Guitars are among the most widely known string family instruments.
Musical instruments in the string family range from small (the violin) to large (the double bass) and produce sound their strings are made to vibrate. This vibration is acoustically amplified by the instrument's hollow body (a resonating chamber), soundboard and bridge. The pitch and type of sound produced depends on the length and tension of the strings, the instrument's body and its soundboard.
Sound
Stringed musical instruments, such as the guitar, bass, banjo, mandolin and harp, produce sound when you pluck their strings with your fingernails, fingers or a plectrum (or pick), a small, thin tool of metal, plastic, ivory. The violin, viola, cello and double bass produce sound when a bow is drawn across their strings, but they can also be plucked with fingers. You can amplify acoustic string instruments and produce a louder electric sound with magnetic pickups.
Features
Acoustic string instruments such as the guitar, violin, viola and cello usually share similar features: a curvy, hollow body of wood (where sound can vibrate from within), f-shaped holes in the body and strings made of nylon, steel or gut. Held along the instrument's neck, the strings are attached to small heads and wound around tuning pegs in the instrument's headstock. The strings also rest on a bridge at the tail of the instrument. One other feature that violins, violas and cellos often share is a bow: a long shaft of wood that has horsehair tied from one end to the other.
Types
The cello, roughly 50 inches long, is held between the musician's legs, who plays it as she sits. The double bass, the largest of an orchestra's family of string instruments, can be played with a bow or plucked with your fingers (as in jazz combos). Its strings are tuned to G-D-A-E. The guitar---the most commonly played string instruments in rock/pop, blues and country music bands---is usually tuned to E-A-D-G-B-E. Similarly, the four-string bass guitar is tuned to E-A-D-G, but an octave lower than a standard guitar.
Storage
To prevent cracking, warping or separation of glue, store string family instruments in an environment of consistent temperature and humidity. When the bow is not in use, prevent unnecessary strain on the bow's wood by loosening its hair. It's also a good idea to de-tune strings when storing a string family instrument. This will prevent the instrument's neck from warping.
Geography
While string family instruments are widely used in westernized classical music (for example, string quartets, which use two violins, a viola and a cello), they are also played in non-western cultures. Take, for instance, India's banam, chikara and the multi-stringed sitar, which the Beatles introduced to pop music listeners in 1965 with their song "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)." Regions of Africa also have string family instruments unique to their own culture: West and Central Africa's ngoni, a four- to seven-stringed lute-like musical instrument; the two- to four-stringed gurumi from Niger; and the ramkie, a homemade guitar from Southern Africa that uses an empty oil can for its body.
