"in the abstract musical-theory of chords for all instruments. For example, in the guitar (like other stringed instruments but unlike the piano), open-string notes are not fretted and so require less hand-motion. Thus chords that contain open notes are more easily played and hence more frequently played in popular music, such as folk music. Many of the most popular tunings—standard tuning, open tunings, and new standard tuning—are rich in the open notes used by popular chords. Open tunings allow major triads to be played by barring one fret with only one finger, using the finger like a capo. On guitars"
"Machine head A machine head (also referred to as a tuning machine, tuner, or gear head) is a geared apparatus for tuning stringed musical instruments by adjusting string tension. Machine heads are used on mandolins, guitars, double basses, and others, and are usually located on the instrument's headstock. Other names for guitar tuners include pegs, gears, machines, cranks, knobs, tensioners, and tighteners. Non-geared tuning devices as used on violins, violas, cellos, lutes, older Flamenco guitars, and ukuleles are known as friction pegs, which hold the string to tension by way of friction caused by their tapered shape and by the"
"Headstock A headstock or peghead is part of a guitar or similar stringed instrument such as a lute, mandolin, banjo, ukulele and others of the lute lineage. The main function of a headstock is to house the pegs or mechanism that holds the strings at the ""head"" of the instrument. At the ""tail"" of the instrument the strings are usually held by a tailpiece or bridge. Machine heads on the headstock are commonly used to tune the instrument by adjusting the tension of strings and, consequentially, the pitch of sound they produce. Two traditional layouts of tuners are called ""3+3"""
"among others, are cited as justification. This resistance remains despite the well-known issues with friction pegs losing tuning, coming loose, or jamming. In the early 2000s, a new type of machine head, utilizing micro-gearing inside of a friction-peg shaped casing that can be fitting to an instrument without physical alterations was introduced, and continues to be refined, but this technology is also facing resistance. Machine head A machine head (also referred to as a tuning machine, tuner, or gear head) is a geared apparatus for tuning stringed musical instruments by adjusting string tension. Machine heads are used on mandolins, guitars,"
"Tuning wrench A tuning wrench (also called a tuning lever or tuning hammer) is a specialized socket wrench used to tune string instruments such as the piano, harp, and hammer dulcimer, that have strings wrapped around tuning pins. Other string instruments do not require a tuning wrench because their tuning pins or pegs come with handles (as with the violin), or geared tuning machines (as with the guitar or banjo). Tuning wrench sockets may be square-shaped or eight-pointed star-shaped, and are found in two basic sizes: a large size for pianos, and a smaller size for most other instruments. For"
"Presently, it refers to some sort of mechanism in the string peg (usually a cam or screw) that locks the string in place, preventing slippage. With the popular increase of extreme vibrato-arm usage in the 1980s, several manufacturers introduced a modified design, commonly called ""locking machine heads"", where the individual tuner has an additional mechanism to lock the string in place and stabilize tuning, primarily intended for musicians who make regular use of the vibrato. Some designs increase string breakage at the point they grip the string. The term ""locking"" is much older, possibly originating with Grover. This usage refers"
"Piano The piano is an acoustic, stringed musical instrument invented in Italy by Bartolomeo Cristofori around the year 1700 (the exact year is uncertain), in which the strings are struck by hammers. It is played using a keyboard, which is a row of keys (small levers) that the performer presses down or strikes with the fingers and thumbs of both hands to cause the hammers to strike the strings. The word piano is a shortened form of ""pianoforte"", the Italian term for the early 1700s versions of the instrument, which in turn derives from ""gravicembalo col piano e forte"" and"
"produced without matching body and headstock finishes. Headstock A headstock or peghead is part of a guitar or similar stringed instrument such as a lute, mandolin, banjo, ukulele and others of the lute lineage. The main function of a headstock is to house the pegs or mechanism that holds the strings at the ""head"" of the instrument. At the ""tail"" of the instrument the strings are usually held by a tailpiece or bridge. Machine heads on the headstock are commonly used to tune the instrument by adjusting the tension of strings and, consequentially, the pitch of sound they produce. Two"
"clamps the A, D, and G strings of a guitar. When placed upon the second fret, it forms an Esus chord, and when turned upside down, it forms an A chord. Now, there are about 15 types of devices on the market that clamp anywhere from 1 to 5 strings. A number of players have made their own custom versions by cutting or otherwise modifying existing capos. The devices do a variety of things, though not all of them will fit all guitars. The Third Hand Capo and the SpiderCapo (appearing in 2008) are the only universal capos. Each can"
"key."" However, the principle of bowed strings in a keyboard instrument is old. Michael Praetorius' Syntagma Musicum depicted a ""Nürnbergisch Geigenwerk (Geigenklavizimbel)"". Viola organista Wheelharp The wheelharp is a musical instrument with bowed strings controlled by a keyboard and foot-controlled motor, similar to Leonardo da Vinci's Viola organista, a keyboard-operated string instrument for continuously sounding strings by rubbing the strings with spinning wheels, powered by a treadle controlled by one foot of the musician. Created by Jon Jones and Mitchell Manger, the wheelharp debuted at the 2013 NAMM Show in Anaheim, California. According to the Wall Street Journal, it ""looks"
"Scordatura Scordatura (literally Italian for ""mistuning""), is a tuning of a stringed instrument different from the normal, standard tuning. It typically attempts to allow special effects or unusual chords or timbre, or to make certain passages easier to play. It is common to notate the finger position as if played in regular tuning, while the actual pitch resulting is altered (scordatura notation). When all the strings are tuned by the same interval up or down, as in the case of the viola in Mozart's ""Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra"", the part is transposed as a whole. The invention"
"Fingerboard The fingerboard (also known as a fretboard on fretted instruments) is an important component of most stringed instruments. It is a thin, long strip of material, usually wood, that is laminated to the front of the neck of an instrument. The strings run over the fingerboard, between the nut and bridge. To play the instrument, a musician presses strings down to the fingerboard to change the vibrating length, changing the pitch. This is called ""stopping"" the strings. Depending on the instrument and the style of music, the musician may pluck, strum or bow one or more strings with the"
"Hammer-on A hammer-on is a playing technique performed on a stringed instrument (especially on a fretted string instrument, such as a guitar) by sharply bringing a fretting-hand finger down on the fingerboard behind a fret, causing a note to sound. This technique is the opposite of the pull-off. Passages in which a large proportion of the notes are performed as hammer-ons and pull-offs instead of being plucked or picked in the usual fashion are known in classical guitar terminology as ""legato"" phrases. The sound is smoother and more connected than in a normally picked phrase, due to the absence of"
"key may be a lever which mechanically triggers a hammer to strike a group of strings, as on a piano, or an electric switch which energizes an audio oscillator as on an electronic organ or a synthesizer. Key (instrument) A key is a specific part of a musical instrument. The purpose and function of the part in question depends on the instrument. On instruments equipped with tuning machines, violins and guitars, for example, a key is part of a tuning machine. It is a worm gear with a key shaped end used to turn a cog, which, in turn, is"
"and Soundgarden). In certain kinds of folk music alternate tunings for guitar can be fairly frequently found, most typically open tunings where the opens strings are tuned to full major, minor, suspended or extended chord. Scordatura Scordatura (literally Italian for ""mistuning""), is a tuning of a stringed instrument different from the normal, standard tuning. It typically attempts to allow special effects or unusual chords or timbre, or to make certain passages easier to play. It is common to notate the finger position as if played in regular tuning, while the actual pitch resulting is altered (scordatura notation). When all the"
"in which the bowl is moved via a handle that connects to the base and the head remains stationary. These instruments are referred to as ""Viennese timpani"" (""Wiener Pauken"") or ""Schnellar timpani"". Adams Musical Instruments developed a pedal-operated version of this tuning mechanism in the early 21st century. Like most drumheads, timpani heads can be made from two materials: animal skin (typically calfskin or goatskin) or plastic (typically PET film). Plastic heads are durable, weather-resistant, and relatively inexpensive. Thus, they are more commonly used than skin heads. However, many professional timpanists prefer skin heads because they produce a ""warmer"" timbre."
"Wheelharp The wheelharp is a musical instrument with bowed strings controlled by a keyboard and foot-controlled motor, similar to Leonardo da Vinci's Viola organista, a keyboard-operated string instrument for continuously sounding strings by rubbing the strings with spinning wheels, powered by a treadle controlled by one foot of the musician. Created by Jon Jones and Mitchell Manger, the wheelharp debuted at the 2013 NAMM Show in Anaheim, California. According to the Wall Street Journal, it ""looks and works like a cross between a harpsichord and a hurdy-gurdy: a motor driven wheel spins, rubbing against strings when the player depresses a"
"Finger substitution Finger substitution is a playing technique used on many different instruments, ranging from stringed instruments such as the violin and cello to keyboard instruments such as the piano and pipe organ. It involves replacing one finger which is depressing a string or key with another finger to facilitate the performance of a passage or create a desired tone or sound. The simplest type of finger substitution is when a finger replaces another finger during a rest; the more difficult type is to replace one finger with another ""while"" a note is being played. On stringed instruments such as"
"Chitarra Italiana Chitarra Italiana (; 'Italian guitar') is a lute-shaped plucked instrument with 4 or 5 single (sometimes double) strings, in a tuning similar to that of the guitar. It was common in Italy during the Renaissance Era. According to Renato Meucci, the designation of 'Italiana' followed the introduction to Italy of the flat-backed development of the instrument - referred to as ""chitarra alla spagnola "" (literally 'Spanish guitar'); to distinguish between the two versions. It is believed to have descended from Panduras, the Mediterranean lutes of Antiquity, and to be related to north African Quitra (or Kitra). Its bass"
"Viol The viol , viola da gamba , or (informally) gamba, is any one of a family of bowed, fretted and stringed instruments with hollow wooden bodies and pegboxes where the tension on the strings can be increased or decreased to adjust the pitch of each of the strings. Frets on the viol are usually made of gut, tied on the fingerboard around the instrument's neck, to enable the performer to stop the strings more cleanly. Frets improve consistency of intonation and lend the stopped notes a tone that better matches the open strings. Viols first appeared in Spain in"
"Pick tapping Pick tapping (or pick trilling) is a legato playing technique for the guitar, in which the edge of the pick is used to sharply trill notes on the instrument's fretboard at fast speeds. Whilst trilling can be performed with the fingers of either the fretting or picking hand, using the pick enables faster speeds by means of 'vibrating' (or effectively seizing up) the wrist. The technique should not be confused with regular tapping, which always makes use of both hands and involves playing at least three or more notes. A well-known example is ""Satch Boogie"" by Joe Satriani,"
"Nyckelharpa A nyckelharpa (, ""keyed fiddle"", or literally ""key harp"", plural ""nyckelharpor"") is a traditional Swedish musical instrument. It is a string instrument or chordophone. Its keys are attached to tangents which, when a key is depressed, serve as frets to change the pitch of the string. The nyckelharpa is similar in appearance to a fiddle or the big Sorb geige or viol. Structurally, it is more closely related to the hurdy-gurdy, both employing key-actuated tangents to change the pitch. A depiction of two instruments, possibly but not confirmed nyckelharpor, can be found in a relief dating from ""circa"" 1350"
"Ligature (instrument) A ligature is a device which holds a reed onto the mouthpiece of a single-reed instrument such as a saxophone or clarinet. The ligature must secure the reed firmly against the table of the mouthpiece while allowing it to vibrate freely. The earliest ligatures were lengths of string wrapped over the reed and tied. Iwan Müller invented a metal ligature to replace twine. String is still used by clarinetists, especially in Germany. Modern German mouthpieces have a groove cut into the outside of the mouthpiece to facilitate wrapping with a string ligature. Some modern clarinetists even opt to"
"normal manner (by pressing the string against frets), a slide is placed on the string to vary its vibrating length, and pitch. This slide can then be moved along the string without lifting, creating continuous transitions in pitch. Slide guitar is most often played (assuming a right-handed player and guitar): Slack-key guitar is a fingerpicked style that originated in Hawaii. The English term is a translation of the Hawaiian ""kī hō‘alu"", which means ""loosen the [tuning] key"". Slack key is nearly always played in open or altered tunings—the most common tuning is G-major (D–G–D–G–B–D), called ""taropatch"", though there is a"
"Neck (music) The neck is the part of certain string instruments that projects from the main body and is the base of the fingerboard, where the fingers are placed to stop the strings at different pitches. Guitars, banjos, ukuleles, lutes, the violin family, and the mandolin family are examples of instruments which have necks. Necks are also an integral part of certain woodwind instruments, like for instance the saxophone. The word for neck also sometimes appears in other languages in musical instructions. The terms include ""manche"" (French), ""manico"" (Italian), and ""Hals"" (German). The neck of a guitar includes the guitar's"
"Kaisatsuko The kaisatsuko (Japanese: 回擦胡, literally ""wheel-bowed fiddle"") is a mechanical experimental musical instrument invented by Yuichi Onoue of Tokyo, Japan. The instrument consists of two strings on a fretless neck. A crank is affixed to a small nylon wheel mounted on the body. The player turns the crank, causing the wheel to spin and ""bow"" the strings. This concept is similar to that employed by the hurdy-gurdy. Unlike most hurdy-gurdies, Onoue's instrument has no keybox, but is fingered along the neck. This detail is similar to the dulcigurdy, a hurdy-gurdy variant recorded by Michael Praetorius. Besides the Kaisatsuko Onoue"
"beginning. This is a common method of capoing the fifth string of the banjo, since the string begins at the fifth fret. Thus, it needs to be capoed individually since it is not covered by a capo on the other four strings. Capo A capo (short for ""capodastro"", ""capo tasto"" or ""capotasto"" , Italian for ""head of fretboard""; Spanish: "" cejilla"" or ""capodastro""; French: ""capodastre""; German: ""Kapodaster""; Portuguese: ""capodastro"", Serbo-Croatian: ""kapodaster""; Greek: ""kapotasta"") is a device used on the neck of a stringed (typically fretted) instrument to shorten the playable length of the strings, hence raising the pitch. It is"
"hand that is not fretting the notes. On some instruments, notes can be sounded by the fretting hand alone, such as with hammer ons, an electric guitar technique. The word ""fingerboard"" in other languages sometimes occurs in musical directions. In particular, the direction ""sul tasto"" (Ital., also ""sulla tastiera"", Fr. ""sur la touche"", G. ""am Griffbrett"") for bowed string instruments to play with the bow above the fingerboard. This reduces the prominence of upper harmonics, giving a more ethereal tone. A fingerboard may be fretted, having raised strips of hard material perpendicular to the strings, which the player presses the"
"Plectrum A plectrum is a small flat tool used to pluck or strum a stringed instrument. For hand-held instruments such as guitars and mandolins, the plectrum is often called a pick, and is a separate tool held in the player's hand. In harpsichords, the plectra are attached to the jack mechanism. A plectrum (pick) for electric guitars, acoustic guitars, bass guitars and mandolins is typically a thin piece of plastic or other material shaped like a pointed teardrop or triangle. The size, shape and width may vary considerably. Banjo and guitar players may wear a metal or plastic thumb pick"
"""plec"" is sometimes used. Plectrum A plectrum is a small flat tool used to pluck or strum a stringed instrument. For hand-held instruments such as guitars and mandolins, the plectrum is often called a pick, and is a separate tool held in the player's hand. In harpsichords, the plectra are attached to the jack mechanism. A plectrum (pick) for electric guitars, acoustic guitars, bass guitars and mandolins is typically a thin piece of plastic or other material shaped like a pointed teardrop or triangle. The size, shape and width may vary considerably. Banjo and guitar players may wear a metal"
"Key (instrument) A key is a specific part of a musical instrument. The purpose and function of the part in question depends on the instrument. On instruments equipped with tuning machines, violins and guitars, for example, a key is part of a tuning machine. It is a worm gear with a key shaped end used to turn a cog, which, in turn, is attached to a post which winds the string. The key is used to make pitch adjustments to a string. With other instruments, zithers and drums, for example, a key is essentially a small wrench used to turn"
"and far between, because of some of the techniques involved such as slanting the bar, palm damping, thumb damping, and unique styles of picking are not easily mastered. The technique was invented and popularized in Hawaii. Thus, the ""lap steel guitar"" is sometimes known as the Hawaiian guitar, particularly in documents from the early 20th century, and today any steel guitar is frequently called a Hawaiian steel guitar. However, ""Hawaiian guitar"" often refers to ""slack key guitar"", played in the conventional or Spanish position, using a conventional fretted guitar in various open tunings, generally with the strings tuned considerably lower"
"reduction or doing a reduction from the full score), so that they can develop their interpretation. Piano The piano is an acoustic, stringed musical instrument invented in Italy by Bartolomeo Cristofori around the year 1700 (the exact year is uncertain), in which the strings are struck by hammers. It is played using a keyboard, which is a row of keys (small levers) that the performer presses down or strikes with the fingers and thumbs of both hands to cause the hammers to strike the strings. The word piano is a shortened form of ""pianoforte"", the Italian term for the early"