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A string made of gut, silk, nylon or metal is stretched between two supports and is free to vibrate. It is the vibration that makes the sound that our ears hear.
A string on its own doesn't make much of a sound but when it is stretched over a sound box it makes the vibration louder. Instruments of the string family sound because the four strings are stretched over a hollow sound box with sound holes called F-holes. The type, shape and size of the box and the |
thickness of the strings produce the different tones of the instruments. The looser the string the lower the note sounds. This is because length, thickness and low tension make a string vibrate. So shorter, thinner and tighter strings make high notes. Pressing fingers down on the strings also shortens the string and makes the sound higher.
One can produce different sounds from string instruments by applying the following styles of playing:
Plucking- the strings can be plucked with the fingers or strummed like a guitar.
Bowing - The player pulls the bow across the string and this makes it vibrate.
The bow is made from a wooden stick and the "string" is horsehair pulled very tightly by a little screw. The horsehair is often rubbed with resin from a fir tree to make the horsehair sticky. String players often play continuously for hours at a time. They need to stand or sit up very straight and build up the right neck and arm muscles to support their instruments without straining.
Click on the instrument to learn more about it.
