WEBVTT

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to the I Can't Sleep Podcast, where I help

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<v Speaker 1>you drift off one fact at a time. I'm your host,

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<v Speaker 1>Benjamin Boster, and today's episode is about string instruments. Today

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<v Speaker 1>we have a sponsored episode from Karina. She says Happy

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<v Speaker 1>Birthday to Jordan from Karina. In musical instrument classification, string

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<v Speaker 1>instruments or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from

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<v Speaker 1>vibrating strings when a performer strums, plucks, or sounds as

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<v Speaker 1>strings in varying manners. Musicians play some string instruments, like guitars,

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<v Speaker 1>by plucking the strings with their fingers or a plectrum

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<v Speaker 1>a pick, and others by hitting the strings with a

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<v Speaker 1>light wooden hammer or by rubbing the strings with a bow,

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<v Speaker 1>like violins. In some keyboard instruments, such as the harpsichord,

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<v Speaker 1>the musician presses a key that plucks the string. Other

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<v Speaker 1>musical instruments generate sound by striking the string. With bowed instruments,

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<v Speaker 1>the player pulls a rosin horse hair bow across the strings,

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<v Speaker 1>causing them to vibrate. With a hurdy gurdy, the musician

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<v Speaker 1>cranks a wheel whose ros and edge touches the strings.

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<v Speaker 1>Bowed instruments include the string section instruments of the orchestra

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<v Speaker 1>and western and classical music, violin, viola, cello, and double bass,

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<v Speaker 1>and a number of other instruments vials and gambas used

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<v Speaker 1>in early music from the Baroque music era, and fiddles

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<v Speaker 1>used in many types of folk music. All of the

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<v Speaker 1>bowed string instruments can also be plucked with the fingers,

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<v Speaker 1>a technique called pizzicato. A wide variety of techniques are

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<v Speaker 1>used to sound notes on the electric guitar, including plucking

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<v Speaker 1>with the finger, nails or plectrum, strumming and even tapping

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<v Speaker 1>on the finger board, and using feedback from a loud

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<v Speaker 1>distorted guitar amplifier to produce a sustained sound. Some string

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<v Speaker 1>instruments are mainly plucked, such as the harp and the

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<v Speaker 1>electric bass. Other examples include the citar, riebab banjo, mandolin, ukulele,

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<v Speaker 1>and buzuki. In the hornbistil Sock's scheme of music instrument

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<v Speaker 1>classification used in organology, string instruments are called cordophones. In

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<v Speaker 1>most string instruments, the vibrations are transmitted to the body

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<v Speaker 1>of the instrument, which often incorporates some sort of hollow

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<v Speaker 1>or enclosed area. The body of the instrument also vibrates

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<v Speaker 1>along with the air inside it. The vibration of the

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<v Speaker 1>body of the instrument and the enclosed hollow or chamber

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<v Speaker 1>make the vibration of the string more audible to the

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<v Speaker 1>performer and audience. The body of most string instruments is

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<v Speaker 1>hollow in order to have better sound projection. Some, however,

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<v Speaker 1>such as electric guitar and other instruments that rely on

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<v Speaker 1>electric amplification, may have a solid wood body dating to

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<v Speaker 1>a round circa thirteen thousand b c. A cave painting

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<v Speaker 1>in a Tooiefaser Cave in France depicts what some believe

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<v Speaker 1>is a musical beau, a hunting beau used as a

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<v Speaker 1>single stringed musical instrument. From the musical beau, families of

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<v Speaker 1>stringed instruments developed. Since each string played a single note,

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<v Speaker 1>adding strings added new notes, creating beaux harps, harps, and lyres.

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<v Speaker 1>In turn, this led to being able to play diads

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<v Speaker 1>and chords. Another innovation occurred when the beau harp was

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<v Speaker 1>straightened out and a bridge used to lift the strings

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<v Speaker 1>off the stick neck, creating the lute. This picture of

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<v Speaker 1>musical beau to harp Beau his theory and has been contested.

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<v Speaker 1>In nineteen sixty five, Franz Jannal wrote his criticism, stating

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<v Speaker 1>that the early ancestors of plucked instruments are not currently known.

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<v Speaker 1>He felt that the harp beau was a long cry

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<v Speaker 1>from the sophistication of the civilization of Western Asia in

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<v Speaker 1>four thousand b C. That took the primitive technology and

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<v Speaker 1>created technically and artistically well made harps, liars, ciseras, and lutes.

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<v Speaker 1>Archaeological digs have identified some of the earliest stringed instruments

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<v Speaker 1>and ancient Mesopotamian sides, like the lyres of Or, which

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<v Speaker 1>include artifacts over three thousand years old. The development of

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<v Speaker 1>lyre instruments required the technology to create a tuning mechanism

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<v Speaker 1>to tighten and loosen the string tension. Lyres with wooden

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<v Speaker 1>bodies and strings used for plucking or playing with a

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<v Speaker 1>bow represent key instruments that point towards later harps and

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<v Speaker 1>violent type instruments. Moreover, Indian instruments from five hundred BC

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<v Speaker 1>have been discovered with anything from seven to twenty one strings.

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<v Speaker 1>In Vietnam, a two thousand year old singularly stringed instrument

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<v Speaker 1>made of deer antler was also discovered. String instrument design

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<v Speaker 1>was refined during the Renaissance and into the Baroque period

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<v Speaker 1>sixteen hundred seventeen fifty of musical history. Violins and guitars

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<v Speaker 1>became more consistent in design and were roughly similar to

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<v Speaker 1>acoustic guitars of the two thousands. The violins of the

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<v Speaker 1>Renaissance featured intricate woodwork and stringing, while more elaborate bass

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<v Speaker 1>instruments such as the bandora were produced alongside quill plucked

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<v Speaker 1>sitterns and Spanish body guitars. In the nineteenth century, string

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<v Speaker 1>instruments were made more widely available through mass production, with

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<v Speaker 1>wood string instruments a key part of orchestras. Cellos, violas,

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<v Speaker 1>and upright basses, for example, were now standard instruments for

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<v Speaker 1>chamber ensembles and smaller orchestras. At the same time, the

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<v Speaker 1>nineteenth century guitar became more typically associated with six string

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<v Speaker 1>models rather than traditional five string versions. Major changes to

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<v Speaker 1>string instruments in the twentieth century primarily involved innovations in

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<v Speaker 1>electronic instrument amplification and electronic music. Electric violins were available

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<v Speaker 1>by the nineteen twenties and were an important part of

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<v Speaker 1>emerging jazz music trends in the United States. The acoustic

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<v Speaker 1>guitar was widely used in blues and jazz, but as

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<v Speaker 1>an acoustic instrument, it was not loud enough to be

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<v Speaker 1>a solo instrument, so these genres mostly used it as

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<v Speaker 1>an accompaniment rhythm section instrument. In big bands of the

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen twenties, the acoustic guitar played backing chords, but it

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<v Speaker 1>was not loud enough to play solos like the saxophone

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<v Speaker 1>and trumpet. The development of guitar amplifiers, which contained a

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<v Speaker 1>powerful amplifier and a loud speaker in a wooden cabinet,

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<v Speaker 1>let jazz guitarists play solos and be heard over a

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<v Speaker 1>big band. The development of the electric guitar provided guitarists

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<v Speaker 1>with an instrument that was built to connect to guitar amplifiers.

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<v Speaker 1>Electric guitars have magnetic pickups, volume control knobs, and an

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<v Speaker 1>output jack. In the nineteen sixties, larger, more powerful guitar

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<v Speaker 1>amplifiers were developed called stacks. These powerful amplifiers enabled guitars

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<v Speaker 1>to perform in rock bands that played in large venues

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<v Speaker 1>such as stadiums and outdoor music festivals. String instruments can

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<v Speaker 1>be divided into three groups. Ludes instruments that support the

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<v Speaker 1>strings via a neck and a bowed or a gourd,

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<v Speaker 1>for instance, a guitar, violin or sas arps instruments, second,

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<v Speaker 1>the strings within a frame, zithers instruments that have the

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<v Speaker 1>strings mounted on a body, frame or tube, such as

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<v Speaker 1>a gucchin symbolum, autoharp, harpsichord, piano, or valiha. It is

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<v Speaker 1>also possible to divide the instruments into categories focused on

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<v Speaker 1>how the instrument is played. All string instruments produce sound

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<v Speaker 1>from one or more vibrating strings, transferred to the air

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<v Speaker 1>by the body of the instrument or by a pickup.

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<v Speaker 1>In electronically amplified instruments, they are usually categorized by the

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<v Speaker 1>technique used to make the strings vibrate, or by the

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<v Speaker 1>primary technique in the case of instruments where more than

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<v Speaker 1>one may apply. The three most common techniques are plucking, bowing,

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<v Speaker 1>and striking. An important difference between boeing and plucking is

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<v Speaker 1>that in the former, the phenomenon is periodic, so that

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<v Speaker 1>the overtones are kept in a strictly harmonic relationship to

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<v Speaker 1>the fundamental plucking is a method of playing on instruments

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<v Speaker 1>such as the vina, banjo, ukulele, guitar, arp, lute, mandolin, oode,

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<v Speaker 1>and citar, using either a finger, thumb, or quills to

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<v Speaker 1>pluck the strings. Instruments normally played by bowing may also

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<v Speaker 1>be plucked, a technique referred to by the Italian term

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<v Speaker 1>pitzicato bowing. Italian arco is a messod used in some

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<v Speaker 1>string instruments, including the violin, piola, cello, and the double

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<v Speaker 1>bass of the violin family and the old vile family.

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<v Speaker 1>The bow consists of a stick with a ribbon of

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<v Speaker 1>parallel horsetail hairs stretched between its ends. The hair is

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<v Speaker 1>coated with rosin so it can grip the string. Moving

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<v Speaker 1>the hair across a string causes a stick slip phenomenon,

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<v Speaker 1>making the string vibrate and prompting the instrument to emid sound.

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<v Speaker 1>Darker grades of rosin grip well and cool dry climates,

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<v Speaker 1>but may be too sticky and warmer more humid weather.

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<v Speaker 1>Violin and viola players generally use harder, lighter colored rosin

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<v Speaker 1>than players of lower pitched instruments, who tend to favor darker,

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<v Speaker 1>softer rosin. The third common method of sound production in

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<v Speaker 1>stringed instruments is distract the string. The piano and hammered

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<v Speaker 1>dulcimer use this method of sound production even though the

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<v Speaker 1>piano strikes the strings. The use of felt hammers means

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<v Speaker 1>that the sound that is produced can nevertheless be mellow

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<v Speaker 1>and rounded, in contrast to the sharp attack produced when

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<v Speaker 1>a very hard hammer strikes the strings. Violin family string

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<v Speaker 1>instrument players are occasionally instructed to strike the string with

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<v Speaker 1>the stick of the bow, a technique called koleigno. This

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<v Speaker 1>yields a percussive sound along with the pitch of the note.

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<v Speaker 1>A well known use of koleigno for orchestral strings is

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<v Speaker 1>Gustav holtz Mars movement from the Planet's Suite. Some instruments

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<v Speaker 1>that have strings have an attached keyboard that the player

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<v Speaker 1>presses keys on to trigger a mechanism that sounds of

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<v Speaker 1>strings instead of directly manipulating the strings. These include the piano,

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<v Speaker 1>the clavichord, and the harpsichord. With these keyboard instruments, strings

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<v Speaker 1>or are occasionally plucked or bowed by hand. Modern composers

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<v Speaker 1>such as Henry Cowell wrote music that requires that the

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<v Speaker 1>player reach inside the piano and pluck the strings directly,

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<v Speaker 1>bow them with bow hair wrapped around the strings, or

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<v Speaker 1>play them by rolling the bell of a brass instrument

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<v Speaker 1>such as a trombone on the array of strings. However,

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<v Speaker 1>these are relatively rarely used. Special techniques. Steel stringed instruments,

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<v Speaker 1>such as the guitar, bass, violin, et cetera, can be

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<v Speaker 1>played using a magnetic field. An e bow is a small,

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<v Speaker 1>hand held, battery powered device that magnetically excites the strings

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<v Speaker 1>of an electric string instrument to provide a sustained singing

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<v Speaker 1>tone reminiscent of a held bowed violin. Note third bridge

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<v Speaker 1>is a plucking method where the player frets a string

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<v Speaker 1>and strikes the side opposite the bridge. A technique is

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<v Speaker 1>mainly used on electric instruments because these have a pickup

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<v Speaker 1>that amplifies only the local string vibration. It is possible

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<v Speaker 1>on acoustic instruments as well, but less effective. For instance,

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<v Speaker 1>a player might press on the seventh fret on a

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<v Speaker 1>guitar and pluck it at the headside to make a

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<v Speaker 1>tone resonate at the opposing side. On electric instruments, this

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<v Speaker 1>technique generates multi tone sounds reminiscent of a clock or bell.

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<v Speaker 1>Electric string instruments, such as the electric guitar, can also

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<v Speaker 1>be played with touching the strings by using audio feedback.

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<v Speaker 1>When an electric guitar is plugged into a loud powerful

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<v Speaker 1>guitar amplifier with a loud speaker and a high level

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<v Speaker 1>of distortion is intentionally used, the guitar produces sustained, high

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<v Speaker 1>pitched sounds. By changing the proximity of the guitar to

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<v Speaker 1>the speaker, the guitarists can produce sounds that cannot be

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<v Speaker 1>produced with standard plucking and picking techniques. This technique was

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<v Speaker 1>popularized by Jimi Hendrix and others in the nineteen sixties.

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<v Speaker 1>It was widely used in psychedelic rock and heavy metal music.

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<v Speaker 1>In boat instruments, the bow is normally placed perpendicularly to

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<v Speaker 1>the stream, at a point halfway between the end of

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<v Speaker 1>the fingerboard in the bridge. However, different bow placements can

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<v Speaker 1>be selected to change timbre. Application of the bow close

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<v Speaker 1>to the bridge, known as soul ponticello, produces an intense,

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes harsh sound which acoustically emphasizes the upper harmonics. Bowing

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<v Speaker 1>above the fingerboard sulcasto produces a purer tone with less

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<v Speaker 1>overtoned strings. Emphasizing the fundamental also known as flautando's since

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<v Speaker 1>it sounds less reedy and more flute like. Boat instruments

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<v Speaker 1>pose a challenge to instrument builders as compared with instruments

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<v Speaker 1>that are only plucked like the guitar, because on bowed instruments,

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<v Speaker 1>the musician must be able to play one string at

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<v Speaker 1>a time if they wish. As such, a bowed instrument

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<v Speaker 1>must have a curved bridge that makes the outer strings

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<v Speaker 1>lower in height than the inner strings. With such a

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<v Speaker 1>curved bridge, the player can select one string at a time.

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<v Speaker 1>On guitars and ludes, the bridge can be flat. Because

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<v Speaker 1>the strings are played by plucking them with the fingers, fingernails,

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<v Speaker 1>or a pick. By moving the fingers or pick to

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<v Speaker 1>different positions, the player can play different strings on bowed instruments.

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<v Speaker 1>The need to play strings individually with the bow also

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<v Speaker 1>limits the number of strings to about six or seven.

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<v Speaker 1>With more strings, it would be impossible to select individual

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<v Speaker 1>strings to bow. Boat strings can also play two boat

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<v Speaker 1>nodes on two different strings at the same time, a

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<v Speaker 1>technique called a double stop. Indeed, on the orchestral string

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<v Speaker 1>section instruments, four strings are the norm, with the exception

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<v Speaker 1>of five strings used on some double bases in contrast

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<v Speaker 1>with stringed keyboard instruments, eighty eight courses are used on

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<v Speaker 1>a piano, and even though these strings are arranged in

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<v Speaker 1>a flat bridge, the mechanism can play any of the

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<v Speaker 1>notes individually. Similar tambrel distinctions are also possible with plucked

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<v Speaker 1>stringed instruments by selecting an appropriate plucking point, although the

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<v Speaker 1>difference is perhaps more subtle. In keyboard instruments, the contact

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<v Speaker 1>point along the string, whether this be the hammer, tangent,

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<v Speaker 1>or plectrum, is a choice made by the instrument designer.

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<v Speaker 1>Builders use a combination of experience and acoustic theory to

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<v Speaker 1>establish the right set of contact points. In harpsichords, often

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<v Speaker 1>there are two sets of strings of equal length. These

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<v Speaker 1>choirs usually differ in their plucking points. One choir has

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<v Speaker 1>a normal plucking point, producing a canonical harpsichord sound, The

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<v Speaker 1>other has a plucking point close to the bridge, producing

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<v Speaker 1>a reediared nasal sound rich in upper harmonics. Some instruments

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<v Speaker 1>are employed with sympathetic strings, which are additional strings not

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<v Speaker 1>men to be plucked. These strings resonate with splayed nodes,

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<v Speaker 1>creating additional tones. Sympathetic strings vibrate naturally when various intervals

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<v Speaker 1>such as the unisons or the octaves of the notes

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<v Speaker 1>of the sympathetic strings are plucked, bowed, or struck. This

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<v Speaker 1>system is used in the sarangi, the grand piano, the

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<v Speaker 1>hardinger fiddle, and the rhubab. A vibrating string struck in

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<v Speaker 1>a very thick log, as a hypothetical example, would make

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<v Speaker 1>only a very quiet sound, So string instruments are usually

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<v Speaker 1>constructed in such a way that the vibrating string is

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<v Speaker 1>coupled to a hollow resonating chamber, a sound board, or both.

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<v Speaker 1>On the violin, for example, the four strings pass over

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<v Speaker 1>a thin wooden bridge resting on a hollow box the

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<v Speaker 1>body of the violin. The normal force applied to the

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<v Speaker 1>body from the strings is supported in part by a

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<v Speaker 1>small cylinder of wood called the sound post. The violin

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<v Speaker 1>body also has two f holes carved on the top

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<v Speaker 1>the strings. Vibrations are distributed via the bridge and sound

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<v Speaker 1>post to all surfaces of the instrument, and are thus

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<v Speaker 1>made louder by matching of the acoustic impedance. The correct

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<v Speaker 1>technical explanation is that they allow a better match to

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<v Speaker 1>the acoustic impedance of the air It is sometimes said

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<v Speaker 1>that the sounding board or sound box amplifies the sound

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<v Speaker 1>of the strings. In reality, no power amplification occurs because

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<v Speaker 1>all the energy to produce sound comes from the vibrating string.

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<v Speaker 1>The mechanism is that the sounding board of the instrument

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<v Speaker 1>provides a larger surface area to create sound waves and

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<v Speaker 1>that of the string, and therefore acts as a matching

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<v Speaker 1>element between the acoustic impedance of the string and that

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<v Speaker 1>of the surrounding air. A larger vibrating surface can sometimes

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<v Speaker 1>produce better matching, especially at lower frequencies. All Loote type

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<v Speaker 1>instruments traditionally have a bridge which holds a string at

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<v Speaker 1>the proper action height from the fratngerboard at one end

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<v Speaker 1>of the strings. On acoustic instruments, the bridge performs an

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<v Speaker 1>equally important function of transmitting string energy into the sound

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<v Speaker 1>box of the instrument, thereby increasing the sound volume. The

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<v Speaker 1>specific design and materials used in the construction of the

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<v Speaker 1>bridge of an instrument have a dramatic impact upon both

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<v Speaker 1>the sound and responsiveness of the instrument. Achieving a tonal

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<v Speaker 1>characteristic that is effective and pleasing to the players and

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<v Speaker 1>listener's ear is something of an art and craft as

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<v Speaker 1>well as a science, and the makers of string instruments

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<v Speaker 1>often seek very high quality woods to this end, particularly spruce,

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<v Speaker 1>chosen for its lightness, strength and flexibility, and maple of

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<v Speaker 1>very hardwood. Spruce is used for the sounding boards of

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<v Speaker 1>instruments from the violin of the piano. Instruments such as

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<v Speaker 1>the banjo use a drum covered in natural or synthetic

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<v Speaker 1>skin as their soundboard. Acoustic instruments can also be made

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<v Speaker 1>of artificial materials such as carbon fiber and fiberglass, particularly

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<v Speaker 1>the larger, lower pitched instruments such as cellos and basses.

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<v Speaker 1>In the early twentieth century, the stro violin used a

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<v Speaker 1>diaphragm type resonator and a metal horn to project the

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<v Speaker 1>string sound, much like early mechanical gramophones. It's use to

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<v Speaker 1>cline beginning of nineteen twenty as electric amplification through power

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<v Speaker 1>amplifiers and loud speakers was developed and came into use.

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<v Speaker 1>String instrument players can electronically amplify their instruments by connecting

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<v Speaker 1>them to a PA system or a guitar amplifier. Most

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<v Speaker 1>string instruments can be fitted with piezioelectric or magnetic pickups

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<v Speaker 1>to convert the string's vibrations into an electric signal that

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<v Speaker 1>is amplified and then converted back into sound by loudspeakers.

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<v Speaker 1>Some players attach a pickup to their traditional string instruments

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<v Speaker 1>to electrify it. Another option is to use a solid

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<v Speaker 1>bodied instrument, which reduces unwanted feedback how or squeals. Amplified

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<v Speaker 1>string instruments can be much louder than their acoustic counterparts,

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<v Speaker 1>so musicians can play them in relatively loud rock, blues

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<v Speaker 1>and jazz ensembles. Amplified instruments can also have their amplified

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<v Speaker 1>tone modified by using electronic effects such as distortion, reverb,

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<v Speaker 1>or wah wah bass registers. String instruments such as the

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<v Speaker 1>double bass and the electric bass are amplified with bass

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<v Speaker 1>instrument amplifiers that are designed to reproduce low frequency sounds.

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<v Speaker 1>To modify the tone of amplified bass instruments, a range

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<v Speaker 1>of electronic bass effects are available, such as distort and chorus.

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<v Speaker 1>The string instruments usually used in the orchestra and often

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<v Speaker 1>called the symphonic strings or string section, are violins divided

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<v Speaker 1>into two sections, first violins and second violins. These sections

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<v Speaker 1>play exactly the same instruments the difference is that the

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<v Speaker 1>first violins play higher register lines and the second violins

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<v Speaker 1>play lower register parts, accompaniment parts or counter melodies, violas, cellos,

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<v Speaker 1>double basses. When orchestral instrumentation specifies strings, it often means

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<v Speaker 1>this combination of string parts. Orchestral works rarely omit any

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<v Speaker 1>of these string parts, but often include additional string instruments,

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<v Speaker 1>especially the concert harp and piano. In the baroque orchestra

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<v Speaker 1>from the sixteen hundreds to seventeen fifty, or with modern

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<v Speaker 1>groups playing early music, harpsichord is almost always used to

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<v Speaker 1>play the basso, continual part, the written out bass line

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<v Speaker 1>and improvised chords, and often a sciorbo or lute or

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<v Speaker 1>a pipe organ. In some classical music, such as the

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<v Speaker 1>string quartet, the double bass is not typically used. The

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<v Speaker 1>cello plays the bass role in this literature,