A string is a vibrating element used on many musical instruments, such as the violin, guitar, harp, and piano. They are long, flexible lengths of a material kept under tension so that they may freely vibrate. Strings are composed of a core and are optionally wound with other materials to increase their mass and thickness. A vibration in a string is a wave. ... The violin is a stringed musical instrument that has four strings tuned a perfect fifth apart. ... The classical guitar typically has 3 nylon and 3 nickel-wound strings. ... The harp is a chordophone whose strings are positioned perpendicular to the soundboard. ... This article is about the modern musical instrument. ... In physics, tension is a force on a body directed to produce strain (extension); it can be considered to be negative compression. ...

String construction

Depending on the construction of the instrument they are meant for, strings may be terminated with a ball or loop to be used to attach the string to the instrument. Strings for some instruments may be wrapped with silk at their ends to protect the string. The color and pattern of the silk can be used to identify the string.

Core materials

Metals such as steel or bronze are the most common string materials, although natural products such as silk or gut, or synthetics such as nylon and kevlar are also often used. Some violin E strings are gold plated in order to improve the tone quality. Steel framework Steel is a metal alloy whose major component is iron, with carbon being the primary alloying material. ... Bronze figurine, found at Öland Bronze is the traditional name for a broad range of alloys of copper. ... Silk (< OE sioloc probably < L. SERICVS / Gr. ... Catgut, the name applied to cord of great toughness and tenacity prepared from the intestines of sheep, or occasionally from those of the horse, mule and ass. ... This article covers the material nylon. ... Kevlar, also known as Twaron and poly-paraphenelyne terephthalamide, is a synthetic fibre that is five times stronger than steel, weight for weight. ...

Winding materials

Aluminum is the most common, although copper, chrome and silver are also used. Although silver is more expensive, it is preferred for its resistance to corrosion and hypoallergenicity. General Name, Symbol, Number aluminium, Al, 13 Chemical series poor metals Group, Period, Block 13 (IIIA), 3, p Density, Hardness 2700 kg/m3, 2. ... General Name, Symbol, Number copper, Cu, 29 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11 , 4, d Density, Hardness 8920 kg/m3, 3. ... Chrome may refer to: (most commonly) chrome plating where the element chromium is fixed to a surface (in computer science) the chrome of an application, i. ... General Name, Symbol, Number silver, Ag, 47 Chemical series Transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 5, d Density, Hardness 10490 kg/m3, 2. ... See basic definition at Wiktionary. ...

External links

• Identify strings by their silk patterns (http://www.quinnviolins.com/qv_stringidsearch.shtml)