GUITAR

The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat
against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant
hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strings against frets with the fingers of the
opposite hand. A plectrum or individual finger picks may also be used to strike the strings.
The sound of the guitar is projected either acoustically, by means of a resonant chamber on
the instrument, or amplified by an electronic pickup and an amplifier.

The guitar is classified as a chordophone – meaning the sound is produced by a vibrating

string stretched between two fixed points. Historically, a guitar was constructed from wood
with its strings made of catgut. Steel guitar strings were introduced near the end of the
nineteenth century in the United States;[1] nylon strings came in the 1940s.[1] The guitar's
ancestors include the gittern, the vihuela, the four-course Renaissance guitar, and the five-
course baroque guitar, all of which contributed to the development of the modern six-string
instrument.

ELECTRIC BASS
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (/beɪs/) is the lowest-pitched member of the
guitar family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an
electric or acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and scale length, and typically four to six
strings or courses. Since the mid-1950s, the bass guitar has largely replaced the double bass
in popular music.

The four-string bass guitar is usually tuned the same as the double bass, which corresponds to
pitches one octave lower than the four lowest-pitched strings of a guitar (typically E, A, D,
and G). It is played primarily with the fingers or thumb, or with a pick. To be heard at normal
performance volumes, electric bass guitars require external amplification.

VIOLIN
The violin, sometimes known as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the
violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-
pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular use.[a] The violin typically has four
strings (some can have five), usually tuned in perfect fifths with notes G3, D4, A4, E5, and is
most commonly played by drawing a bow across its strings. It can also be played by plucking
the strings with the fingers (pizzicato) and, in specialized cases, by striking the strings with
the wooden side of the bow (col legno).

Violins are important instruments in a wide variety of musical genres. They are most
prominent in the Western classical tradition, both in ensembles (from chamber music to
orchestras) and as solo instruments. Violins are also important in many varieties of folk
music, including country music, bluegrass music, and in jazz. Electric violins with solid
bodies and piezoelectric pickups are used in some forms of rock music and jazz fusion, with
the pickups plugged into instrument amplifiers and speakers to produce sound. The violin has
come to be incorporated in many non-Western music cultures, including Indian music and
Iranian music. The name fiddle is often used regardless of the type of music played on it.

VIOLA
The viola (/viˈoʊlə/ vee-OH-lə,[1] Italian: [ˈvjɔːla, viˈɔːla]) is a string instrument that is
bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a
lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the
violin family, between the violin (which is tuned a perfect fifth higher) and the cello (which
is tuned an octave lower).[2] The strings from low to high are typically tuned to C3, G3, D4,
and A4.

In the past, the viola varied in size and style, as did its names. The word viola originates from
the Italian language. The Italians often used the term viola da braccio, meaning, literally, 'of
the arm'. "Brazzo" was another Italian word for the viola, which the Germans adopted as
Bratsche. The French had their own names: cinquiesme was a small viola, haute contre was a
large viola, and taile was a tenor. Today, the French use the term alto, a reference to its range.

CELLO
The cello (/ˈtʃɛloʊ/ CHEL-oh), or violoncello (/ˌvaɪələnˈtʃɛloʊ/ VY-ə-lən-CHEL-oh, Italian
pronunciation: [vjolonˈtʃɛllo]),[1] is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string
instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to
high, C2, G2, D3 and A3. The viola's four strings are each an octave higher. Music for the
cello is generally written in the bass clef, with tenor clef, and treble clef used for higher-range
passages.

Played by a cellist or violoncellist, it enjoys a large solo repertoire with and without
accompaniment, as well as numerous concerti. As a solo instrument, the cello uses its whole
range, from bass to soprano, and in chamber music such as string quartets and the orchestra's
string section, it often plays the bass part, where it may be reinforced an octave lower by the
double basses. Figured bass music of the Baroque era typically assumes a cello, viola da
gamba or bassoon as part of the basso continuo group alongside chordal instruments such as
organ, harpsichord, lute, or theorbo. Cellos are found in many other ensembles, from modern
Chinese orchestras to cello rock bands.

DOUBLE BASS
The double bass (/ˈdʌbəl beɪs/), also known simply as the bass (/beɪs/), amongst other names,
is the largest and, therefore, lowest-pitched chordophone[1] in the modern symphony
orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass).[2] Similar in structure to the
cello, it has four, although occasionally five, strings.

The bass is a standard member of the orchestra's string section, along with violins, viola, and
cello,[3] as well as the concert band, and is featured in concertos, solo, and chamber music in
Western classical music.[4] The bass is used in a range of other genres, such as jazz, blues,
rock and roll, rockabilly, country music, bluegrass, tango, folk music and certain types of
film and video game soundtracks.

Being a transposing instrument, the bass is typically notated one octave higher than tuned to
avoid excessive ledger lines below the staff. The double bass is the only modern bowed string
instrument that is tuned in fourths[5] (like a bass guitar, viol, or the first four strings of a
standard guitar), rather than fifths, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2.

BANJO
The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to
form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, in modern forms usually made of
plastic, originally of animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashioned by African
Americans and had African antecedents.[1][2] In the 19th century, interest in the instrument
was spread across the United States and United Kingdom by traveling shows of the 19th
century minstrel show fad, followed by mass-production and mail-order sales, including
instruction method books. The inexpensive or home-made banjo remained part of rural folk
culture, but 5-string and 4-string banjos also became popular for home parlor music
entertainment, college music clubs, and early 20th century jazz bands. By the early 21st
century, the banjo was most frequently associated with folk, bluegrass and country music, but
was also used in some rock, pop and even hip-hop music.[3] Among rock bands, the Eagles,
Led Zeppelin, and the Grateful Dead have used the five-string banjo in some of their songs.

MANDOLIN
A mandolin (Italian: mandolino pronounced [mandoˈliːno]; literally "small mandola") is a
stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most
commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of eight
strings. A variety of string types are used, with steel strings being the most common and
usually the least expensive. The courses are typically tuned in an interval of perfect fifths,
with the same tuning as a violin (G3, D4, A4, E5). Also, like the violin, it is the soprano
member of a family that includes the mandola, octave mandolin, mandocello and mandobass.

There are many styles of mandolin, but the three most common types are the Neapolitan or
round-backed mandolin, the archtop mandolin and the flat-backed mandolin. The round-
backed version has a deep bottom, constructed of strips of wood, glued together into a bowl.
The archtop, also known as the carved-top mandolin has an arched top and a shallower,
arched back both carved out of wood. The flat-backed mandolin uses thin sheets of wood for
the body, braced on the inside for strength in a similar manner to a guitar. Each style of
instrument has its own sound quality and is associated with particular forms of music.
Neapolitan mandolins feature prominently in European classical music and traditional music.
Archtop instruments are common in American folk music and bluegrass music.
UKELELE
The ukulele (/ˌjuːkəˈleɪli/ YOO-kə-LAY-lee; from Hawaiian: ʻukulele [ˈʔukuˈlɛlɛ],
approximately OO-koo-LEH-leh), also called a uke, is a member of the lute family of
instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon
strings.

The tone and volume of the instrument vary with size and construction. Ukuleles commonly
come in four sizes: soprano, concert, tenor, and baritone.

Developed in the 1880s, the ukulele is based on several small, guitar-like instruments of
Portuguese origin, the machete,[4] cavaquinho, timple, and rajão, introduced to the Hawaiian
Islands by Portuguese immigrants from Madeira, the Azores and Cape Verde.[5] Three
immigrants in particular, Madeiran cabinet makers Manuel Nunes, José do Espírito Santo,
and Augusto Dias, are generally credited as the first ukulele makers.[6] Two weeks after they
disembarked from the SS Ravenscrag in late August 1879, the Hawaiian Gazette reported that
"Madeira Islanders recently arrived here, have been delighting the people with nightly street
concerts."

HARP
The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its
soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in
various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or concerts. Its most common form is
triangular in shape and made of wood. Some have multiple rows of strings and pedal
attachments.

Ancient depictions of harps were recorded in Mesopotamia, Persia (now Iran) and Egypt, and
later in India and China. By medieval times harps had spread across Europe. Harps were
found across the Americas where it was a popular folk tradition in some areas. Distinct
designs also emerged from the African continent. Harps have symbolic political traditions
and are often used in logos, including in Ireland.

Historically, strings were made of sinew (animal tendons).[Other materials have included gut
(animal intestines), plant fiber, braided hemp, cotton cord, silk, nylon, and wire.