Questions tagged [string-instruments]
A musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. Use this for questions about the category, rather than for a specific instrument.
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How do I use string gauge tables?
I have seen that string manufacturers publish tables of string gauges and tensions.
For example, this one.
How can I use these to choose a set of strings for my instrument?
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What's the purpose of a sound post?
Almost all bowed string instruments have a sound post. It is said that this adds stability to the instrument and also "transmits vibrations to the bottom".
Interestingly though, guitars do not have ...
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What is the practical reason for reentrant tuning on ukulele and similar instruments?
I'm intruiged by the fact that some stringed instruments, like the ukulele, are traditionally tuned in the way of reentrant tuning where the strings are not ordered from the lowest to the highest ...
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Why do lower pitched string instruments have a larger body?
I know that increasing the length of the string will decrease the pitch, but that doesn't explain why the body of a cello is larger than a violin, only longer.
What would be the "problem" with ...
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Why is the last string on a guitar called the first string and the first string called the sixth string?
I learned early in my guitar playing journey that what I would naturally assume would be the first string (the fattest string) is actually known in proper guitar anatomy parlance as the sixth string. ...
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On instruments that use frets, where's the best spot to press a string on, in order to minimize hand fatigue and potential for injuries?
I know this question sounds completely subjective at first sight, it even triggered the automatic "The question you're asking appears subjective and is likely to be closed" alarm, but please read ...
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Piano Maintenance
What should be done to maintain an upright piano?
I am not asking about tuning it, but what can be done so it does not have to be tuned as often?
I heard someone once say about a particular piano ...
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String ordering - Top vs bottom?
I've always been dyslexic when it comes to this turn of phrasing - Top strings connote the strings at the top of the fret-board in my mind. Even after years of playing, I sometimes have to wrench it ...
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When tuning a guitar, should you always end with tightening the string rather than loosening it?
I used to have a guitar teacher that said you should always finish tuning each string by tightening/sharpening the string. So for example if the top E is a little sharp, you should turn the peg to ...
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Does the kind of wood used in making a violin affect its sound?
Whenever I check on violin-learning-related sites, they usually begin talking about the quality of a violin. The strings, the species of woods...
... the species of wood. Ebony? Maple? Rosewood? I ...
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Distinction between same notes played on different strings
While playing a particular piece (not chords, fingerpicking/single note playing) on my ukulele (or as far as the question is concerned, any similar instrument), I use the standard notation and then ...
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Bridge intonation patterns on stringed instruments
On stringed instruments, the scale length needs to be slightly adjusted (at the bridge) for each string so that the first octave happens at the 12th fret/position, the 2nd at the 24th, etc. My ...
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Is a violin's shape (particularly the f-holes) necessary or is it just for aesthetics?
Violins have a rather beautiful design.
... is such design necessary? Is a violin's natural sound only achieved when it has this specific shape?
I have a particular interest in the f-holes. Are they ...
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Composing/Arranging for a String Quartet
I've been taking arranging and composing classes at the college I'm attending and I have recently been tasked with writing a piece for a string quartet. I would like to know in general, what should ...
Dom♦
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Violin tuning, equal temperament or just intonation?
I'm tuning my violin now, by making the fifths on open strings sounds most harmonious. So they are just fifths, a little wider than the equal fifth. But then would the gap between the G and E string ...
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Why do our instruments go from bass on the left to treble on the right, and not the opposite?
Looking at our stringed instruments, as well as the piano, they all start with the bass notes on the left side and move to the treble side, on the right.
Edit:
What is the reason for that? Couldn't ...
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How to find equivalent notes on different strings of a mandolin?
I have just started learning mandolin and I am working my way through St. Louis Blues. The music that I am using includes the tablature as well as the music.
The tab for one section shows:
-------...
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What gives a Chinese Pipa its unique timbre in comparison with a guitar?
Similar to this broader question How do East Asian instruments (Shamisen, pipa, etc.) get their unique sound?
Though they a similar in many ways a guitar and a pipa sound very different.
Could you ...
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What is "Young's modulus", and how does it relate to guitar?
I've come across some posts that mention "Young's modulus" in relation to guitar.
Young's modulus is discussed on physics.SE (Young's Modulus and Vibrating String Harmonics), but I'm looking ...
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Harp - “Half Pedal”
I know from Kurt Stone's book Music Notation in Twentieth Century:
Hold pedal halfway between two notches to allow the string to vibrate against the tuning gear.
So, how exactly is half pedal ...
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difficulties tuning C string on ukulele
I'm having some troubles trying to tune the C string on my ukulele (the biggest of all the 4). I happen to have no issues with the other ones, but this takes so much time to to be tuned and it won't ...
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Best way to practice difficult runs
Runs are very common in music; a typical run is a sequence of quick, short, slurred (not always) notes that either ascend or descend and often involve multiple shifts.
The approaches
I've learned a ...
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How to represent the staccato in the piano score?
I arranged the first movement of K 545 for a string quartet and I have gotten a lot of detailed feedback on everything from the unison between the 2 violins at the beginning measures to my bass line(...
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Can I learn violin without a teacher? [duplicate]
I am a singer. But, violin fascinates me. I wanted to know, is it at all possible to learn violin without a teacher (because I have very busy schedule). I am around 30 years old and I do not play any ...
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What is the name of this bowing technique for strings?
https://www.vsl.co.at/en/Playing_Techniques-Right_Hand/Violin-Ricochet
It is basically playing all 4 strings consecutively creating an "undulation". HOWEVER, not in the staccato slurred ...
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How do East Asian instruments (Shamisen, pipa, etc.) get their unique sound?
Is it because of the tuning of the strings, what the strings are made of, or the shape of it? Or something completely else? Would it be possible to replicate the sound with a regular guitar?
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