How the vielle makes its sound
In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the vielle 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.
Press play above and watch the spectrum: the evenly spaced peaks are harmonics, and their relative strength is what gives the instrument its character.
From Wikipedia
The vielle is a European bowed string instrument used in the medieval period. It is similar to the modern violin but with a somewhat longer and deeper body, 3-to-5 gut strings, and a leaf-shaped pegbox with frontal tuning pegs, sometimes with a figure eight–shaped body. Whatever external form they had, the box-soundchest consisted of back and belly joined by ribs, which experience has shown to be the construction for bowed instruments. The most common shape given to the earliest vielles in France was an oval, which with its modifications remained in favour until the Italian lira da braccio asserted itself as the better type, leading to the violin.
Other lutes
Frequently asked questions
What does a vielle 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 vielle?
It is classified as lutes (Hornbostel–Sachs 321.322-71).
Sources & credits
- Wikidata Q843679 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Vielle – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Image – Public domain