Types of stringed instruments1/23/2024 ![]() Examples of these chordophone instruments include various kinds of dulcimers, pianos, and harpsichords. Zithers are stringed instruments that can be strummed or plucked with a plectrum or the fingers. The zither (not to be confused with the string instruments of the same name) refers to a class of chordophone instruments with strings stretched over, across, or inside the resonator (soundbox).Īlternatively, the strings can also be stretched between two resonators. Now that we’ve clarified that, the five types of chordophones are: 1. ![]() It picks up the sound of the vibrating strings and amplifies it. For instance, the body of an acoustic guitar is the resonator. ‘Resonator’ refers to the part of the instrument that amplifies the sound of the strings. These are all string instruments, categorized based on the relationship between the resonator and string. There are five basic types of chordophone instruments. We will explain the main classifications briefly in a later section, but let us look at the five types of chordophones, or string instruments first. Electrophones: Musical instruments that use electronic circuits or sound amplification.Įach of these five classifications is further divided into sub-levels, resulting in 300 categories of musical instruments.Idiophones: Musical instruments in which the body vibrates to produce a tone.Aerophones: Musical instruments in which the air vibrates to produce a tone.Membranophones: Musical instruments in which a membrane vibrates to produce a tone.Chordophones: Musical instruments in which a string vibrates to produce a tone.It has five levels of classifications that are as follows: The Hornbostel-Sachs system was first published in 1914, translated to English in 1961, and updated in 2011 by the Musical Instrument Museums Online (MIMO). ![]() It is the world’s most authoritative classification of musical instruments, widely used by ethnomusicologists and people who study musical instruments. The Hornbostel-Sachs or Sachs-Hornbostel system was created by musicologists Curt Sachs and Erich Moritz von Hornbostel. What is the Hornbostel-Sachs Classification System? However, they also include some (not all) keyboard-like instruments such as the piano and harpsichord. In musicology, the chordophone family is called the ‘string instruments’ family. Why is it called a chordophone? The term ‘chordophone’ is an amalgam of the Greek words chord (meaning string) and phone (meaning voice or sound).Ī befitting term for musical instruments that produce a sound when you vibrate a string. In ‘History of Musical Instruments,’ Sachs describes chordophones as instruments with strings that can be bowed, plucked with fingers or a plectrum, sounded by wind, or struck with a stick.Ĭhordophones include composite and simple chordophones, instruments with or without a resonator. ![]() It is one of the five classifications of musical instruments in the Hornbostel-Sachs system. You may not call your instrument that, but the term ‘chordophone’ is a class of stringed instruments in which sound is produced from vibrating strings that are stretched between two (or more) fixed points. Whether you are sitting on the front porch and lazily strumming your guitar, or playing banjo at a concert, you are making music with a chordophone. Also, check out our separate post on whether the piano is a string or percussion instrument?.Learn about the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system.Discover the 5 most common types of chordophone instruments.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |