StringInstrument (19-12-03)

DDEX Data Dictionary, 19-12-03

StringInstrument

Instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when the performer plays the strings in some manner, usually by bowing, plucking, or striking.

Relationships
Parents	Instrument	A musical instrument.
Children	Bass	The largest and lowest member of either the guitar or viol family that typically has 4-6 strings.
	Guitar	Six-stringed, fretted instrument. It is typically played with both hands by strumming or plucking the strings with either a guitar pick or the finger/fingernails of one hand, while simultaneously fretting with the fingers of the other hand.
Instances	AfricanHarp	The String Instrument African Harp.
	AltoViol	A particular tuning of the six or seven stringed Viola de Gamba or Viol. Alto tunings are (C3,F3,A3,D4,G4,C5) or (A2,D3,G3,B3,E4,A4)
	AndeanHarp	The String Instrument Andean Harp.
	ArchLute	Lute instrument used in 17th century Europe that had a lower range than the tenor lute to extend into the range only previously achieved by the theorbo (a very large lute type instrument).
	Autoharp	Musical instrument in the chorded zither family. It features a series of chord bars attached to dampers, which, when pressed, mute all of the strings other than those that form the desired chord.
	Baglama	Long-necked lute originating in the Ottoman Empire.
	Balalaika	Russian stringed musical instrument with a characteristic triangular wooden, hollow body and three strings. Two strings are usually tuned to the same note and the third string is a perfect fourth higher.
	Bandura	Ukrainian folk instrument combining elements of the zither and lute. It has 5 to 12 strings.
	Bandurria	Small, round-bodied Spanish folk instrument similar to the mandolin.
	Banhu	A traditional Chinese dual-stringed instrument.
	Banjo	Four, five, or six-stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity as a resonator, called the head, which is typically circular.
	BanjoGuitar	Six-string banjo with the standard tuning of a guitar.
	Banjolin	Short-neck banjo with the tuning of a mandolin.
	BaroqueCello	A cello with gut strings and lower tension used during the baroque period.
	BaroqueViola	A viola with gut strings and lower tension used during the baroque period.
	BaroqueViolin	A violin with gut strings and lower tension used during the baroque period.
	Baryton	An instrument similar to the viol, but with an extra set of plucked strings in addition to the bowed strings.
	BassBanjo	There are many variants of bass banjos. They all have longer necks and a larger resonating drum than a regular banjo. Typical bass banjos are tuned to the same range as a cello.
	BassCittern	Larger, lower cittern.
	BassRebec	The low variant of an ancient Middle Eastern fiddle instrument.
	BassoDaBraccio	A bass violin which is an ancestor to the modern cello.
	Biwa	Japanese short-neck lute, often played to accompany narrative storytelling. Plucked with a large wooden pick.
	Bouzouki	Greek string instrument with a pear-shaped body and a long, thin neck. Commonly used in Rebetiko music.
	BowedStrings	Produces sound by a bow being rubbed on the strings to create vibrations.
	Bozoq	Turkish long-neck fretted lute. Used in Rahbani music.
	BufoBass	A type of bass ukulele.
	Cavaquinho	Small Portuguese guitar with four strings. Kind of like a standard guitar mixed with a ukulele.
	Cello	Four-string, fretless string instrument that is stood on the ground via a peg and held between the legs. Voicelike and with a warm, rich tone. The cello has a range of C2-C6.
	CelloBanjo	Another name for the bass banjo manufactured by S.S. Stewart with a lower range than a standard banjo and a 3' deep and 16' diameter rim.
	CelticHarp	The String Instrument Celtic Harp.
	Charango	Small five-stringed Andean instrument in the lute family.
	Cimbalom	Large Eastern European hammered dulcimer.
	Citole	One of the earliest plucked, necked instruments to appear in Europe.
	Cittern	Renaissance instrument, descended from the citole. Resembles a modern mandolin or bouzouki. Easier to play, smaller, less delicate and more portable than the lute.
	ConcertHarp	[missing definition]
	Craviola	Guitar with an asymmetric body shape different than a standard guitar designed by Paulinho Nogueira. Its sound is similar to a Harpsichord.
	Crwth	A bowed lyre particularly associated with Welsh music and the medieval folk music of England.
	Cuatro	Small Puerto Rican/South American guitar that sounds similar to a mid-sized classical guitar, but it has a body shape similar to a viola.
	Cumbus	Turkish instrument similar to an oud, but with an aluminum drum and head as a body like a banjo.
	DanBau	Vietnamese single-string zither.
	DanTranh	Vietnamese zither originating in the 13th or 14th century. Between 104 and 120 cm long and has 17 to 21 strings.
	Dilruba	A fretted string instrument - a predecessor to the esraj. It resembles a combination of the sitar and sarangi.
	Dombra	Long-necked lute from central Asian countries Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Mongolia.
	Domra	Small long-neck lute with a round body and three or four metal strings from Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine.
	DoubleBass	Largest and lowest pitched bowed string instrument in a modern orchestra. Deep and full-sounding.
	DoubleHarp	[missing definition]
	DoubleViolin	A violin with two sets of strings on two separate fretboards attached by the body of the instrument.
	DoublebassViol	A large viol with the tuning A1,D2,G2,B2,E3,A3.
	Dranyen	Traditional Himalayan folk lute with six strings. It is used to accompany singing in the Drukpa Buddhist culture.
	Dutar	Traditional long-neck two-stringed lute from Iran and Central Asia.
	Dzuddahord	A combination of guitar, sitar, mandola, and gusli. Similar to a double-necked guitar.
	Ektara	One-string drone lute most often used in traditional music from Bangladesh, Egypt, India, and Pakistan.
	Electric6StringViolin	A violin with six strings that is electric.
	ElectricCello	A cello with an electric output and built in pickups.
	ElectricHarp	[missing definition]
	ElectricMandolin	A mandolin with electric pickups.
	ElectricViola	A viola with an electric output and built in pickups.
	ElectricViolin	A violin with an electric output and built in pickups.
	ElectroAcousticHurdyGurdy	A Hurdy Gurdy with acoustic elements and electronic elements (pickups, EQ capabilities, etc.)
	Ennanga	A type of Sub-Saharan African Harp.
	EpinetteDesVosges	A type of zither that was developed and used only in the Vosges mountains in France.
	Erhu	A Chinese dual-stringed spike fiddle.
	Esraj	A fretted string instrument descended from the dilruba. It resembles a combination of the sitar and sarangi.
	Fiddle	A folk term for the violin. Essentially synonymous with violin, but as 'fiddle' generally refers to a folk instrument and not a highfalutin expensive orchestral thingy, the 'fiddle' is sometimes smaller or more primitively constructed than a typical orchestral violin. Typically taught and played by ear, rather than with written music.
	FiveStringBanjo	Banjo with five strings instead of the typical four. The fifth string is usually the same gauge as the first, but starts from the fifth fret, three quarters the length of the other strings. This lets the string be tuned to a higher open pitch than possible for the full-length strings.
	FolkHarp	[missing definition]
	Gadulka	A traditional Bulgarian bowed lute with a nasally sound. It has three (sometimes four or five) main strings, and anywhere from zero to sixteen sympathetic resonating strings underneath those.
	Gardon	Traditional Transylvanian instrument that has the appearance of a cello but has strings that are plucked or hit with sticks.
	Gayageum	Traditional Korean zither with 12 strings. Similar to the Dan Tranh.
	Ghaychak	A Persian bowed lute with 4 or more strings.
	Gittern	Small lute with gut strings used in 13th century Europe.
	Guqin	Seven-string Chinese zither.
	Gusli	East Slavic string instrument of unknown origin. Similar to the Japanese koto, and believed to be derived from the ancient Greek lyre.
	Guzheng	16 or 21-string Chinese zither that is 64 inches long.
	Haegeum	Traditional Korean bowed string instrument
	HammeredDulcimer	Dual-bridge, 29-string instrument with a trapezoidal sound board. The player holds a small, spoon-shaped mallet hammer in each hand to strike the strings.
	HammeredStrings	Hit with a stick or metal spoon-like hammer to produce sound.
	HardangerFiddle	A traditional Norwegian fiddle. Unlike the standard violin, this instrument has eight or nine strings, thinner wood, and a flatter bridge.
	Harp	Stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers.
	Huapanguera	Large, deep-bodied Mexican guitar-like instrument with 8 strings on 5 courses. It is usually used in a conjunto huasteco ensemble.
	HurdyGurdy	The Hurdy Gurdy is a stringed instrument that produces sound by a hand crank-turned, rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar to those of a violin.
	IrishBouzouki	Like a classic, 4-course Greek bouzouki, but with unison strings and a three-piece, partially staved back.
	Jakhay	Thai three-string fretted zither that rests on the floor.
	JaranaJarocha	Small guitar-like instrument from the southern part of Veracruz Mexico with 8 strings in 5 courses.
	Jinghu	A Chinese bowed string instrument with 2 strings customarily tuned a 5th apart. The highest-pitched instrument in the huqin family. Unlike other members of the huqin family, the Jinghu is made of bamboo. Often used in Beijing opera.
	Kacapi	Sudanese zither-like instrument used in Tembang Sunda, Mamaos Cianjuran, kacapi suling, pantun story recitation, or Gamelan Degung.
	Kantele	Finnish zither with 5-15 strings belonging to the Baltic box zither family of instruments.
	Kanun	Large zither instrument used throughout the Middle East, west Africa, central Asia, and Southeastern Europe.
	Kemenche	A name used for various Mediterranean string instruments, usually with three strings. It is held upright with the butt end resting in the performer's lap.
	Khim	Southeast Asian hammered dulcimer derived from the Persian Santur.
	Kora	21-string lute-bridge-harp used extensively in West Africa.
	Koto	Traditional Japanese instrument similar to the Chinese Zheng. They have 13 strings and 13 moveable bridges to change the tuning. The national instrument of Japan.
	Kugo	Ancient Chinese harp. Commonly used in court music during the Ming Dynasty, but went extinct until its revival in the 20th century as a double bridge harp. The revived version of the instrument does not resemble the ancient one, but is more similar to modern concert harps.
	Langeleik	Norwegian drone zither with 8 drone strings.
	Laouto	Long-necked fretted lute from Greece and Cyprus, similar to the oud. It is played with a lone plectrum.
	Leona	Low-pitched, guitar-like instrument in the son jarocho string instrument family originating in Veracruz, Mexico.
	Lirone	The bass member of the lira family of fretted Renaissance string instruments with gut strings.
	Lute	Any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity.
	LyraViol	The smallest bass viol.
	Lyre	Small harp used in Greek classical antiquity and later periods. The lyre is different from harps as it is actually a yoke lute because the strings are attached to a yok/soundbox and a crossbar.
	Mandocello	Baritone/bass member of the mandolin family, with four paired courses tuned C2, G2, D3, A3.
	Mandola	Tenor member of the mandolin family. Violin is to viola as mandolin is to mandola.
	Mandolele	Mandolin with nylon strings that has a sound between that of a mandolin and that of a ukulele.
	Mandolin	Small, guitar-like instrument in the lute family with 8 strings in 4 courses. Commonly played with a pick. Strings are tuned to the same pitches as a violin.
	Mandolino	Predecessor of the mandolin. Italian lute instruments with flat soundboards and gut strings.
	Mandore	Small French lute instrument originating in the late 16th century. Tuned in the treble range. Descendant of the gittern and also considered a predecessor of the modern mandolin.
	Marxophone	Fretless zither played via a system of metal hammers. It features two octaves of double melody strings in the key of C major and four sets of chord strings (C major, G major, F major, and D7). Sounding somewhat like a mandolin, the Marxophone's timbre is also reminiscent of various types of hammered dulcimers.
	MedievalFiddle	A fiddle with a flat guitar-like body used in medieval times.
	MedievalHarp	[missing definition]
	MohanVeena	A name used to refer to two different instruments used in Hindustani music, either a modified sarod created by Radhika Mohan Maitra or a modified Hawaiian guitar created by Vishwa Mohan Bhatt.
	MusicalBow	South African instrument. A tight string attached to a curved stick. The string is struck with a thin stick while the performer's mouth is wrapped around the string creating different resonant formants. Another thicker stick is used to apply pressure to the string to change its pitch.
	Ngoni	Six-string instrument originating in West Africa. The instrument is made of wood or calabash with a dried animal skin head wrapped over it.
	Njarka	A small fiddle made from a gourd. Originating in Mali.
	Nyatiti	5 to 8 string Kenyan lyre.
	Nyckelharpa	A Nyckelharpa is a traditional Swedish musical instrument. It is a string instrument, or chordophone. Its keys are attached to tangents which, when a key is depressed, serve as frets to change the pitch of the string. Structurally, it is closely related to the hurdy-gurdy, with key-actuated tangents that are used to change the pitch.
	Organistrum	A early form of hurdy gurdy, dating from the late 10th or early 11th century. It consists of a wheel inside the body of an instrument, on which the strings rest, connected to a neck of wooden tangents, or keys, which change the pitch by tensioning the strings. Unlike later forms of hurdy-gurdy, the Organistrum was played by two people: one to turn the crank, and the other to pull the keys.
	Orpharion	Metal-stringed lute instrument from the Renaissance in the cittern family. It had a tilted nut and bridge to vary string length from the treble to the bass notes. A softer pluck was required to play the orpharion versus the lute because the metal strings had very low tension and could distort if plucked too hard.
	Oud	Short-neck lute with a pear-shaped body. Used throughout the Middle East. It has 11 or 13 strings in 5 or 6 courses.
	Pandura	A type of ancient Greek lute or guitar used from the 3rd or 4th century B.C. and onward.
	ParaguayanHarp	[missing definition]
	Phin	Lute with a pear-shaped body originating in the Isan region of Thailand.
	Phonofiddle	Phonofiddle is a class of stringed musical instruments that are played with a bow and use a phonograph type reproducer as a voice-box.
	Pipa	Four-string Chinese lute instrument with 12 to 26 frets.
	PluckedDulcimer	Fretted string instrument of the zither family, typically with three or four strings, originally played in the Appalachian region of the United States. The body extends the length of the fingerboard, and its fretting is generally diatonic.
	PluckedStrings	Produces sound by a performer plucking its strings.
	Psaltery	Present in numerous ancient cultures in the zither family either as a harp or a dulcimer-like instrument.
	Rabel	A Spanish folk fiddle that originated in the 12th century. Typically has two or three strings made of gut, steel, or twisted horse hair. Today, it is still used in the Spanish provinces of Cantabria and Asturias, as well as in parts of Latin America.
	Rebab	A bowed string instrument that originated in the Middle East in the 8th century or earlier. It consists of a small, usually rounded body, the front of which is covered in a membrane and has a long neck with between 1 and 4 strings. A peg at the bottom allows it to be placed on the floor or any surface when being played. The instrument was spread throughout Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and the Far East along trade routes. Other 'spike fiddles', such as the Chinese huqin, are generally considered to be descendants of the Rebab.
	Rebec	Bowed, 1 to 5-string instrument with a narrow, boat-shaped body. Used in the medieval and Renaissance eras.
	Santoor	Hammered dulcimer of Persian origin.
	Sarangi	A short-necked fiddle used in Hindustani classical music.
	Sarod	Indian 17 to 25-string lute instrument popularly used in Hindustani music. Has a deep, introspective sound.
	Saung	[missing definition]
	SawDuang	A two-stringed spike fiddle used in traditional Thai music.
	Shamisen	Three-string traditional Japanese musical instrument derived from the Chinese instrument sanxian. Played with a plectrum called a bachi.
	Simsimiyya	Traditional lyre instrument used in Egypt, Jordan, and Yemen.
	Sintir	Three-string, skin-covered bass plucked lute. Used by the Gnawa people. It is approximately the size of a guitar, with a body carved from a log and covered on the playing side with camel skin. The camel skin has the same acoustic function as the membrane on a banjo. The neck is a simple stick with one short and two long goat strings that produce a percussive sound similar to a pizzicato cello or double bass.
	Sitar	Indian instrument used in classical Hindustani music. Gets its unique sound from its sympathetic strings, bridge design, long neck, and gourd shaped resonant chamber. The sound is very rich in overtones.
	SopranoDomra	Small domra with a higher pitch than the standard domra.
	StrohlViolin	A violin fretboard attached to an aluminum diaphragm with an amplifying horn. It was used in the time when recordings were made with phonographs because a standard violin wasn’t loud enough to make a clean recording.
	Surbahar	A bass sitar.
	Swarmandal	Harp-like zither instrument used in Hindustani music with 21 to 36 strings.
	Tambura	Long-necked lute with 8 strings on 4 courses from Serbia, Macedonia, Croatia, and Bulgaria.
	Tanbour	Long-necked Middle Eastern string instrument.
	Tanpura	Long-necked lute instrument used in many genres of music in the Indian subcontinent.
	Tar_String	Iranian long-necked, waisted instrument, shared by many cultures and countries including Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, and others near the Caucasus region.
	TenorBanjo	Banjo with a shorter neck than a standard banjo, either with 17 or 19 frets. Even though it is called a tenor, its pitch is not lower than that of a normal banjo.
	TenorRebec	The second largest and second lowest-pitched Rebec
	TenorViol	A particular tuning of the six or seven stringed Viola de Gamba or Viol. Tenor tuning is (G2,C3,F3,A3,D4,G4)
	Theorbo	Plucked string instrument of the lute family, with an extended neck and a second pegbox.
	Timple	Five-string ukulele-like instrument from La Palma in the Canary Islands.
	TogamanGuitarViol	A guitar and viol combined.
	TrebleRebec	The original version of a Rebec with five strings tuned in fifths. Tuned in the same range as a violin. It has a boat shaped body and was used in the medieval and Renaissance periods.
	TrebleViol	A particular tuning of the six or seven stringed Viola de Gamba or Viol. Treble tuning is (D3,G3,C4,E4,A4,D5)
	TrombaMarina	A seven-foot long, single-stringed instrument. The body of the instrument has a thin triangular cone shape. The instrument was used in medieval and Renaissance Europe.
	Tumbi	Traditional North Indian musical instrument from Punjab. The high-pitched, single-string instrument is associated with the folk music of Punjab and is presently very popular in Western Bhangra music.
	Tzouras	Greek lute instrument with 6 or 8 strings. It is very similar to the bouzouki.
	Ukulele	A member of the lute family of instruments. It generally employs four nylon or gut strings or four courses of strings. Some strings may be paired in courses, giving the instrument a total of six or eight strings.
	Valiha	Tube zither from Madagascar made from a species of local bamboo. Considered the national instrument of Madagascar.
	Veena	Ancient Indian lute instrument that developed into more modern Indian instruments.
	VenezuelanHarp	[missing definition]
	VeracruzHarp	[missing definition]
	ViTar	A cross between a violin and guitar, it was essentially a fiberglass bodied electric violin with built-in distortion.
	VichitraVeena	Used in Hindustani music. It is similar to the Carnatic gottuvadhyam (chitra vina). It has no frets and is played with a slide.
	Vielle	A European bowed stringed instrument used in the Medieval period, similar to a modern violin but with a somewhat longer and deeper body, three to five gut strings, and a leaf-shaped pegbox with frontal tuning pegs, sometimes with a figure-8 shaped body.
	Vihuela	Guitar-shaped string instrument from 15th- and 16th-century Spain, Portugal and Italy, usually with five or six doubled strings.
	Viol	A six-stringed instrument with a body similar to that a modern viola. There are multiple tunings of the viol which determines the instrument's range.
	Viola	String instrument that is bowed or played with varying techniques. It is slightly larger than a violin, and has a lower pitch and deeper sound. A standard orchestral instrument.
	ViolaDAmore	The viola d'amore is a 7- or 6-stringed musical instrument with sympathetic strings used chiefly in the baroque period.
	ViolaPomposa	The viola pomposa is a five-stringed instrument developed around 1725. There are no exact dimensions applicable to all instruments used under this name, although in general the pomposa is slightly wider than a standard viola.
	Violin	Wooden string instrument in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. Smallest and highest-pitched instrument in the family in regular use. Used in many styles of music, and capable of a wide variety of timbres and sounds, depending on the performance method.
	ViolinoPiccolo	A small violin tuned a minor third or a perfect fourth higher than a standard violin. The instrument was most popular during the Baroque period.
	WelshTripleHarp	[missing definition]
	WireStrungHarp	[missing definition]
	Xalam	Traditional West African lute with five strings.
	Yangqin	Chinese hammered dulcimer.
	YayliTambur	A long-necked Turkish lute with a round soundbox and a skin head similar to that of a banjo.
	Yokin	Small, 13-string Japanese plucked string instrument.
	Yueqin	Short-neck Chinese lute. Also referred to as a moon zither because of its round body shape.
	Zeze	Single or double-stringed instrument from Sub Saharan Africa. The strings are attached to a curved stick with a gourd attached to the stick as a resonator.
	Zhonghu	A low-pitched Chinese spike fiddle.
	Zither	A class of string instruments with many strings stretched across a thin flat body.
Belongs to AVS	avs:InstrumentType	A Type of musical instrument.