Music Lesson 10 The String Family Facts List

Archlute (newest Eagle scout) The archlute is bigger than a lute and has a deeper sound. It usually has fourteen strings—eight regular strings and six sympathetic strings. One instrument in Austria, however, had sixteen regular strings and fifteen sympathetic strings! Imagine tuning such an instrument! Handel used the archlute in his operas.

Banjo (older brother) The banjo is a four or five­stringed folk instrument. Along with the fiddle, the banjo is a mainstay of American bluegrass or old­timey music. Long ago, African slaves fashioned banjos that became important to their musical traditions. They also influenced musical techniques on the banjo that are in use today.

Cello (aunt) The cello looks like the violin and viola but is much larger and has thicker strings. The sound a cello makes is more like a human voice than any other string instrument. It can “speak” in warm low pitches or make bright higher sounds. Since the cello is too large to put under your chin, you play it sitting down

Double bass (grandfather) (other names: contra­bass, bass viol, upright bass) The double bass is the biggest member of the string family; it is over six feet tall. You play a double bass by plucking or striking the strings or by rubbing them with a bow, or by slapping or thumping the body. You must play it while you are standing up or sitting on a very high stool, and it helps to have long arms and very big hands!

Dulcimer or Appalachian Dulcimer (mother) The dulcimer was first created and refined in the mid 1800's. In the early days of Kentucky, musical settlers didn't have the right tools or the time to make the violins they loved, so they began building simpler instruments with less fancy curves. They called this new “parlor” instrument a mountain dulcimer, and enjoyed the more delicate sound and volume in their own small home gatherings.

Guitar (older brother’s good friend) A guitar is one of the most popular musical instruments. The right hand strums or plucks the strings while the left hand frets them (holds the strings down behind the little metal bars on the neck—called frets). Archaeologists have found clay plaques with ancient Babylonians (1800–1900 BC) holding instruments that look like guitars.

1

Harp (heavenly grandmother) The harp is quite different from the other string instruments. It has forty­seven strings that are tuned to the notes of the white keys on the piano. There are seven foot pedals at the bottom of the harp that make the strings sound like the black keys on the piano. Archaeologists have discovered wall paintings in Ancient Egyptian tombs (3000 BC) of instruments that look like harps!

Lyre (oldest living ancestor) The lyre is an incredibly old instrument, some having been excavated in ancient Mesopotamia as early as 2500 BC. Anciently, the lyre was strummed with a pick like a guitar or zither.

Mandolin (​brother by another mother​) The mandolin is a plucked string instrument that emerged during the 18th century. It has four pairs of strings that are tuned in perfect fifths—like a violin—and played with a plectrum or a pick.

Octobasse (Great­Uncle Fezzik) The octobass is an extremely large bowed string instrument constructed about 1850 in Paris, France. It has three strings and stands eleven and one­half feet tall! The strings are so thick it takes two musicians and a complex system of hand­ and foot­activated levers and pedals to play. Only ten octobasses were ever made in the world. It is coming into use now, however, in movies that need that chilling rumble going as low as the human ear can possibly hear!

Sitar (former mission companion) The sitar comes from India and is also a very old instrument. I has a unique sound as well as the beautiful resonance from sympathetic strings.

Ukulele (little cousin) The ukulele is like a tiny guitar, with four strings made of nylon or catgut. No, catgut is not made of cats, but catgut strings come from the intestines of “cat­ tle”—usually meaning sheep or goats. It is pretty easy to play!

Viola (older sister) The viola is slightly larger than a violin. It has thicker strings, which produce a richer, warmer sound. Violas aren’t as common as other string instruments, but great composers like Mozart thought the viola was an important part of the string family.

2 Viola d’amore (sweetheart) The viola d’amore is a special viola. It has six or seven strings instead of a viola’s four. Amore is the Latin or Italian word for love. So, viola d’amore means the viola of love.

At the top of a viola d’amore’s neck, you will see an intricately carved head. Display (10) Viola d’Amore Carved Head. You can see that the viola d’amore’s carved head has a blindfold over its eyes. This represents unconditional love. Display (11) Viola d’Amore Sound­holes. Finally, the viola d’amore has sound­holes shaped like flaming swords instead of the typical f as in other string instruments.

The sound of a viola d’amore is richer and deeper than a viola because in addition to the six or seven regular strings, a viola d’amore has an equal number of sympathetic strings. Display (12) Viola d’Amore Sympathetic Strings. They are located right below the main strings—running under the fingerboard and below the bridge. A musician never touches the sympathetic strings with her fingers or the bow. Like the goblets in the opening activity, sympathetic resonance explains how a sympathetic string is able to vibrate when a similar nearby string is played.

As we watch this recording of a viola d’amore, listen for the sympathetic duet; notice the sound holes and the scroll. (13) Viola d’Amore (performed by Thomas Georgi from Tafelmusik Ensamble). Fade the recording away when your point is made.

Violin (baby) The violin makes the highest sounds of any instrument in the string family. There are more violins in the orchestra than any other instrument, and they are divided into two groups: first and second. First violins often play the melody, while second violins alternate between melody and harmony. It is the only string instrument where the bow is slightly longer than the instrument! A violin is sometimes called a fiddle and is used to play for barn or country dances. The bow is made of wood strung with real “horse hair”!

Zither (part of ‘the gang’) A zither is a stringed instrument that can be played with a bow, plucked with fingers, or struck with wooden mallets. A Zither has no “neck”, but the strings are stretched from one end of the board to the other.

3