Aula de música CPI Monte Caxado Unit 4 – The string instruments (II) 1

UNIT 4 - THE STRING INSTRUMENTS (II)

1. Cordophones: the plucked string instruments:

As you know, a string is a stretched piece of wire or nylon on a musical instrument that produces a
musical note when the instrument is played.

Plucked string instruments are played by plucking the strings. Plucking is a way of pulling (tirar) and
releasing (soltar) the string with the fingers or a pick or plectrum (púa).

There are many instruments in this group. Most plucked string instruments
belong to the lute family; for instance:

 Guitar, played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body

with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six, are attached
(unidas).
Guitars are traditionally constructed of woods and strings made of
animal gut (tripa, intestino) or, more recently, with either nylon or
steel strings.

 Lute: is a plucked string instrument with a neck (either fretted or unfretted) and a deep
round back. It had a lot of strings; recently, lutes have from
6 to 14 pairs or more of adjacent courses: strings tuned to
unison or an octave and played together to give a single
note only in stringed
instruments.
A theorbo (tiorba) is a sort of lute used in early Baroque
period; the theorboes have a neck extension with bass
strings, called diapasons or bourdons. It’s also known as chitarrone or archilaúd. They have
14 courses.

 Mandolin: a musical instrument in the lute family. The mandolin

soundboard (the top) comes in many shapes, but generally round
or teardrop-shaped.
A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single round or oval sound hole.
Early mandolins had six double courses of gut strings. Modern
mandolins commonly have four courses (four pairs) of metal
strings, which are played with a plectrum.
 Aula de música CPI Monte Caxado Unit 4 – The string instruments (II) 2

 Banjo: is a stringed instrument with, typically, four or five strings, which

vibrate a membrane of plastic material or animal hide stretched over a
circular frame.
The body of a modern banjo consists of a circular rim (aro) generally
made of wood and a tensioned head with a metal ring, similar to a drum
head. Traditionally the head was made from animal skin, but is often
made of synthetic materials today. They are played in Country music or
Dixieland.

 Balalaika: is a russian stringed instrument with three strings ans a characteristic triangular
body.

 Sitar, cavaquinho, bouzouki, cuatro, etc…

In the harp family, the strings are perpendicular to the soundboard (caja de resonancia) and do not
run across it.

 The harpsichord (clavicembalo) doesn’t fit

any of these categories but is also a plucked string
instrument, as its strings are struck with a plectrum
when the keys are depressed.

Another example of really decorated harpsichord

Bowed string instruments, such as the violin, can also be plucked with the fingers in the technique
known as pizzicato; however, as they are usually played with a bow, they are not included in this
category.

1
2. Cordophones: the struck string instruments:

Some struck string instruments have keyboards (teclados) attached (pegados, unidos) which are
manipulated by the player, meaning they do not have to touch the strings directly.

The most familiar example is the piano, whit a complex mechanical action with keys and hammers.
Pressing a key on the piano's keyboard causes a felt-covered hammer to strike steel strings.

1
To strike, struck, struck – pegar, golpear
Aula de música CPI Monte Caxado Unit 4 – The string instruments (II) 3

The word piano is a shortened form of the word pianoforte, which derives from the original Italian
name for the instrument.

Modern pianos come in two basic configurations: the grand pianos and the upright pianos, also
called vertical pianos, which are more compact because the frame and strings are vertical. Almost
every modern piano has 36 black keys and 52 white keys, with a total of 88 keys. They also have
three pedals.

Examples of Grand pianos

Upright piano and its mechanism

Other string instruments with a keyboard include the clavichord, an early type of musical
instrument, like a piano with a very soft tone and where
the strings are struck by tangents (tangentes).

Remember that in the harpsichord the strings were

plucked by tiny (diminuto) plectra.

Clavichord