The banjo was originally developed and used by African Americans enslaved in the South. The slaves used gourd to create makeshift instruments that looked like the ones they used in Africa. In fact, the word “banjo” is believed to have evolved from a Kimbundu term for a similar musical instrument. African precursors [...]

• Acoustic Violin String Musical Instruments
• Bass-Upright String Musical Instruments
• Cello String Musical Instruments
• 1 4 Size Acoustic Violin String Musical Instruments
• Bouzouki Mandola String Musical Instruments

• Brief History of Violins The violin is the smallest in size of all the stringed instruments. This compact size also gives the violin the highest pitch of the string family of instruments, with the viola and cello both having a lower tone. Almost any musical style can be played on the violin, from classical......
• Harps Throughout History Harps are a musical instrument that is played all throughout a great deal of the world. Consider the fact that in Africa alone there are more than one hundred and fifty different distinct traditions involving the harp. The harp's ancestor is suggested to be a hunting bow, but the history......
• Introduction to the Bass Instrument The bass is also known as the double bass or the doghouse, and it is both the largest as well as the lowest pitch instrument in the violin family. Just like the violin, the double bass instrument evolved from the viol in Europe. Fine bass models are made out of......
• The Harmonica in American History The Harmonica was not originally developed in America, but rather saw the beginning of life in Germany. However, the Harmonica has a rich history in North America, and contributed heavily to the history of music in America as well. Hohner began to manufacture harmonicas in 1857, and shortly after this......
• Introduction to Stringed Instruments, pt 2 In the last post in this series we started talking about stringed instruments and the different varieties. We listed plucked stringed instruments, and will now talk about instruments that are played by bowing, striking and other methods. Bowing is a method that is used with some string instruments, including the......

Continue reading → A Brief History of Banjos

The bass is also known as the double bass or the doghouse, and it is both the largest as well as the lowest pitch instrument in the violin family. Just like the violin, the double bass instrument evolved from the viol in Europe.
Fine bass models are made out of solid spruce wood for the [...]

• Acoustic Guitar Strings Musical Instruments
• Mandolin String Musical Instruments
• 1 4 Size Acoustic Violin String Musical Instruments
• Violin Vintage Pre-1980 String Musical Instruments
• Bouzouki Mandola String Musical Instruments

• More Tips on Buying Violins With the vast assortment violins to choose from, buying a new instrument can be quite a challenging endeavor. However, this task can be much easier if you do some research ahead of time. The following are some points to remember when buying a new or used violin. If you are......
• Acoustic Guitar Basics The first thing you think of when you think about acoustic instruments is likely the acoustic guitar. What most people do not know is that “acoustic guitar” is a retronym. Until electric guitars were invented, they were simply called guitars. The differentiation was necessary upon the invention and adoption of......
• Introduction to Stringed Instruments, pt 2 In the last post in this series we started talking about stringed instruments and the different varieties. We listed plucked stringed instruments, and will now talk about instruments that are played by bowing, striking and other methods. Bowing is a method that is used with some string instruments, including the......
• Brief History for Double Bass or Stand Up Bass The Double Bass or Stand Up Bass is the largest and the lowest pitched of all bowed string instruments that is used as a part of the modern symphony orchestra. The stand up bass is a standard member of the symphony orchestra's string section as well as smaller string ensembles......
• Wood Types for Acoustic Guitars Just as there are many types of acoustic guitars, so are there many types of wood from which guitars may be made. It also matters in which part of the guitar the wood is to be used. Also as with many things, the skill of the craftsman, the design of......

Continue reading → Introduction to the Bass Instrument

There are a lot of really interesting instruments out there, in addition to the common ones that you hear about regularly. One example of a not so well known instrument is the cittern.
The cittern is a musical instrument possessing strings, and it originally came from Europe. It is said to have descended from the [...]

• Folk Art Maritime Antiques
• Wedge Womens Shoes
• Popular, by decade Sheet Music Sheet Music Song Books
• Deals Stevens Pass Washington Skiing Vacation
• Deals White Pass Washington Skiing Vacation

• Brief History of the Accordian The accordion is a potable acoustical musical instrument that is box shaped, and is derived from the hand held bellows-driven family of free-reed aerophone instruments. The accordion is sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays this particular instrument is known as an accordionist. The accordion is played......
• Brief History of the Mandolin A mandolin is a musical instrument that belongs to the lute family meaning that it can either be plucked or strummed. It is a direct descendant of a instrument called the Mandore, which is a soprano member of the same family. The mandolin instrument has a body that possesses a......
• Brief History of the Sitar The sitar is a plucked string instrument that uses sympathetic strings and a long hollow neck along with a gourd resonating chamber in order to produce a very rich musical sound along with a complex harmonic resonance. The Sitar is predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, but has been used......
• A Look at the Saxhorn The saxhorn is an instrument that belongs to the brass family of instruments. It is a valved instrument. The saxhorn is a brass instrument that features a tapered bore and a mouthpiece that is shaped like a deep cup. The sound that the saxhorn creates has a quality that is......
• Manufacturers: Weber Weber fine acoustic instruments are manufactured by Sound to Earth in Logan, Montana. The company has steadily grown, moving from Bozeman recently to accommodate its expansion. The 25 employees make mandolins by hand in an old Logan schoolhouse. The move was necessary because Weber plans to expand their product line......

Continue reading → Introduction to the Cittern Instrument

… Continued from pt. 4
The Pontic Lira
The Pontic lira is a lira that is slim and bottle shaped and that has a finger board upon which three steel strings can be stopped. All three of the steel strings are tuned into fourths. This instrument features a nut like the violin does, and its bridge is [...]

• 3 4 Size Acoustic Violin String Musical Instruments
• Player Piano Musical Instruments
• 1 2 Size Acoustic Violin String Musical Instruments
• Electric Violin String Musical Instruments
• 4 4 Size Acoustic Violin String Musical Instruments

• Brief History of Cellos or Celli The cello (short for "violoncello") is a bowed string instrument, similar to a larger violin that is held upright instead of on the chin. It originated from the three-stringed bass violin created by Jambe de Fer in 1556. The first composer to use the bass violin is thought to be......
• Fiddling Instruments: A Primer pt 2 ... Continued from pt. 1 The Zhuihu, also known as the Zhuiqin is an instrument that is descended from a Chinese lute known as the Sanxian, and the strings of this instrument are stopped by pressing them down on a flat fingerboard on its neck. The Kokyu is a four......
• Introduction to the Bass Instrument The bass is also known as the double bass or the doghouse, and it is both the largest as well as the lowest pitch instrument in the violin family. Just like the violin, the double bass instrument evolved from the viol in Europe. Fine bass models are made out of......
• Confused About the Difference Between a Fiddle and a Violin? Basically, a violin is just a more specialized type of fiddle. A fiddle can be any type of stringed instrument that is played with a horsehair bow. The main distinction between a fiddle and a violin generally refers to the different styles of music played on each. Fiddles are more......
• Metal Instruments 101 pt 2 ... Flexatone continued. It is fixed at the wide end to a metal frame that is approximately 30 cm or 12 in in length that possesses rubber beater or wooden beaters at the lower end, attached to rods. The player will wave the flexatone instrument around so that the beaters......

Continue reading → Fiddling Instruments: A Primer pt 5

… Continued from pt. 2
Sarangi
One of the most foremost out of all of the bowed relatives is the sarangi, which is an instrument capable of making a voice like and evocative sound that is one of the best of the instruments from north India as well as Pakistan. This is a squat and chunky shaped [...]

• Tanglewood Right-Handed Acoustic Guitar Musical Instruments
• Dean Acoustic Electric Guitar Musical Instruments
• Johnson Right-Handed Acoustic Guitar Musical Instruments
• 1 4 Size Acoustic Violin String Musical Instruments
• Picks Musical Instruments

• Fiddling Instruments: A Primer pt 4 ... Continued from pt. 3 The Tarhu One of the most significant new developments in the technology behind spike fiddle instruments can be found in the form of the circular bodied instruments known as Tarhu, as they are made by an Australian luthier known as Peter Biffin. With these instruments......
• Introduction to the Banjo Instrument The term banjo actually refers to a family of instruments rather than just a single instrument that fits into another family. The banjo instrument family makes use of a membrane made of hide or vellum that is used as a sound board. The first banjo instruments were brought to the......
• Tuning an Acoustic Guitar Tuning an acoustic guitar is absolutely vital when it comes to producing good sound. The following is a look at the simple instructions that are required for good guitar tuning. The open strings on a guitar range from the thickest to the thinnest. The thickest string is the E string,......
• Introduction to the Cittern Instrument There are a lot of really interesting instruments out there, in addition to the common ones that you hear about regularly. One example of a not so well known instrument is the cittern. The cittern is a musical instrument possessing strings, and it originally came from Europe. It is said......
• Acoustic Hybrids (Can Also Be Played Plugged-in) Acoustic instruments are popular instruments to play, but some acoustic instruments do not produce a whole lot of sound on their own. The acoustic guitar, for example, does not produce a whole lot of sound on its own, which is why electric guitars were invented in the first place. Another......

Continue reading → Fiddling Instruments: A Primer pt 3

… Continued from pt. 1
The Zhuihu, also known as the Zhuiqin is an instrument that is descended from a Chinese lute known as the Sanxian, and the strings of this instrument are stopped by pressing them down on a flat fingerboard on its neck. The Kokyu is a four stringed version from Japan that is [...]

• Acoustic Guitar Strings Musical Instruments
• Lute String Musical Instruments
• Japan Countries Flags Historical Memorabilia Collectibles
• Japan Non-US Countries, Town Views Postcards Collectibles

• Introduction to Stringed Instruments, pt 1 Stringed instruments are musical instruments that produce sound when strings on the instrument are excited or vibrated. Stringed instruments are also regarded as chordophones when following the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification. Some of the most well known and most common stringed instruments in this family as the cello,......
• Metal Instruments 101 pt 2 ... Flexatone continued. It is fixed at the wide end to a metal frame that is approximately 30 cm or 12 in in length that possesses rubber beater or wooden beaters at the lower end, attached to rods. The player will wave the flexatone instrument around so that the beaters......
• Fiddling Instruments: A Primer pt 3 ... Continued from pt. 2 Sarangi One of the most foremost out of all of the bowed relatives is the sarangi, which is an instrument capable of making a voice like and evocative sound that is one of the best of the instruments from north India as well as Pakistan.......
• Fiddling Instruments: A Primer Generically, fiddles are bowed lutes. The fiddle term denotes the existence of a stringed instrument that has a neck that bears strings sounded through the use of friction rather than the use of striking or plucking as with other musical instruments. Playing the Fiddle In nearly all fiddle instruments around......
• A Look at the Lyre The lyre is a type of stringed musical instrument that is well known for having been used widely in classical antiquity as well as later on. The recitations made by the Ancient Greeks were often accompanied by playing the Lyre. The Lyre known of in classical Antiquity was typically played......

Continue reading → Fiddling Instruments: A Primer pt 2

Orville Gibson started the Gibson Guitar Corporation by making specialized mandolins in 1894. From the beginning, Gibson established himself as a quality instrument builder who added his own innovations. His mandolins were modified in such a way that they had a richer sound. Eventually, Gibson mandolins became the instrument of choice for bluegrass [...]

• Takamine Acoustic Electric Guitar Musical Instruments
• Hardshell Acoustic Guitar Cases Musical Instruments
• Electric Ovens Ranges Cooking Appliances Major Appliances
• Alvarez Right-Handed Acoustic Guitar Musical Instruments
• Tanglewood Right-Handed Acoustic Guitar Musical Instruments

• Some Background on the Acoustic Bass Guitar The acoustic bass guitar is an instrument which provides the heavy tones and harmonies associated with good Jazz. Somewhat of a mixed past, the acoustic bass guitar was born in the 50's but was developed in the 60s by Ernie Ball. It came after it's cousin, the electric bass guitar,......
• Brief History of Guitars One of the most widely recognized musical instruments is the acoustic guitar. It is an instrument that has roots deep in history, and is played many different ways. There are many varieties, in four, six, seven, eight, ten and twelve strings, although six is standard. Guitars are used in many......
• The Electric Acoustic Guitar The acoustic guitar provides music through strings that were made from a variety of materials, most notably nylon. Nylon is not only kind to the fingers, but the sound it produces is good and crisp. It is especially important for beginners to use nylon since it is easier to learn.......
• Acoustic Bass Guitar as a Foundation for the Band It may seem a little backwards if you think about it, but the acoustic bass guitar did not come into existence until after the electric bass guitar had been invented. The reason for this is because the electric bass guitar came to be first, and then people began to wonder......
• Acoustic Bass Guitar There are a number of different types of guitars, which produce a variety of different sounds, and offer a myriad of different features. One of the most demanding types of guitars out there is the acoustic bass guitar. This is a bass instrument that offers a hollow wooden body which......

Continue reading → Manufacturers: Gibson

A dulcimer is a fretted instrument that most commonly includes three or four strings. The fretting is usually diatonic and spreads along a fingerboard attached to the instrument’s body. It became popular in old-time American music in the 1800s. It is believed to have been brought over from Scotland or Ireland and [...]

• Folk Art Maritime Antiques
• Acoustic Guitar Cases Musical Instruments
• 1 2 Size Acoustic Violin String Musical Instruments
• String Musical Instruments
• Cello String Musical Instruments

• Fiddling Instruments: A Primer pt 3 ... Continued from pt. 2 Sarangi One of the most foremost out of all of the bowed relatives is the sarangi, which is an instrument capable of making a voice like and evocative sound that is one of the best of the instruments from north India as well as Pakistan.......
• Buyer's Guide for Banjos There are a number of elements to consider when buying a banjo. The main thing to look for is a banjo that is comfortable, easy to play, and does not hurt your hands. Push down on the strings up and down the neck to make sure they have enough give......
• A Look at the Lyre The lyre is a type of stringed musical instrument that is well known for having been used widely in classical antiquity as well as later on. The recitations made by the Ancient Greeks were often accompanied by playing the Lyre. The Lyre known of in classical Antiquity was typically played......
• Confused About the Difference Between a Fiddle and a Violin? Basically, a violin is just a more specialized type of fiddle. A fiddle can be any type of stringed instrument that is played with a horsehair bow. The main distinction between a fiddle and a violin generally refers to the different styles of music played on each. Fiddles are more......
• Accordion 101 The accordion is closely related to another instrument, the concertina. Both of these instruments are essentially glorified mouth organs that utilize reeds that are generally made out of tempered steel. These tempered steel reeds are set in vibration using a rectangular shaped bellows. The bellows are operated using the left......

Continue reading → A Little About Dulcimers

The Bridge
The bridge of a guitar is found between the middle and the end of the body, though generally very near the end of the body. Depending on your guitar, your strings may originate at the bridge, or they may just be supported by it. Most guitar bridges are capable of being raised or lowered [...]

• Washburn Right-Handed Acoustic Guitar Musical Instruments
• Hudson Right-Handed Acoustic Guitar Musical Instruments
• Ibanez Right-Handed Acoustic Guitar Musical Instruments
• Acoustic Guitar Musical Instruments
• Travel Acoustic Guitar Musical Instruments

• Manufacturers: Fender Fender only produced acoustic guitars during a brief period in the company's history, but the guitars made during that time have become favorites of collectors and musicians alike. The advent of online auction sites such as Ebay has created an active market for used acoustic instruments. Unfortunately, there are a......
• Buying Guide to Dobros - Wooden Resonator Guitars Consult different buying guides for buying a Dobro, and you will find yourself getting different opinions from different people. Dobros are wooden body resonator guitars, which are a unique piece of musical history and an intriguing instrument for you to play. These Dobros do not have to be expensive, as......
• Acoustic Bass Guitar There are a number of different types of guitars, which produce a variety of different sounds, and offer a myriad of different features. One of the most demanding types of guitars out there is the acoustic bass guitar. This is a bass instrument that offers a hollow wooden body which......
• Shopping for a Child Size Guitar - What You Need to Know When it comes to purchasing acoustic musical instruments for children, choosing the right size is absolutely vital for the best results. When it comes to shopping for a child size guitar for example, it can not be over emphasized how important it is to consider neck size and the overall......
• Tuning an Acoustic Guitar Tuning an acoustic guitar is absolutely vital when it comes to producing good sound. The following is a look at the simple instructions that are required for good guitar tuning. The open strings on a guitar range from the thickest to the thinnest. The thickest string is the E string,......

Continue reading → Anatomy of an Acoustic Guitar