Chordophones: a big and ancient family of music instruments

When we think about a chordophone the first one that comes to our mind is probably

the classical guitar, but the family of chordophones includes many other instruments, from the contrabass to the banjo.

The family of chordophones is not only very large, it is also very ancient: the first chordophones, or at least the ancestors of the modern chordophones, were used even in the prehistory. Our ancestors invented the so-called "earth bow", a sort of hunting bow which was made of a flexible stick and a rope stretched to its ends (later it was equipped also with a sound box, which could be derived from an empty coconut, from a cut in half pumpkin and so on), and the "reed psaltery", which was derived from bamboo reeds, from which people took thin strips of bark. Instruments that are now better-known, like harps and zithers, originated from these first music experiments that were carried out by our ancestors.

With the passing of time the peoples of the past improved the technique to make more and more advanced chordophones, inventing also some devices that could be used to increase the intensity of sound, like resonators. Many ancient peoples used to know and appreciate chordophones: from Egyptians, which along with Jews, the peoples of Mesopotamia, Greeks and Romans used above all harps, zithers and lyres, to Asian peoples, which used to play other types of chordophones, like the seven-stringed k'in, the four-stringed P'i p'a (both coming from China), the Indian vina and the Indian four-stringed sarangi. From these instruments to the chordophones that we use today, like guitars and violins, it was not a short step: the first lute appeared in the 16th century, and from this instrument came the various sorts of mandola and mandolins and so on, while the classical guitar was invented only in the 19th century.

Given the ancient origin of the family of chordophones and their diffusion among many different peoples, no wonder that there are many subcategories of chordophones. In general chordophones are divided three categories: bowed string instruments, plucked strings instruments and struck string instruments. The category of bowed string instruments includes the chordophones in which the vibration of chords is produced with a small bow made of horsehairs. This category includes instruments like the viola, the cello, the violin and the contrabass. As for plucked string instruments, the sound is produced plucking the strings with a plectrum or with fingers. This is the proceeding that characterizes instruments like the harp, the banjo, the zither, the bass, and all the types of guitars, from folk to electric guitars, the lute, the mandolin, the ukulele and so on. The third category, that of struck string instruments, includes instruments like the piano, the harpsichord and the clavichord, where the chords vibrate thanks to some hammers, which are usually activated by a keyboard.

In conclusion, the world of chordophones, which includes also many accessories, is very large and heterogeneous, as well as very ancient.

Chordophones: a big and ancient family of music instruments

By: Francesca Tessarollo

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