ABSTRACT
The musical possibilities of stringed instruments must have been realized from the day when the rst caveman twanged the string on the rst bow and arrow. From the earliest recorded times these strings have been cut in long thin strips from the intestines of slaughtered animals, hence the label ‘gut’. They were very exible, remarkably strong and relatively easy to make uniform; and when stretched near to breaking between two supports on top of a sound-board they could be made to vibrate at an accurately controlled frequency. In time it was found that many metals could be drawn out into wires which were even stronger and more uniform and which could be used for the same purpose.
