#bowed string instrument

[songs-of-the-east]

Herzegovinian Serb Gusle artist: Maksim Vojvodić

[mother-ofthe-universedraws]

Hey what if I just…

Something something Angy Theatre Kid x Mad Scientist.

Anyways, Happy Halloween! My favorite holiday deserves my favorite ships

[inky-goddess]

forbidden honey

[whateverussy]

i want to eat sand about the fucking motifs and instrumentation in epic FUCK

[doctorwhoisadhd]

also ruby you are full of SHIT "i can't breathe" YOU'RE IN A DOUBLE BASS. THE ENTIRE INSTRUMENT IS HOLLOW. YOU CAN STICK YOUR FINGERS THROUGH THE F HOLES. THOSE THINGS ARE NOT AIR TIGHT.

[chevvy-ryder]

Me sitting here, editing pics in middle of the night. I listen to random music suggestions.

and what came to my mind is

If Thyjs was an instrument he surely would be a cello. Yet his favorite instrument, he likes to play, is a piano.

But I see him as a cello.

[kangaracha]

what's a really unfortunate discovery in my life in the last two years is that my boss told me i was racing against my beeper counting seconds last year and confiscated it (secret skill unlocked: can count to fifteen seconds in your head with extreme accuracy) and i'm like he cannot be for real with this, how do you Race Time. and then i play guitar against a metronome and You'll Never Fucking Guess What My Fatal Flaw Is

[gender-trash]

while im talking bad fanfic lubes: rosin is only used with bowed string instruments, not plucked ones! it goes on the bow hairs to make them grip the strings better! most importantly, it comes in a SOLID CAKE and is STICKY. it's literally the opposite of lube. and jaskier thewitcher wouldn't be carrying it around anyway, because he plays THE LUTE

[imjustajustin]

"thinking it would help"

it WILL help. going from a cello to a guitar by simply giving a bow is genius

So I decided to draw meme about guitar- They brought a double bass bow thinking it would help-

(I play double bass and violin so I respect music 😭

[miaprime]

string players I need your help. i want to play my violin but the screw on my bow has come all the way loose and I can’t get it back in. the frog is still attached and there’s still a bit of tension in the hair I just can’t get the screw in all the way

[aeolianblues]

Two Ontarians came together and created the awesomest new musical instrument??

One guy is a musician from Ottawa and has been toying with the design of a new instrument for 30 years, then he met a clockmaker and woodworker from Guelph who was eager to make this instrument a reality.

And it's absolutely beautiful. It's cylindrical and played with a bow, 10 equally spaced strings that you bow in different spots to change tensions and make a sound.

And the genius of it musically, is that it's cyclical so as you keep rotating the cylinder, you come back round to the first notes you struck (if you keep your bow still), and so you get these rhythmic, periodic repeating patterns that sound really ethereal, calming and hypnotic.

Apparently it made some listeners cry, and I was surprised before hearing it. Skilled playing can make people cry, sure. Melodies, harmonies, all that stuff, definitely. The open instrument itself? If you just eyeballed bowing a cello you'd drive people far away, I'd reckon. I certainly would.

But I saw a clip of it in action, I can definitely see it now.

They called the instrument Fron2. A new Canadian musical instrument!

[lutekeeper]

"Cello" is actually short for "violoncello", the full name for the instrument. It roughly translates to "little big viola." The cello evolved from the bass violin, which was one of several instruments called a violone. And "violone" means - you guessed it - "big viola."

I don't expect this to change your mind, but it's a delightful piece of trivia!

a viola is just the love child of a violin and cello

CHANGE MY FUCKING MIND

[ari-ana-bel-la]

Hello, so Alex is my favourite driver and I would like to request something for him.

Imagine him and Lily teaching their daughter traditions from their home countries ( Thailand and China). And reader being very proud of her families tradition.

Thank you so much in advance. I'm always so happy when you update.

Learning your culture

The house was glowing. Red paper lanterns swung gently from every ceiling corner, golden dragons curled along the stair railings, and the scent of dumplings, sticky rice, and tangy green papaya salad filled the air like a warm blanket of celebration.

Four-year-old Yn zipped through the living room in a blur of red and gold silk. Her cheongsam, covered in tiny embroidered flowers, glimmered with every move she made. Her little pigtails were tied with red ribbons, and her hands clutched a small dragon puppet that she’d made with her mama the night before. Her cheeks were flushed from excitement, her voice singing out through the house.

“Xīnnián kuàilè! Happy New Year!” she called, running up to her grandma from Lily’s side of the family, who had just walked in with her arms full of red envelopes and fruit.

Lily beamed with pride, hurrying behind her daughter. “Look at you, little firecracker,” she said, leaning down to adjust Yn’s collar. “You remembered the phrase perfectly!”

Grandma clapped her hands. “Wǒ de tiān a, she’s amazing! She even got the tones right!”

Yn giggled, basking in the praise. “I can say more! Gōngxǐ fācái! That means… um… wish you get lots of money!”

Everyone laughed, and Lily ruffled her daughter’s hair. “Close enough, baby. It means, ‘wishing you great fortune,’ but yes—money is part of that!”

A second later, the front door burst open again. Alex stood there grinning, carrying his mother’s homemade Thai desserts in both arms while his dad and younger sister followed behind.

“We brought khanom chan and thong yip!” Alex announced, stepping into the vibrant chaos. “And a very excited Thai grandmother!”

His mother walked in, hands already opening to hug Yn. “Sawadee pi mai, lūk sǎo! Happy new year, sweetheart!”

Yn immediately threw her arms around her Thai grandma. “Sawadee kha, Yáy!” she said proudly, remembering to bow slightly in the Thai wai greeting.

Alex grinned. “She’s switching between Mandarin and Thai like it’s nothing.”

“She’s four,” Lily said with awe. “How is she this good already?”

“She’s got the best teachers,” Alex replied, giving his wife a quick kiss.

The living room became a whirlwind of greetings and hugs as both sides of the family began arriving. Lily’s parents helped hang the final couplets on the doors while Alex’s younger sister taught Yn a Thai song she used to sing every New Year as a kid. The room swelled with the blended rhythm of cultures—Chinese drums and Thai string instruments, Mandarin chitchat and Thai blessings, dumpling folding and sticky rice rolling.

Later in the afternoon, it was time for the red envelopes—hóngbāo in Chinese and ang pao in Thai. The families gathered in a circle in the living room, children sitting eagerly in the center.

Alex and Lily sat beside Yn, who wriggled with excitement. She had helped decorate each envelope the night before, drawing tiny dragons and golden tigers in crayon.

“Okay, sweetheart,” Lily said gently, passing her the first envelope. “Now you bow and say—?”

“Xièxiè nǎinai, gōngxǐ fācái!” Yn chirped, bowing deeply to Lily’s mother and receiving the envelope with both hands.

Lily’s mother was glowing. “This girl is better than all the kids in our village!”

“Next one!” Alex whispered. “Thai side now.”

Yn turned to his mother and pressed her palms together in a perfect wai. “Khob khun kha, Yáy. S̄wạs̄dī pī h̄ım̀!”

“Ohhhh!” Alex’s mom gasped. “She said it perfectly! S̄ùks̄ʹān wạn pī h̄ım̀! Happy New Year, little star!”

Each aunt, uncle, cousin, and grandparent received the same warm greeting in their own language. Her transitions were fluid, graceful, natural—without hesitation or confusion.

When she turned to Lily’s father, she paused. “Wǒ yào yī ge zhēn zhū!” she whispered with a mischievous grin.

Lily’s dad burst into laughter. “You want a pearl? Little one, you’re already the treasure!”

“She learned that from you!” Lily exclaimed, elbowing her father.

“It’s good ambition!” he defended.

After the envelope ceremony, it was time for food. The dining table was practically groaning under the weight of two cultures colliding in perfect harmony—dumplings with Thai chili dipping sauce, crispy spring rolls beside plates of pad thai, nian gao (sticky rice cake) stacked next to khao niao mamuang (mango sticky rice), and bowls of soup filled with bok choy and Thai basil.

Yn stood on her tiptoes, staring in wonder at the spread. “It’s like a food rainbow,” she said with reverence.

“Pick one thing from Mama’s side, and one from Daddy’s,” Alex suggested.

She picked a dumpling and a spoonful of mango sticky rice.

“Two best worlds,” she said confidently, sitting between her parents as the family all squeezed together.

Dinner was loud and full of laughter. Stories from childhood were shared in a mix of languages, and every now and then, someone would pause just to admire how easily Yn flitted between them. She answered her Chinese auntie’s question about school in Mandarin, then asked Alex’s cousin in Thai if she could have another piece of pineapple.

Alex leaned close to Lily as their daughter chatted confidently beside them. “Did you see that? She just switched mid-sentence and didn’t even notice.”

Lily smiled, her hand sliding into his. “She’s everything we ever hoped for.”

As the night grew deeper, the final tradition came to life. Out in the backyard, everyone gathered with sparklers and red firecrackers. Alex and Lily lit up a small lantern—round, red, and glowing.

“Okay, sweet girl,” Lily said softly, lifting Yn in her arms. “It’s time to make your wish.”

Yn pressed her palms together. Her eyes squinted shut in concentration, then slowly opened as she whispered: “Zhù wǒ de jiārén píng’ān, yǒu ài, yǒu hǎo shíwù.” (May my family have peace, love, and yummy food.)

Alex chuckled. “Did she really just ask for good food in her wish?”

Lily kissed the top of Yn’s head. “She’s got her priorities straight.”

Together, they released the lantern into the night sky. It drifted higher and higher, a tiny red star against the velvet blackness.

Everyone stood in silence, watching.

“She’s going to carry all of this with her,” Alex whispered. “Every dumpling, every bow, every wish.”

“And one day,” Lily added, “she’ll pass it down too.”

Yn looked up, watching the lantern with shining eyes. “It’s going to the moon,” she whispered. “To tell the moon goddess we had the best new year ever.”

And she was right.

Because under that glowing sky, with her entire family around her, speaking her languages, eating her foods, loving her with every word—they really had.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♥︎♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

Authors Note: Hey loves! I hope you enjoyed reading this story. My requests are always open for you. As you might know, I'm neither Chinese or Thai, butI tried my best to write about Chinese and Thai culture and hope I did a good job. If I wrote something wrong, please don't hesitate to message me.

-♡○♡

[the-griffons-saddlebag]

⚔️ 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗺! String Blade
Weapon (rapier), rare ___ This magic blade looks like the bow of a string instrument: the bow’s string is a fine and sharp metal filament. You gain a +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon, which deals slashing damage instead of piercing. If you use the blade as a bow to play a string instrument, this bonus applies to any Charisma (Performance) check you make with it. If you’re proficient with at least one string instrument, you can choose to replace one or more of your attacks with the weapon with a special ranged one, which has a normal range of 20 feet and a long range of 80 feet. To do so, you drag the blade through the air as if you were playing a string instrument (such as a cello or violin). For each attack you make with it in this way, a shimmering blade of sonic power leaps from the weapon and streaks towards the target. You are proficient with this attack, which uses either your Dexterity or Charisma modifier for the attack and damage rolls (your choice). On a hit, a target takes thunder damage equal to 1d8 + the chosen modifier. If you’re a bard, the damage is equal to your Bardic Inspiration die, provided it’s a d8 or higher. ___ ✨ Patrons get huge perks! Access this and hundreds of other item cards, art files, and compendium entries when you support The Griffon's Saddlebag on Patreon for as little as $3 a month!

[sharpjay217]

Xisuma "His Name Is Music Backwards" audibly nerding out over the orchestra in Pearl's ballroom.

Transcript:

Xisuma: "Okay. Oh, wow!"

[Pearl chuckles.]

Xisuma: "Yo."

Pearl: "I do have a slightly altered version for that particular music box, there's another music box that plays Creator, which is my vision for this whole ballroom, but—"

Xisuma (slightly interrupting): "Oh my— I...I love the instruments, right!"

Pearl: "Oh, thank you! They're just literally, like, you know, changed into the Minecraft forms of what they would be."

Xisuma: "Well, we got— we got like horns! We got the horn section. I love the cymbals, crash cymbals."

Pearl: [chuckles] "Thank you!"

Xisuma: "Now the rods, I'm not quite so sure, what would— uh, flutes?"

Pearl: "They're the, yeah, like the flutes or the pipe part of the orchestra."

Xisuma: "And then the bows would probably be like bows, but what's the cube they're holding, then?"

Pearl: "I think like, if I remember, I think that's generally like the string part of the orchestra. The strings—"

Xisuma: "Okay."

Pearl, continuing: "So like, if you've got a violin or something. It's been a while since I made this, and it was suggestions from the community, for like, what each little robot would be."

Xisuma: "Yeah, and then the flint and steel?"

Pearl: "I actually can't remember what the flint and steel is."

Xisuma: [laughs] "Oh, it's so good though, I love this! All their little faces!"

Pearl: "Thank you!"