Stringed Instruments
String instruments, stringed instruments, or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when the performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner.
Musicians play some string instruments by plucking the strings with their fingers or a plectrum—and others by hitting the strings with a light wooden hammer or by rubbing the strings with a bow. In some keyboard instruments, such as the harpsichord, the musician presses a key that plucks the string.
With bowed instruments, the player rubs the strings with a horsehair bow, causing them to vibrate. With a hurdy-gurdy, the musician operates a mechanical wheel that rubs the strings.
Bowed instruments include the string section instruments of the Classical music orchestra (violin, viola, cello and double bass) and a number of other instruments (e.g., viols and gambas used in early music from the Baroque music era and fiddles used in many types of folk music). All of the bowed string instruments can also be plucked with the fingers, a technique called "pizzicato". A wide variety of techniques are used to sound notes on the electric guitar, including plucking with the fingernails or a plectrum, strumming and even "tapping" on the fingerboard and using feedback from a loud, distorted guitar amplifier to produce a sustained sound. Some types of string instrument are mainly plucked, such as the harp and the electric bass. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, string instruments are called chordophones. Other examples include the sitar, rebab, banjo, mandolin, ukulele, and bouzouki.
In most string instruments, the vibrations are transmitted to the body of the instrument, which often incorporates some sort of hollow or enclosed area. The body of the instrument also vibrates, along with the air inside it. The vibration of the body of the instrument and the enclosed hollow or chamber make the vibration of the string more audible to the performer and audience. The body of most string instruments is hollow. Some, however—such as electric guitar and other instruments that rely on electronic amplification—may have a solid wood body.
* Description and images provided by Wikipedia under CC-BY-SA 3.0 license .
Matching Stringed Instruments Colleges
The Juilliard School
Four or more years; Private not for profit; $51,230 average out-state tuition; $51,230 average in-state tuition |
The New England Conservatory of Music
Four or more years; Private not for profit; $52,730 average out-state tuition; $52,730 average in-state tuition |
Yale University
Four or more years; Private not for profit; $59,950 average out-state tuition; $59,950 average in-state tuition |
San Francisco Conservatory of Music
Four or more years; Private not for profit; $49,300 average out-state tuition; $49,300 average in-state tuition |
Rice University
Four or more years; Private not for profit; $52,070 average out-state tuition; $52,070 average in-state tuition |
Manhattan School of Music
Four or more years; Private not for profit; $49,850 average out-state tuition; $49,850 average in-state tuition |
Northwestern University
Four or more years; Private not for profit; $60,276 average out-state tuition; $60,276 average in-state tuition |
Scholarships for Stringed Instruments Majors
Leonard Bernstein Fellowship - Brandeis UniversityBrandeis University |
||||
award Up to $20,500 |
deadline February 01, 2024 |
|||
McKnight Doctoral FellowshipFlorida Education Fund |
||||
award Up to $18,000 |
deadline January 15, 2024 |
|||
Fine Arts Fellowship - Wabash CollegeWabash College |
||||
award Up to $15,000 |
deadline Varies |
|||
Lawrence M. and Louise Kresge Isaacs Endowment for MusicSusquehanna University |
||||
award Up to $12,000 |
deadline Varies |
|||
Filene Music ScholarshipSkidmore College |
||||
award $12,000 |
deadline Varies |
|||
Harriet A. Shaw FellowshipWellesley College, Graduate Financial Aid |
||||
award Up to $11,500 |
deadline Varies |
|||
Nordan Fine Arts Program Award - Texas Christian UniversityTexas Christian University |
||||
award $10,000 |
deadline Varies |
|||
Dolly Parton Songwriters AwardBMI Foundation, Inc. |
||||
award Up to $10,000 |
deadline February 15, 2024 |
|||
Kate Neal Kinley Memorial FellowshipUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign |
||||
award Up to $20,000 |
deadline December 16, 2023 |
|||
Thomas Mishler Music ScholarshipNew Mexico Highlands University |
||||
award $8,268 |
deadline February 15, 2024 |
Stringed Instruments Related Majors
- Graphic Design
- Photography
- Music
- Music Performance
- Fine and Studio Arts
- Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft
- Cinematography and Film/Video Production
- Fashion/Apparel Design
- Interior Design
- Film/Cinema/Media Studies
- Dance
- Acting
- Visual and Performing Arts
- Film/Video and Photographic Arts
- Music Theory and Composition
- Art
- Illustration
- Art History, Criticism and Conservation
- Design and Applied Arts
- Game and Interactive Media Design