How the guitalin makes its sound
In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the guitalin belongs to the lutes: strings run parallel to a soundboard and along a neck – the family of the guitar, violin, sitar and oud.
More broadly it is one of the chordophones (string instruments), where sound comes from vibrating strings, amplified by a resonating body.
Its timbre – the colour that lets you tell it apart from other instruments playing the same note – comes from the mix of overtones its body and resonator emphasise.
From Wikipedia
A guitalin is a Northern American folk instrument that is a part of the lute family, having four courses of strings. Its fourth course is tuned to an octave while the remaining courses are tuned in unisons. The instrument can be either finger picked or plucked with a plectrum. It was invented in October 1962 by Lyle Mayfield of Greenville, Illinois. The guitalin is a non-traditional, hybrid folk instrument, as it incorporates features of multiple traditional folk instruments into one.
While the original tuning consisted of a G chord in root position, the standard tuning of the guitalin which was adopted is a C chord in second inversion. Another common tuning is a second inversion G chord.
Other lutes
Frequently asked questions
What does a guitalin sound like?
As one of the lutes, its sound comes from the way strings run parallel to a soundboard and along a neck.
What type of instrument is the guitalin?
It is classified as lutes (Hornbostel–Sachs 321.321-6).
Sources & credits
- Wikidata Q17091232 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Guitalin – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Image by SmithPiano1099 – CC BY-SA 3.0