A stringed instrument is any musical instrument that makes sound by vibrating strings. When you pluck, bow, or strike the strings, they vibrate back and forth rapidly, creating sound waves that we hear as musical notes.

The guitar, violin, cello, harp, and piano all count as stringed instruments, even though they look and sound very different from each other. A guitarist plucks or strums the strings with fingers or a pick. A violinist draws a bow across the strings. A pianist presses keys that make tiny hammers strike strings inside the instrument. Despite these different methods, they all rely on vibrating strings to make music.

Stringed instruments have been part of human culture for thousands of years. Ancient lyres and harps appear in Egyptian art from 5,000 years ago. The violin family developed in Italy during the 1500s and 1600s. Each culture around the world developed its own stringed instruments: the Japanese koto, the Indian sitar, the Spanish guitar, and countless others.

The thickness, length, and tightness of each string determine its pitch. Thicker, longer, or looser strings produce lower notes, while thinner, shorter, or tighter strings create higher notes. When you see a guitarist turning the pegs at the top of the instrument, they're adjusting the tension to tune each string to exactly the right pitch.