Chordophones: Types and Examples

• Stringed instruments are known as chordophones
• Chordophones have developed in all shapes and sizes since ancient times
• Chordophones make sounds by vibrating strings
• Strings on chordophones can be played with a bow, plucked with fingers, or struck with hammers.
• Chordophones are made of strings stretched across a resonator, the hollow part of the instrument that vibrates along with the strings, to create a richer sound

Five Basic Types of Chordophones

• Lutes: Strings are stretched over a resonator and along a neck, such as in guitars and violins
• Zithers: Strings are stretched over or inside a resonator, or between two resonators
• Harps: Strings are slanted within a frame
• Lyres: Strings are raised on a bar above the resonator
• Musical Bows: Strings are stretched from one end of a bow to the other

Yangqin

• An 18th-century Chinese instrument
• Yangqin is the Chinese version of the hammered dulcimer, which originated in Persia (modern-day Iran)
• Strings are struck with bamboo beaters

Zither

• A 5th century BCE Chinese instrument
• The European zither can have up to 45 strings
• The European zither evolved from instruments played in China over 2,500 years ago
• European zithers are played in Slovenia, Austria, Hungary, and southern Germany

Irish Harp

• A 9th-century Irish instrument.
• The Irish harp is a small, portable harp and a popular instrument in Celtic folk music

Krar

• An Ethiopian instrument from c. 2000 BCE
• The Krar is a decorated six-stringed, bowl-shaped lyre often used to accompany songs

Hurdy Gurdy

• A 10th-century European instrument
• The Hurdy Gurdy is like a mechanical violin
• The Hurdy Gurdy makes sound by a hand-turned wheel passing over the strings
• The Hurdy Gurdy uses small wooden wedges that are pressed to change the pitch of the strings

Medieval Lute

• A European instrument from 1050-1400
• Lutes were popular, accompanying songs in medieval Europe
• The lute declined in favor but has seen recent interest

Balalaika

• An 18th-century Russian instrument
• The Balalaika has a characteristic triangular body and three strings
• There are at least six sizes of balalaika varying from low to high pitch

Music

• Early Chinese music uses a five-note (pentatonic) scale
• Example of classical Chinese zither music is Han Gong Qiu Yue "Autumn Moon Over the Han Palace"

Berimbau

• A 16th-century Brazilian instrument
• The Berimbau is based on stringed instruments from Africa
• The Berimbau is the main instrument for Brazil's capoeira martial arts music

Sarangi

• A 17th century South Asian instrument
• The Sarangi is used for both folk and Hindustani classical music
• The Sarangi has three main strings and more than 30 "sympathetic" strings that vibrate to create a complex sound