String instruments

A string instrument, also known as a chordophone, is a musical instrument that produces sound when the strings are touched or struck, either with one's fingers or a pick, bow, or some other internal mechanism such as a hammer. The sound is created by the vibration of the strings.

The most common string instruments are members of the lute family, such as guitars, banjos, and members of the violin family. The pitch of the note produced is varied by adjusting the level of tension on the strings. Increasing the tension raises the pitch of the note, while decreasing it lowers the pitch. The strings themselves remain constant in length, but the portion that vibrates changes. Instruments in the harp family, in contrast, adjust their pitches by using strings of varying lengths. They are typically plucked openly and are not stopped in any way by a player's finger.

In the case of keyboard instruments, such as the piano, sound is produced when the keys pressed trigger a hammer inside the body of the instrument. The hammer presses down on the strings to vibrate them, thus producing specific notes. Like harps, the strings inside a piano are all of varying sizes and lengths, thus creating variability in pitch.

Brief History

Humanity has known since the days of Neanderthals that affixing strings to certain objects can create varying pitches. While much of the history of string instruments remains relatively undocumented, the Lyres of Ur found in ancient Mesopotamia, which is now modern-day Iraq, are believed to be the oldest known string instruments. They were discovered in 1929 by a team of archaeologists led by Leonard Woolley. The instruments were restored and continue to be displayed at various museums.

The earliest lyres in Europe first appeared in artifacts dating back 2,300 years, thanks to the 2012 discovery of a lyre bridge in Skye, Scotland. The bridge was found in High Pasture Cave, a famed dig site containing artifacts from both the Bronze and Iron Ages. The discovery, researchers said, confirms the continuity of a love of music among Western Celts.

Other early string instruments include the Middle Eastern ravanastron, an early two-stringed fiddle that evolved into the rebab and later the Byzantine lyre, whose use spread to Europe via trade routes. The Byzantine lyre is considered a predecessor to modern violins.

The immediate predecessor to the modern violin, however, is the lira da braccio, an Italian instrument that reached its peak in popularity between 1450 and 1600. It was briefly considered to be the most popular string instrument, but by the mid-seventeenth century, it had been almost entirely replaced by the modern violin, which has remained virtually unchanged since that time. Another popular instrument at that time was the viola da gamba, the predecessor to the modern cello. Like the cellos of today, viola da gamba players used their legs to support the instrument instead of their arms.

As was customary during the Renaissance era, manufacturers of fine musical instruments, such as Andrea Amati and Antonio Stradivari, made models in a variety of different sizes—creating the modern violin, viola, and cello. The double bass became popular a few centuries later, in the 1800s, as the need to play lower register notes increased.

The history of the modern guitar, however, is less clear. It is nearly impossible to trace since before the Renaissance. Scholars disagree on whether it was descended from the lute, which was brought to medieval Europe from the Middle East, or if it is descended from a different class of stringed instruments such as zithers. Famous baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach owned a lute and would frequently write music for it. The lute was also popular during the time of William Shakespeare and featured prominently in his plays.

The first instruments that modern audiences would recognize as guitars were built in the fifteenth century, although they were much smaller than they are today. The instrument had four strings and frets, tuning pegs, and a bridge near the bottom. Early models had a rounded back instead of the flat-backed guitar of the modern era.

In contrast, the origins of the modern piano are fairly well documented. The first piano appeared in Padua, Italy, in 1709, in the shop of harpsichord maker Bartolomeo di Francesco Cristofori. Harpsichord players began to grow disillusioned with the instrument's fixed volume and lack of artistic expression. They longed for an instrument with those capabilities; thus, the piano was born. The modern piano has undergone very few technological changes since that time.

The harpsichord evolved in the early 1400s in Flanders. Its complex plucking mechanisms are depicted in a set of drawings from around 1440 in Burgundy, France. Some harpsichord strings were plucked with a quill or variation of a modern guitar pick, and at least one was struck with metal staples. The earliest surviving representation of the harpsichord is an altar carving from Germany in 1425.

Impact

Music has been a constant presence throughout all documented history, and it is often referred to as the "universal language." Musical styles may have changed over time, but the instruments that play the music remain constant in design. Amplification techniques aside, the instruments used in a twenty-first-century jazz ensemble or rock band are fundamentally the same in design as the instruments used to play medieval and baroque European music. The sheer age of the Lyres of Ur indicates the prominent role that music has played in society, as does the fact that the music of baroque and classical composers such as Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, George Frideric Handel, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven continue to be staples in symphonic performances today.

Furthermore, the rich cultural traditions of Celtic, African, and Appalachian folk music are synonymous with stringed instruments—particularly the fiddle (which is technically the same instrument as the violin), guitar, and banjo. The guitar, be it acoustic or electric, continues to be prominently featured in the most popular music regardless of style, as does the piano and the acoustic and electric bass.

Bibliography

Dobney, Jayson Kerr, and Wendy Powers. "The Guitar." Metropolitan Museum of Art, Sept. 2007, www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/guit/hd‗guit.htm. Accessed 15 Jan. 2025.

Duke, Selwyn. "Influential Beats: The Cultural Impact of Music." New American, 20 Jan. 2014, www.thenewamerican.com/culture/item/17311-influential-beats-the-cultural-impact-of-music. Accessed 15 Jan. 2025.

Ludden, David. "Is Music a Universal Language?" Psychology Today, 31 July 2015, www.psychologytoday.com/blog/talking-apes/201507/is-music-universal-language. Accessed 15 Jan. 2025.

"Prehisto-Rock 'n' Roll! World's Earliest Stringed Instrument Found in Cave from 2,300 Years Ago," Daily Mail, 31 Mar. 2012, www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2123180/Worlds-earliest-stringed-instrument-cave-2-300-years-ago.html. Accessed 15 Jan. 2025.

Sankey, John. "A Brief History of the Harpsichord." John Sankey, www.johnsankey.ca/history.html. Accessed 15 Jan. 2025.

“The String Family.” Oregon Symphony, www.orsymphony.org/education-community/instruments/strings. Accessed 15 Jan. 2025.

Swift, Gordon. "Learn the Difference between Violin and Fiddle." Strings, stringsmagazine.com/learn-the-difference-between-violin-and-fiddle. Accessed 15 Jan. 2025.