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 teardrop shaped soundboard, though it [...]

• Keyboard Musical Instruments Antiques
• Travel Acoustic Guitar Musical Instruments
• Electric Violin String Musical Instruments
• Right-Handed Acoustic Guitar Musical Instruments
• Brass 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......
• Styles of the Ukulele In the simplest sense, the ukulele is a very small guitar like musical instrument that originally came from Madeira, an island in Portugal. This instrument was originally known as Braguinha in Portuguese, until travelers left Portugal in 1879 bound for Hawaii, showing craftsmen the unique instrument. Hawaiian craftsmen were quickly......
• A Cello Buying Guide Shopping for a cello can be a difficult and costly decision. This guide will give you some pointers on what to look for and how to avoid wasting money on the wrong instrument for your needs. If you are buying a cello for your child, you may want to consider......
• A Little About Dulcimers 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......
• Violin Questions Answered If you are interested in the violin, its history or the basics on how to play it, the following questions and answers will prove to be useful. These are the most basic questions about the violin and how it functions, its history and also how this beautiful and melodic instrument......

Continue reading → Brief History of the Mandolin

… 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 [...]

• Mandolin String Musical Instruments
• Ovation Right-Handed Acoustic Guitar Musical Instruments
• Vintage Pre-1980 Brass Musical Instruments
• Harmony Right-Handed Acoustic Guitar Musical Instruments
• Acoustic Violin String Musical Instruments

• 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......
• A Little About Dulcimers 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......
• 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,......
• 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......
• 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,......

Continue reading → Fiddling Instruments: A Primer pt 3