In musicology, string instruments are known as chordophones. It is one of the five main divisions of instruments in the Hornbostel–Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification.
Hornbostel–Sachs … See more

See: History of lute-family instruments
Musicologists have put forth examples of that 4th-century BC technology, looking at engraved images that have survived. The earliest image showing a lute-like instrument came from Mesopotamia prior to 3000 BC. A See more

There are three ways to change the pitch of a vibrating string. String instruments are tuned by varying a string's tension because adjusting length or mass per unit length is impractical. … See more

The length of the string from nut to bridge on bowed or plucked instruments ultimately determines the distance between different notes on the instrument. For example, a double bass with its low range needs a scale length of around 42 inches (110 cm), … See more

Dating to around c. 13,000 BC, a cave painting in the Trois Frères cave in France depicts what some believe is a musical bow, … See more

String instrument design was refined during the Renaissance and into the Baroque period (1600–1750) of musical history. See more

Construction
String instruments can be divided into three groups:
Lutes Instruments that support the strings via a neck and a bout (gourd), for instance a guitar, violin, or saz Harps Instruments that contain the … See more