:

• Bass guitar - Overview
• Bass guitar - Etymology
• Bass guitar - History
• Bass guitar - Design considerations
• Bass guitar - Body
• Bass guitar - Number of strings and tuning
• Bass guitar - Pickups
• Bass guitar - Frets
• Bass guitar - Playing styles
• Bass guitar - Sitting or standing
• Bass guitar - Plectra vs. fingers or thumb
• Bass guitar - Right hand support and position
• Bass guitar - Striking or plucking position
• Bass guitar - 'Slap and pop' and related techniques
• Bass guitar - Amplification and effects
• Bass guitar - Loudspeakers
• Bass guitar - Amplification manufacturers
• Bass guitar - Effects
• Bass guitar - Musical role of the bass guitar
• Bass guitar - Influential bassists
• Bass guitar - Influential manufacturers

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Cymbals (Fr. cymbales; Ger. Becken; Ital. piatti or cinelli), are a modern percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various cymbal alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. Most modern cymbals are of indefinite pitch (tuned sets have been manufactured but are rare), whereas small cup-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a definite note; see crotal. Cymbals are used in modern orchestras and many military, marching, concert and other bands. They are one of the two in ...

Including:

• Cymbal - Orchestral cymbals
• Cymbal - Crash cymbals
• Cymbal - Suspended cymbals
• Cymbal - Ancient cymbals
• Cymbal - Origins
• Cymbal - Terminology
• Cymbal - Types of cymbal
• Cymbal - Manufacturers

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The zither is a musical string instrument, mainly used in folk music. Like many other string instruments, acoustic and electric forms exist; in the acoustic version, the strings are stretched across the length of the soundbox, and neither version has a neck. They can be divided into two classes, the fretted concert zithers and fretless guitar zithers. A musician that plays them is called zitherist or zither player. The name zither may be derived from the kithara, an instrument from classical times used in Ancient ...

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The acoustic bass guitar is an acoustic string instrument based on the configuration of the electric bass pioneered by Leo Fender's electric Fender Precision Bass. Acoustic bass guitar - History. The first modern acoustic bass guitar was developed in the early 1970s by Ernie Ball of San Luis Obispo, California. Ball's aim was to provide bass guitarists with a more acoustic-sounding instrument that would match better with the sound of acoustic guitars. About his invention, Ball stated: "I ...

Including:

• Acoustic bass guitar - History
• Acoustic bass guitar - Construction and tuning
• Acoustic bass guitar - Manufacturers
• Acoustic bass guitar - Mexican acoustic bass guitars

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Tapping is a playing technique (generally associated with electric guitar playing, though the technique can be performed on any string instrument) executed by using the fingers of the picking hand to tap the strings against the fingerboard, sounding notes. Tapping (also known as a two-hand hammer-on, or the redundant "fingertapping"), performed in conjunction with normal fingering by the fret hand, facilitates the construction of note intervals that would otherwise be impossible using the fretting hand alone. Tapping usually incorpora ...

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The lute is a plucked string instrument with a fretted neck and a deep round back. It evolved from an instrument originally developed in Persia (Iran) called the Barbat (http://www.barbat.us/aboutbarbat.htm), which was also the ancestor of the superficially similar oud. The words 'lute' and 'oud' are both derived from Arabic al‘ud, "the wood". The player of a lute is called a lutenist, and a maker of lutes (or guitars) is called a luthier. Lute - Description of the instrument. Lutes a ...

Including:

• Lute - Description of the instrument
• Lute - History and evolution of the lute
• Lute - The lute in the modern world
• Lute - The lute repertoire
• Lute - Tuning conventions
• Lute - Quotations

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In a harpsichord, the plectra (one for each string) are very small, often only about a centimeter long, about 1.5 millimeters wide, and perhaps half a millimeter thick. The plectrum is gently tapered, being narrowest at the plucking end. The top surface of the plectrum is flat and horizontal, and is held in the tongue of the jack, which permits it to pluck moving upward and pass almost silently past the string moving downward. Historically, plectra were made of sturdy quills (that is, large feathers). Crow quills were considered best, ...

See also:

Plectrum, Plectrum - Plectra for guitars etc., Plectrum - Plectra for harpsichords

Read more here: » Plectrum: Encyclopedia II - Plectrum - Plectra for harpsichords

The Appalachian dulcimer is a fretted string instrument with three or four strings, although contemporary versions of the instrument can have as many as twelve strings and six courses. The body extends the length of the fingerboard and traditionally has an hourglass, teardrop, triangular, or elliptical shape (also called the galax). A courting dulcimer has two fretboards allowing two players to closely s ...

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The archlute, a European plucked string instrument was developed soon after 1600 as a compromise between the very large theorbo, the size and re-entrant tuning of which made for difficuties in the performance of solo music, and the Renaissance tenor lute, which lacked the double bass notes of the theorbo. Essentially a tenor lute with the theorbo's neck extension appended, the archlute lacked the power in the tenor and the bass that the theorbo's large body and string length provided. The archlute then, was used as a solo instrument f ...

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The ʻukulele (pronounced /ukuleɪleɪ/, or the Anglicised /jukəleɪli/), or uke, is a fretted string instrument which is, in its construction, essentially a smaller, four-stringed version of the guitar. In the early 20th century, the instrument's name was often rendered as "ukelele", a spelling still used in Great Britain. The Hawai'ian spelling 'ukulele is also sometimes seen. Including:

• Ukulele - History
• Ukulele - Ukulele musicians
• Ukulele - Tahitian ukulele
• Ukulele - Tuning a Tahitian ukulele
• Ukulele - Audio samples

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A vibration in a string is a wave. Usually a vibrating string produces a sound whose frequency is constant. Therefore, since frequency characterizes the pitch, the sound produced is a constant note. Vibrating strings are the basis of any string instrument like guitar, cello, or piano. Vibrating string - Speed of propagation of the wave. Let L be the length of the string, m its mass and T the tension.< ...

Including:

• Vibrating string - Speed of propagation of the wave
• Vibrating string - Frequency of the wave
• Vibrating string - Miscellaneous

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Eigenvalue eigenvector and eigenspace - Computing eigenvalues and eigenvectors of matrices. Suppose that we want to compute the eigenvalues of a given matrix. If the matrix is small, we can compute them symbolically using the characteristic polynomial. However, this is often impossible for larger matrices, in which case we must use a numerical method. For more details on this topic, ...

See also:

Eigenvalue eigenvector and eigenspace, Eigenvalue eigenvector and eigenspace - Definitions, Eigenvalue eigenvector and eigenspace - Examples, Eigenvalue eigenvector and eigenspace - Eigenvalue equation, Eigenvalue eigenvector and eigenspace - Spectral theorem, Eigenvalue eigenvector and eigenspace - Eigenvalues and eigenvectors of matrices, Eigenvalue eigenvector and eigenspace - Computing eigenvalues and eigenvectors of matrices, Eigenvalue eigenvector and eigenspace - Properties, Eigenvalue eigenvector and eigenspace - Conjugate eigenvector, Eigenvalue eigenvector and eigenspace - Generalized eigenvalue problem, Eigenvalue eigenvector and eigenspace - Entries from a ring, Eigenvalue eigenvector and eigenspace - Infinite-dimensional spaces, Eigenvalue eigenvector and eigenspace - Applications, Eigenvalue eigenvector and eigenspace - Notes

Read more here: » Eigenvalue eigenvector and eigenspace: Encyclopedia II - Eigenvalue eigenvector and eigenspace - Eigenvalues and eigenvectors of matrices

Lutes are made almost entirely of wood. The soundboard is a thin flat plate of resonant wood (usually spruce), oval or teardrop-shaped. In all lutes the soundboard has a single (sometimes triple) decorated soundhole under the strings, called the rose. The soundhole is not open, but rather covered with a grille in the form of a intertwining vine or knot, carved directly out of the wood of the soundboard (see image at right). The back or the shell is assembled from thin strips of wood called ribs joined edge to edge to for ...

See also:

Lute, Lute - Description of the instrument, Lute - History and evolution of the lute, Lute - The lute in the modern world, Lute - The lute repertoire, Lute - Tuning conventions, Lute - Quotations

Read more here: » Lute: Encyclopedia II - Lute - Description of the instrument

Pickguards come in various designs and shapes but designers usually try to match a headstock and pickguard design. Both can be used to incorporate logos, branding or elements of the manufacturer's style. Pickguard - Acoustic and classical guitars. Agressive strumming with a pick can easily damage the polished surface of the guitar's soundboard. Pickguards fitted to acoustic guitars are usually made from thin (2mm) sheets of plastic (such as PVC), attached with an adhesive just below the sound hole. The mat ...

See also:

Pickguard, Pickguard - Pickguard types, Pickguard - Acoustic and classical guitars, Pickguard - Fender-style, Pickguard - Gibson-style, Pickguard - Custom designs

Read more here: » Pickguard: Encyclopedia II - Pickguard - Pickguard types

The classic 4-string Fender bass designs remain popular choices. In some musical settings departing from these de facto standards is discouraged. General open-mindedness toward new technologies and musical instrument design as well as appreciation of fine lutherie by bassists has given the modern bass player a wide range of choices when choosing an instrument. Design options include: Bass guitar - Body. Bodies are typically made of wood although other materials such as graphite (for example, some of ...

See also:

Bass guitar, Bass guitar - Overview, Bass guitar - Etymology, Bass guitar - History, Bass guitar - Design considerations, Bass guitar - Body, Bass guitar - Number of strings and tuning, Bass guitar - Pickups, Bass guitar - Frets, Bass guitar - Playing styles, Bass guitar - Sitting or standing, Bass guitar - Plectra vs. fingers or thumb, Bass guitar - Right hand support and position, Bass guitar - Striking or plucking position, Bass guitar - 'Slap and pop' and related techniques, Bass guitar - Amplification and effects, Bass guitar - Loudspeakers, Bass guitar - Amplification manufacturers, Bass guitar - Effects, Bass guitar - Musical role, Bass guitar - Influential bassists, Bass guitar - Influential manufacturers

Read more here: » Bass guitar: Encyclopedia II - Bass guitar - Design considerations