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 [...]

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• 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......
• 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......
• Which is Best: Stand Up Bass or Regular Bass? The first thing that you need to understand when it comes to comparing a stand up bass against a regular bass is that despite the similar naming structure, these are actually two very different instruments. The term "bass" is used to refer to an entire family of musical instruments that......
• 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......
• Harp Introduction The Harp is an acoustic musical instrument which is made up stings that are held stretched under tension, which will produce harmonics when plucked with the fingers, a pick or a similar device. There are two primary kinds of harps, bow and angle. Bow harps are so named after the......

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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 United States from Africa by [...]

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• Acoustic Musical Instruments Defined Acoustic musical instruments are musical instruments that are capable of creating sounds entirely via acoustic means as opposed to by way of electronic means. Before electronic instruments came along, there was no need to define instruments as being acoustic as every instrument was acoustic by nature. Acoustic music, or generally......
• The History of the Harpsichord The history of the Harpsichord can be traced back to the 15th century, but the instrument actually got its start from the psaltery, which was a stringed instrument that the player held upright to pluck its strings (unlike the dulcimer which rested on the player's lap so the strings could......
• Acoustic Musical Instrument Glossary pt 3 Interval - An interval is described as a difference in pitch from one tone to another, and intervals are most commonly measured as the difference between the lower tone and the higher tone. Intonation - Intonation, in its most literal form, means either pitch or using pitch. One who speaks......
• Fiddling Instruments: A Primer pt 5 ... 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......
• 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,......

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The Hammered Dulcimer
What the dulcimer is, is a stringed instrument that has perceived to be an ancestor to the modern piano. It possesses a number of courses of between two and five strings for each note, and they are stretched across a shallow trapezoid shaped box that is made out of wood. Players are responsible [...]

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• Tuning the Hammered Dulcimer pt 2 The tuning lever is available in a couple of different styles, including a T Handle and a Gooseneck Handle, and personal preference should be what governs which you use. The Gooseneck tends to offer more leverage, but it does not let you fine tune the instrument quite as well. The......
• Learning to Play the Violin pt 2 This is a guide to playing the violin, and is a continuation from part one, which touched on the first five steps in the process. For more information about learning how to play the violin well, keep reading! * Keep in mind that more pressure is going to create a......
• 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......
• Tuning the Hammered Dulcimer pt 1 The hammered dulcimer is a beautiful instrument that is not widely known about, despite producing gorgeous melodies. In addition to learning new tunes on this intriguing instrument, one of the most challenging aspects of owning and playing the hammered dulcimer is learning how to tune it. The more strings that......
• Buyer's Guide to Harps If you are in the market for a new or used harp, you need to do your research ahead of time and shop around. The most important thing to look for when buying a harp is that it is comfortable and enjoyable to play. You want the harp to be......

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