String instrument
A musical instrument that produces sound through the vibration of one or more strings, set in motion by bowing, plucking, or striking.
Standing wave: A vibration pattern with fixed nodes and antinodes, formed when waves traveling in opposite directions interfere. Strings vibrate in standing-wave patterns whose frequencies determine their pitches.
Chordophone: A musical instrument that produces sound through vibrating strings, directly or through a resonator. String instruments form a major family within the broader chordophone classification.
Piano: A keyboard instrument in which hammers strike strings when keys are pressed. Its struck strings make it a string instrument despite its keyboard interface.
Wind instrument: A musical instrument in which a vibrating column of air produces the sound. Wind instruments rely on air-column vibration rather than vibrating strings.
Harmonic: A component frequency of a periodic sound that is an integer multiple of its fundamental frequency. A string’s overtones shape its timbre alongside its fundamental pitch.
Violin family: The orchestral bowed-string family comprising violin, viola, cello, and double bass. Its four instruments show how shared construction yields different ranges and sizes.
Harp: A plucked string instrument with strings stretched across a frame, typically at differing lengths. Its exposed strings allow direct plucking across a wide range of pitches.
Percussion instrument: A musical instrument sounded by striking, shaking, scraping, or another percussive action. Percussion instruments are classified by their sound-producing action, not by strings.
Soundboard: A resonant surface that transfers vibrations from a musical instrument into the surrounding air. The soundboard amplifies string vibrations in many acoustic instruments.
Lute family: A family of string instruments with strings running over a neck and attached to a resonating body. Many familiar plucked instruments, including guitars, belong to this family.