String instruments are musical instruments that produce sound when the strings are excited, either through bowing, plucking or hitting the string. String instruments have a long history spanning back to the Egyptian and Greek civilisations and before. It is generally accepted that bowed string instruments, such as the violin, were invented in the Middle East, and spread east and west along the trade routes – to Europe and to Asia.

Use the navigation on the left to find out more about various types of Bowed string instruments, Plucked string instruments and Keyboard instruments.