individuality to the instrument.  In these two instruments we have vibrating air columns instead of vibrating strings, but the laws which govern vibrating strings are applicable to vibrating columns of air, as we shall see later.  It is really the presence or absence of overtones which enables us to distinguish the note of the piano from that of the violin, flute, or clarinet.  If overtones could be eliminated, then middle C, or any other note on the piano, would be indistinguishable from that same note sounded on any other instrument.  The fundamental note in every instrument is the same, but the overtones vary with the instrument and lend individuality to each.  The presence of high overtones in the oboe and the presence of odd-numbered overtones in the clarinet enable us to distinguish without fail the sounds given out by these instruments.

The richness and individuality of an instrument are due, not only to the overtones which accompany the fundamental, but also to the “forced” vibrations of the inclosing case, or of the sounding board.  If a vibrating tuning fork is held in the hand, the sound will be inaudible except to those quite near; if, however, the base of the fork is held against the table, the sound is greatly intensified and becomes plainly audible throughout the room.

The vibrations of the fork are transmitted to the table top and throw it into vibrations similar to its own, and these additional vibrations intensify the original sound.  Any fork, no matter what its frequency, can force the surface of the table into vibration, and hence the sound of any fork will be intensified by contact with a table or box.

This is equally true of strings; if stretched between two posts and bowed, the sound given out by a string is feeble, but if stretched over a sounding board, as in the piano, or over a wooden shell, as in the violin, the sound is intensified.  Any note of the instrument will force the sounding body to vibrate, thus reenforcing the volume of sound, but some tones, or modes of vibration, do this more easily than others, and while the sounding board or shell always responds, it responds in varying degree.  Here again we have not only enrichment of sound but also individuality of instruments.

271.  The Kinds of Stringed Instruments.  Stringed instruments may be grouped in the following three classes:—­

a.  Instruments in which the strings are set into motion by hammers—­piano.

b.  Instruments in which the strings are set into motion by bowing—­violin, viola, violoncello, double bass.

c.  Instruments in which the strings are set into motion by plucking—­harp, guitar, mandolin.

[Illustration:  FIG. 186.—­1, violin; 2, viola; 3, violoncello; 4, double bass.]