Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

368 results found

stringed instrument

(Encyclopedia)CE5 stringed instrument, any musical instrument whose tone is produced by vibrating strings. Those whose strings are plucked with the finger or a plectrum include the balalaika, banjo, guitar, harp...

balalaika

(Encyclopedia)balalaika băləlīˈkə [key], Russian stringed musical instrument, with a triangular body and a long fretted neck fretted instrument. Usually there are three strings, which are generally plucked wit...

cheng

(Encyclopedia)cheng chĕng, jĕng [key], Chinese stringed instrument similar to the zither. It is also spelled jeng and tseng. ...

baritone

(Encyclopedia)baritone or barytone both: bărˈĭtōn [key], male voice, in a lighter and higher range than a bass but lower than a tenor. The term also designates a bass stringed instrument, fretted, with six or s...

negotiable instrument

(Encyclopedia)negotiable instrument, bill of exchange, check, promissory note, or other written contract for payment that may serve as a substitute for money. It is simple in form and easy to transfer. Transfer of ...

percussion instrument

(Encyclopedia)percussion instrument, any instrument that produces musical sound when its surface is struck with an implement (such as a mallet, stick, or disk) or with the hand. Perhaps the most universally familia...

wind instrument

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Wind instruments wind instrument, in music, any instrument whose tone is produced by a vibrating column of air. In the pipe organ the column of air is set into vibration by mechanical means. O...

transit instrument

(Encyclopedia)transit instrument or transit, telescope devised to observe stars as they cross the meridian and used for determining time. Its viewing tube swings on a rigid horizontal axis restricting its movements...

transposing instrument

(Encyclopedia)transposing instrument, a musical instrument whose part in a score is written at a different pitch than that actually sounded. Such an instrument is usually referred to by the keynote of its natural s...

Browse by Subject