How the tenor guitar makes its sound
In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the tenor guitar 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.
Players shape its sound through technique and materials; the resonating body filters the raw vibration, boosting some harmonics and damping others.
From Wikipedia
The tenor guitar or four-string guitar is a slightly smaller, four-string relative of the steel-string acoustic guitar or electric guitar. The instrument was initially developed in its acoustic form by Gibson and C.F. Martin so that players of the four-string tenor banjo could double on guitar.
Other lutes
Frequently asked questions
What does a tenor guitar 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 tenor guitar?
It is classified as lutes (Hornbostel–Sachs 321.322-4).
Sources & credits
- Wikidata Q963150 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Tenor guitar – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Image by Wayne Rogers – CC BY-SA 3.0