Plucked string instrument

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Guitar and lute Guitar-and-lute.jpg
Guitar and lute
This illustration in a French Psalter from the 9th century (c. 830) shows an unspecified plucked string instrument. Plucked instrument, French Psalter, 9th century.jpg
This illustration in a French Psalter from the 9th century (c. 830) shows an unspecified plucked string instrument.
Stringed instruments hanging on a wall. Shown here are 4 Ukuleles, 2 mandolins, a banjo, a guitar, a violin, a Guraitar and a bass guitar. Music wall.jpg
Stringed instruments hanging on a wall. Shown here are 4 Ukuleles, 2 mandolins, a banjo, a guitar, a violin, a Guraitar and a bass guitar.
Qanun/kanun, origin from ancient Mesopotamia 79-tone Kanun on the couch.jpg
Qanún/kanun, origin from ancient Mesopotamia
Kantele Concert kantele.jpg
Kantele

Plucked string instruments are a subcategory of string instruments that are played by plucking the strings. Plucking is a way of pulling and releasing the string in such a way as to give it an impulse that causes the string to vibrate. Plucking can be done with either a finger or a plectrum.

Contents

Most plucked string instruments belong to the lute family (such as guitar, bass guitar, mandolin, banjo, balalaika, sitar, pipa, etc.), which generally consist of a resonating body, and a neck; the strings run along the neck and can be stopped at different pitches. The zither family (including the Qanún/kanun, autoharp, kantele, gusli, kannel, kankles, kokles, koto, guqin, gu zheng and many others) does not have a neck, and the strings are stretched across the soundboard. In the harp family (including the lyre), the strings are perpendicular to the soundboard and do not run across it. The harpsichord does not 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.

Bowed string instruments, such as the violin, can also be plucked in the technique known as pizzicato; however, as they are usually played with a bow, they are not included in this category. Struck string instruments (such as the piano) can be similarly plucked as an extended technique.

Plucked string instruments are not a category in the Sachs-Hornbostel classification, aside from 335 and 336, as some of them are simple chordophones and others are composite (depending on whether the resonator is the removable part of the instrument).

List of plucked string instruments

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mandolin</span> Musical instrument in the lute family

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bouzouki</span> Greek plucked stringed instrument

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gusli</span> Slavic stringed instrument

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bandora (instrument)</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Folk instrument</span> Musical instrument

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kokle</span> Latvian folk music instrument

Kokle or historically kokles (kūkles) is a Latvian plucked string instrument (chordophone) belonging to the Baltic box zither family known as the Baltic psaltery along with Lithuanian kanklės, Estonian kannel, Finnish kantele, and Russian krylovidnye gusli. The first possible kokles related archaeological findings in the territory of modern Latvia are from the 13th century, while the first reliable written information about kokles playing comes from the beginning of the 17th century. The first known kokles tune was notated in 1891, but the first kokles recordings into gramophone records and movies were made in 1930s. Both kokles and kokles playing are included in the Latvian Culture Canon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kannel (instrument)</span> Plucked string instrument native to Estonia

Kannel is an Estonian plucked string instrument (chordophone) belonging to the Baltic box zither family known as the Baltic psaltery along with Finnish kantele, Latvian kokles, Lithuanian kanklės, and Russian gusli. The Estonian kannel has a variety of traditional tunings. In Estonia, studying the kannel has made a resurgence after some years of decline.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of lute-family instruments</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the mandolin</span> The history of the mandolin.

The mandolin is a modern member of the lute family, dating back to Italy in the 18th century. The instrument was played across Europe but then disappeared after the Napoleonic Wars. Credit for creating the modern bowlback version of the instrument goes to the Vinaccia family of Naples. The deep bowled mandolin, especially the Neapolitan form, became common in the 19th century, following the appearance of an international hit, the Spanish Students. They toured Europe and America, and their performances created a stir that helped the mandolin to become widely popular.

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