1.

Guitar
The guitar is the most common string instrument, and someone who is dexterous with his hands can easily learn to play it. Musicians can play guitars by continuously strumming or plucking the strings and emitting a strong, harmonious sound. The guitar is said to date back to 1900 to 1800 B.C. in Babylon. There are two major types of guitars: acoustic and electric. The acoustic guitar has a hollow core and usually has a rounded hole on its surface. This guitar often works with six strings and is known for being used in many folk and country songs, although it is of course not limited to these. The sound it produces is louder than other kinds of guitars and is good for strumming chords. The electric guitar, on the other hand, is not really hollow and consequently produces a much quieter sound than the acoustic guitar. This guitar has more knobs and buttons as well and needs to be attached to an amplifier to maximize its sound. Aside from these physical differences, electric guitars also have a different purpose from acoustic guitars in that they are often used for guitar leads as well as chords.

2. Violin
o

The violin is said to originate from two other string instruments: the fiddle and the rebec. These instruments were widely used in the Medieval era and have since become the parents of the modern violin. Another inspiration for the violin must also have been the viola, which is its close relative. The first violins produced have a different look from the violin of today; that is, those violins had a shorter and less angular neck. Just like the guitar, the violin has two types. The first type is the acoustic or non-electric violin. This is the most common form of violin and has the smallest size, which is suitable for beginners. The second type is the electric violin, which uses an electronic signal and is more suitable for violin players with more experience. It is more difficult to handle and has a sharper sound than the acoustic violin.

Cello
o

The cello, or violoncello, is the third most common string instrument. It is also the biggest among the string instruments and is played by holding the base (which is supported by a metal spike) between the player's legs and rubbing the bow across the strings, which then produce its unique sound. Before buying a cello, you must remember that it comes in different sizes, all based on the age, height, and body length of the player. The smallest size is 1/8 (and is the one most suitable for children under 4 feet tall), and the biggest size is 4/4, which is suitable for adults 15 years old and above. To test the fit of the cello, the top must touch the center of the player's chest when set at a 45-degree angle on the floor.

Saraswathi Veena The Saraswati veena (also spelled Saraswati vina) is an Indian plucked string instrument. It is named after the Hindu goddess Saraswati, who is usually depicted holding or playing the instrument. Also known as raghunatha veena (veena also spelled 'vina', Tamil: , Sanskrit: (v), Kannada: , Malayalam: , Telugu: ) is used mostly in Carnatic Indian classical music. There are several variations of the veena, which in its South Indian form is a member of the lute family. One who plays the veena is referred to as a vainika. It is one of other major types of veena popular today. The others include chitra veena, vichitra veena and rudra veena. Out of these the rudra and vichitra veenas are used in Hindustani music, while the Saraswati veena and the chitra veena are used in the Carnatic music of South India. Some people play traditional music, others play contemporary music. The veena has a recorded history that dates back to the Vedic period (approximately 1500 BCE) In ancient times, the tone vibrating from the hunter's bow string when he shot an arrow was known as the Vil Yazh. The Jya ghosha (musical sound of the bow string) is referred to in the ancient Atharvaveda. Eventually, the archer's bow paved the way for the musical bow. Twisted bark, strands of grass and grass root, vegetable fibre and animal gut were used to create the first strings. Over the veena's evolution and modifications, more particular names were used to help distinguish the instruments that followed. The word veena in India was a term originally used to generally denote "stringed instrument", and included many variations that would be either plucked, bowed or struck for sound.[1][2]

The veena instruments developed much like a tree, branching out into instruments as diverse as the exotic harp-like Akasa (a veena that was tied up in the tops of trees for the strings to vibrate from the currents of wind) and the Audumbari veena (played as an accompaniment by the wives of Vedic priests as they chanted during ceremonial Yajnas). Veenas ranged from one string to one hundred, and were composed of many different materials like eagle bone, bamboo, wood and coconut shells. The yazh was an ancient harp-like instrument that was also considered a veena. But with the developments of the fretted veena instruments, the yazh quickly faded away, as the fretted veena allowed for easy performance of ragas and the myriad subtle nuances and pitch oscillations in the gamakas prevalent in the Indian musical system.[2] As is seen in many Hindu temple sculptures and paintings, the early veenas were played vertically. It was not until the great Indian Carnatic music composer and Saraswati veena player Muthuswami Dikshitar that it began to be popularized as played horizontally. "The current form of the Saraswati veena with 24 fixed frets evolved in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, during the reign of Raghunath Nayak and it is for this reason sometimes called the Tanjore veena, or the Raghunatha veena. Prior to his time, the number of frets on the veena were less and also movable." - Padmabhooshan Prof. P. Sambamurthy, musicologist.[3] The Saraswati veena developed from Kinnari Veena. Made in several regions in South India, those made by makers from Thanjavur in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu are to date considered the most sophisticated. Sangeeta Ratnakara calls it Ekatantri Veena and gives the method for its construction.

A portrait of Veenai Dhanammal, legendary Veena player of Tamil Nadu While the Saraswati veena is considered in the lute genealogy, other North Indian veenas such as the Rudra veena and Vichitra veena are technically zithers. Descendants of Tansen reserved Rudra Veena for family and out of reverence began calling it the Saraswati Veena.

Tambura

A Tambura is a classical four (or five) stringed drone instrument, which is a very important part of every Indian concert. It is plucked throughout the concert and serves as the reference point (basic pitch) for performers so as to enable them to render all the other notes in their proper relative positions. In recent times, various types of electronic Tamburas and digital discs are being used for convenience. Construction: A Tambura is made of wood (mostly jack wood). It has a long unfretted neck with bone / ivory inlays. The neck has a bowl shaped resonator at the lower end that vibrates and amplifies the sound. At the upper end of the neck are tuning pegs. The Tambura has four strings that run from the bottom of the bowl to the tuning pegs over a broad ivory bridge mounted on the resonator. Fine-tuning is done with the help of beads between the lower end and the bridge. Besides, fine silk threads called "jeeva" are used between the bridge and the strings. When positioned perfectly, these threads cause the strings to "buzz" and enhance the tonal quality. This is one of the unique features of the Tambura. Tuning: Of the 4 strings that the Tambura usually has, the middle strings are tuned to the tonic note, Sa. The first string is tuned to the fifth perfect, Pa and the last, which is the bass string, to the tonic, Sa, an octave lower. When Madhyama Sruti compositions are sung, the playing of the first string is either completely stopped or it is tuned to the Suddha Madhyama .

Posture: The Tambura is normally held vertically on the right lap of the performer (usually not the main artiste), with the resonator being supported by the left hand. The strings are plucked in succession with the right hand, starting with the first string (usually plucked with the middle finger) and ending with the bass string, the last three being plucked with the index finger. The Tambura artiste usually sits behind the main artiste and plays the instrument throughout the concert, starting just before the concert starts and ending it after the concert ends. It can be tuned to any pitch, depending on that of the main artiste's.