String (music)

Article summary

. In music, strings are long flexible structures on string instruments that produce sound through vibration. Strings are held under tension so that they can vibrate freely. The pitch (frequency) at which a string will vibrate is primarily related to its vibrating length (also called speaking length ), its tension, and its mass per unit of length. A vibrating string produces very little sound by itself. Therefore, most string instruments have a soundboard to amplify the sound. There are two main kinds of strings; plain and wound. "Plain" strings are simply one piece of long cylindrical material, commonly consisted of nylon, gut, or steel. "Wound" strings have a central core, with other material being tightly wound around the string . Prior to World War II, strings of many instruments (including violins, lutes, and guitars) were made of a material known as catgut, a type of cord made from refined natural fibers of animal intestines. During the mid-twentieth century, steel and nylon strings became more favored in string making, although catgut is still prized for its unique sound. The invention of wound strings (particularly steel) was a crucial step in string instrument technology, because a metal-wound string can produce a lower pitch than a plain gut string of similar thickness. This enabled stringed instruments to be made with thinner bass strings.…

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