General term for musical instruments that produce their sound by setting up vibrations in a stretched string. Chordophones form one of the original four classes of instruments (along with idiophones, membranophones and aerophones) in the hierarchical classification devised by E.M. von Hornbostel and C. Sachs and published by them in Zeitschrift für Ethnologie in 1914 (Eng. trans. in GSJ, xiv, 1961, pp.3–29, repr. in Ethnomusicology: an Introduction, ed. H. Myers, London, 1992, pp.444–61). Their system, which draws on that devised by Victor-Charles Mahillon for the Royal Conservatory in Brussels and is widely used today, divides instruments into groups which employ air, strings, membranes or sonorous materials to produce sounds. Various scholars, including Galpin (Textbook of European Instruments, London, 1937) and Sachs (History of Musical Instruments, New York, 1940), have suggested adding electrophones to the system, but it has not yet been formally extended.
Chordophones are subdivided into zither-like instruments including the piano and harpsichord, classified as ‘simple chordophones’, and ‘composite chordophones’ where the structure includes a neck, yoke or other component which acts as a string holder. The plucked drums, which were classified with the membranophones by Hornbostel and Sachs, have since been identified as variable tension chordophones but the classified list has not yet been updated. Each category is further subdivided according to the more detailed characteristics of an instrument. A numeric code, similar to the class marks of the Dewey decimal library classification system, indicates the structure and physical function of the instrument. The Hornbostel-Sachs classification (from the GSJ translation, with minor alterations) follows as an appendix to this article.
For further information on the classification of instruments in general, see Instruments, classification of. See also Variable tension chordophone.
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3 Chordophones: one or more strings are stretched between fixed points |
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31 Simple chordophones or zithers: the instrument consists solely of a string bearer, or of a string bearer with a resonator which is not integral and can be detached without destroying the sound-producing apparatus |
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311 Bar zithers: the string bearer is bar-shaped; it may be a board placed edgewise |
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311.1 Musical bows: the string bearer is flexible (and curved) |
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311.11 Idiochord musical bows: the string is cut from the bark of the cane, remaining attached at each end |
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311.111 Mono-idiochord musical bows: the bow has one idiochord string only – found in New Guinea (Sepik River), Togo |
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311.112 Poly-idiochord musical bows or harp-bows: the bow has several idiochord strings which pass over a toothed stick or bridge – found in West Africa, among the Fang |
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311.12 Heterochord musical bows: the string is of separate material from the bearer |
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311.121 Mono-heterochord musical bows: the bow has one heterochord string only |
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311.121.1 Without resonator: NB if a separate, unattached resonator is used, the specimen belongs to 311.121.21; the human mouth is not to be taken into account as a resonator |
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311.121.11 Without tuning noose: found in Africa (ganza) |
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311.121.12 With tuning noose: a fibre noose is passed round the string, dividing it into two sections – found in south-equatorial Africa |
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311.121.2 With resonator |
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311.121.21 With independent resonator: found in Borneo |
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311.121.22 With resonator attached |
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311.121.221 Without tuning noose: found in southern Africa (hade, thomo) |
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311.121.222 With tuning noose – found in southern Africa, Madagascar (gubo, hungo) |
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311.122 Poly-heterochord musical bows: the bow has several heterochord strings |
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311.122.1 Without tuning noose: found in Oceania (kalove) |
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311.122.2 With tuning noose: found in Oceania (pagolo) |
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311.2 Stick zithers: the string carrier is rigid |
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311.21 Musical bow cum stick: the string bearer has one flexible, curved end (NB stick zithers with both ends flexible and curved, like the Basuto bow, are counted as musical bows) – found in India |
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311.22 (True) stick zithers: NB round sticks which happen to be hollow by chance do not belong on this account to the tube zithers but are round-bar zithers; however, instruments in which a tubular cavity is employed as a true resonator are tube zithers |
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311.221 With one resonator gourd: found in India (tuila), Celebes [now Sulawesi] |
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311.222 With several resonator gourds: found in India (vīnī) |
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312 Tube zithers: the string bearer is a vaulted surface |
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312.1 Whole-tube zithers: the string carrier is a complete tube |
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312.11 Idiochord (true) tube zithers: found in Africa and Indonesia (valiha) |
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312.12 Heterochord (true) tube zithers |
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312.121 Without extra resonator: found in South-east Asia (čhakhē) |
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312.122 With extra resonator: an internode length of bamboo is placed inside a palm leaf tied in the shape of a bowl – found in Timor |
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312.2 Half-tube zithers: the strings are stretched along the convex surface of a gutter |
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312.21 Idiochord half-tube zithers: found in Flores |
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312.22 Heterochord half-tube zithers: found in East Asia (qin, koto) |
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313 Raft zithers: the string bearer is composed of canes tied together in the manner of a raft |
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313.1 Idiochord raft zithers: found in India, Upper Guinea, central Congo |
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313.2 Heterochord raft zithers: found in the north Nyasa region |
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314 Board zithers: the string bearer is a board; the ground too is to be counted as such |
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314.1 True board zithers: the plane of the strings is parallel with that of the string bearer |
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314.11 Without resonator: found in Borneo |
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314.12 With resonator |
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314.121 With resonator bowl: the resonator is a fruit shell or similar object, or an artificially carved equivalent – found in the Nyasa region |
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314.122 With resonator box (box zither): the resonator is made from slats (zither, Hackbrett, piano) |
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314.2 Board zither variations: the plane of the strings is at right angles to the string bearer |
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314.21 Ground zithers: the ground is the string bearer; there is only one string – found in Malacca [now West Malaysia], Madagascar |
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314.22 Harp zithers: a board serves as string bearer; there are several strings and a notched bridge – found in Borneo |
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315 Trough zithers: the strings are stretched across the mouth of a trough – found in Tanganyika [now part of Tanzania] |
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315.1 Without resonator |
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315.2 With resonator: the trough has a gourd or a similar object attached to it |
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316 Frame zithers: the strings are stretched across an open frame |
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316.1 Without resonator (perhaps among medieval psalteries) |
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316.2 With resonator: found in West Africa (kani) |
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32 Composite chordophones: a string bearer and a resonator are organically united and cannot be separated without destroying the instrument |
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321 Lutes: the plane of the string runs parallel with the soundtable |
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321.1 Bow lutes or pluriarcs: each string has its own flexible carrier – found in Africa (nsambi) |
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321.2 Yoke lutes or lyres: the strings are attached to a yoke which lies in the same plane as the soundtable and consists of two arms and a crossbar |
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321.21 Bowl lyres: a natural or carved-out bowl serves as the resonator (East African lyre) |
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321.22 Box lyres: a built-up wooden box serves as the resonator (kithara, crwth) |
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321.3 Handle lutes: the string bearer is a plain handle; subsidiary necks are disregarded, as are also lutes with strings distributed over several necks, like the harpo-lyre, and those like the lyre-guitars, in which the yoke is merely ornamental |
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321.31 Spike lutes: the handle passes diametrically through the resonator |
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321.311 Spike bowl lutes: the resonator consists of a natural or carved-out bowl – found in Persia [now Iran], India, Indonesia |
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321.312 Spike box lutes or spike guitars: the resonator is built up from wood – found in Egypt (rabāb) |
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321.313 Spike tube lutes: the handle passes diametrically through the walls of a tube – found in China, Indochina [now Vietnam] |
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321.32 Necked lutes: the handle is attached to or carved from the resonator, like a neck |
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321.321 Necked bowl lutes (mandolin, theorbo, balalaika) |
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321.322 Necked box lutes or necked guitars (violin, viol, guitar): NB a lute whose body is built up in the shape of a bowl is classified as a bowl lute |
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321.33 Tanged lutes: the handle ends within the body resonator |
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322 Harps: the plane of the strings lies at right angles to the soundtable; a line joining the lower ends of the strings would point towards the neck |
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322.1 Open harps: the harp has no pillar |
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322.11 Arched harps: the neck curves away from the resonator – found in Myanmar and Africa |
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322.12 Angular harps: the neck makes a sharp angle with the resonator – found in Assyria, ancient Egypt, ancient Korea |
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322.2 Frame harps: the harp has a pillar |
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322.21 Without tuning action (all medieval harps) |
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322.211 Diatonic frame harps |
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322.212 Chromatic frame harps |
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322.212.1 With the strings in one plane (most early chromatic harps) |
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322.212.2 With the strings in two planes crossing one another (the Lyon chromatic harp) |
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322.22 With tuning action: the strings can be shortened by mechanical action |
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322.221 With manual action: the tuning can be altered by hand levers (hook harp, dital harp, harpinella) |
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322.222 With pedal action: the tuning can be altered by pedals |
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323 Harp-lutes [bridge-harps]: the plane of the strings lies at right angles to the soundtable; a line joining the lower ends of the strings would be perpendicular to the neck; notched bridge – found in West Africa (kora) |
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[Variable tension chordophones: formerly defined as plucked drums. For classification see Membranophone] |
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Suffixes for use with any division of this class: |
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4 sounded by hammers or beaters |
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5 sounded with bare fingers |
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6 sounded by plectrum |
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7 sounded by bowing |
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71 with a bow |
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72 by a wheel |
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73 by a ribbon [Band] |
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8 with keyboard |
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9 with mechanical drive |
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Appendix reprinted from Hornbostel and Sachs, 1914 (by permission of Limbach Verlag, Berlin); Eng. trans., 1961/R |
HOWARD MAYER BROWN/FRANCES PALMER