String instruments include any kind of instrument that involves the vibrating of strings, either by drawing a bow across the strings, such as when playing the violin, plucking the strings, such as when playing the guitar, or by striking the strings, such as when playing the piano. The piano is often mistaken as a percussion instrument by many, but it is classified as a string instrument. When string instruments were first invented is not clear, but what is clear is that the string instrument has been around for an incredibly long time, though many of the string instruments that are commonly played nowadays are relatively new inventions.



As mentioned before, there are three main ways of playing string instruments in order to create a sound. In string instruments, the strings are often of different lengths and thicknesses in order to produce different sounds or notes. One way of playing string instruments is by moving a bow across the strings. The friction of the bow moving across the strings causes a vibration and this vibration generates the sound that people can hear.

The second way of playing a string instrument is by plucking the strings. The vibrations I caused after the string has been plucked and this vibration causes the sound people hear. Some of these particular instruments often require the use of bare fingers or the use of a plastic or wood pick. The third way that string instruments are played is by striking the strings with a small hammer, as in the case with the piano. The hammer strikes the string and causes the vibration, which then creates the sound. One interesting difference between the first two ways of playing a string instrument compared to the last method mentioned, is that the person using a bow or a pick to play the instruments will typically need to use their other hand to adjust the length of the string in order to create a different sound.

The third way typically has a row of strings that will be hit with the hammer and the strings will already be set in their different lengths. In this case, all that is required is the touch of the key. The obvious exception to this, of course, would be string instruments such as the harp, which require the musician to pluck the strings.

Many will refer to the string instruments as the more difficult type of instruments to learn and play. The reason is that these instruments are quite complicated and the right tension and finger placement are necessary to creating the perfect sound. Most of these instruments are also quite temperamental in that with the aging of the strings, the change in the weather as well as the movement of the instrument can all contribute to putting the instrument way out of tune.

Learning to tune many of these instruments as well as learning where exactly to place the fingers can take quite a bit of concentration and time, but in the end the music created by these instruments are all worth it. The delicate, yet powerful sound sings to the soul and for many the difficulty in learning to master the instrument is well worth it for the music it allows them to create.