Thousands of children have learned to play stringed instruments with something called the Suzuki method. The colder weather resulted in denser wood, and that accounts for the instruments’ unmatched tone! An unusual absence of sunspots before Stradivari was born created a worldwide downturn in temperature known as the Little Ice Age. And a third theory claims it all comes down to sunspots. Another suggests that the wood was soaked before being used. One theory is that the varnish he used had some special properties. So what’s the mystery? Well, no one has been able to figure out how Stradivari produced such wonderful instruments. ![]() They can sell for millions of dollars, and some of the most famous performers in the world own them: Yo-Yo Ma owns a cello Itzhak Perlman, a violin called the Soil Strad and Gil Shaham has one called the Countess Polignac. Today, about 650 of the instruments survive, mostly violins. He made only a few alterations on the standard designs of his day, but even during his lifetime he was famous for the quality of his craftsmanship.Īn authentic instrument made by Stradivari is usually inscribed with the date it was made and the words "Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis." Such an instrument is usually called a Stradivarius, or Strad for short. The highest quality strings for racquet sports like tennis and squash are made of catgut, too.Īntonio Stradivari, who lived in Cremona, Italy from 1644 to 1737, produced some of the finest stringed instruments ever made. Don’t worry, they’re not using cat intestines! "Catgut" likely is an English version of the German word "kitgut," which referred to a small violin. But some musicians still prefer the more expensive catgut strings. Nylon, silk, and steel are more common for strings these days. Horses, pigs, mules, and donkeys also were made to sacrifice their innards for art. Saz: The Turkish counterpart to Greece’s bouzouki, the saz has three strings instead of four.īack before everything was made of plastic, the strings on violins, guitars, and other stringed instruments were made out of the intestines of different animals.Īs far back as Ancient Egypt (more than 4,000 years ago), sheep and goat intestines were the material of choice for discerning musicians. Not surprisingly, it sounds a bit like a one-stringed violin.īarbat: Played with a flexible pick, the Iranian barbat sounds a bit like a guitar crossed with a cello. Played by scraping the string with a wooden stick, it produces a metallic, bass sound.īouzouki: This four-stringed, Greek instrument sounds like a mandolin and looks like a lute.Įktara: Similar in look to the berimbau, this one-stringed instrument from the subcontinent (India/Pakistan/Bangladesh) is played with a bow. ![]() It sounds a bit like a ukulele.īerimbau: The berimbau is a one-string, Brazilian doodad that looks like a hunting bow with a gourd at the bottom. Tim and Moby are talking about string instruments.Īt the end, Moby dances to hurdy-gurdy music.Įuropean and American orchestral music is dominated by instruments in the violin family, but there’s a whole other world of stringed instruments out there! Here are a few to look out for.īalalaika (pictured) : A Russian instrument that looks like a guitar with a triangular body, the balalaika is popular in folk music. Tim answers a letter about string instruments. Tim plays the violin while Moby plays the piano.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |