All Topics  
Tuning peg

 
Tuning Peg

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Tuning peg
 
 
  Topics Tuning peg Topic Home

A tuning peg is used to hold a string
Vibrating string

A vibration in a strings is a wave. Usually a vibrating string produces a sound whose frequency in most cases is constant. Therefore, since frequency characterizes the Pitch_, the sound produced is a constant note....
 in the pegbox
Pegbox

A pegbox is the part of certain String instrument musical instruments that houses the tuning pegs.See alsoHeadstock...
 of a stringed instrument
String instrument

A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones....
. It may be made of ebony
Ebony

Ebony is a general name for very dense black wood. In the strict sense it is yielded by several species in the genus Diospyros, but other heavy, black woods are sometimes also called ebony....
, rosewood
Rosewood

Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining but found in many different hues. All rosewoods are strong and heavy, taking an excellent polish, being suitable for Parquetry, furniture, Woodturning, musical instruments, John Parris, and chess piece ....
, boxwood
Boxwood

Boxwood may refer to:* Boxwood , a genus of about 70 species in the family Buxace?* Boxwood Public School, a school located in Markham, Ontario...
 or other material. Some tuning pegs are ornamented with shell, metal, or plastic inlays, beads (pips) or rings.

Turning the peg tightens or loosens the string, changing the pitch
Pitch (music)

Pitch represents the perceived fundamental frequency of a sound. It is one of the three major auditory system attributes of sounds along with loudness and timbre....
 produced when the string is played and thereby tuning
Tuning

Tuning can refer to:*Musical tuning**Guitar tunings**Piano tuning*Radio tuning: see tuner*Tuning properties of neurons: see neuronal tuning...
 it.

tion pegs are most often used on violin family
Violin family

The Violin family of musical instruments was developed in Italy in the sixteenth century. The modern violin family consists of the violin, viola and cello, along with the double bass....
 instruments (not on the double bass
Double bass

The double bass or contrabass is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow string instrument used in the modern orchestra. It is a standard member of the string section of the orchestra and smaller string musical ensembles in European classical music....
, which typically uses geared tuning machines.) They are also used on older instruments, such as the Bulgarian gadulka
Gadulka

The Gadulka is a traditional Bulgaria bowed string instrument. Alternate spellings are "gudulka" and "g'dulka". It is a descendant of the Hudok or Gudok....
 and the hurdy gurdy
Hurdy gurdy

The hurdy gurdy is a stringed musical instrument in which the strings are sounded by means of a rosined wheel which the strings of the instrument pass over....
, as well as on flamenco guitar
Flamenco guitar

A flamenco guitar is a type of classical guitar, built for the purpose of playing Flamenco music.Flamenco guitar can also refer to toque, the guitar-playing part of the art of Flamenco....
s.

A properly working peg will turn easily and hold reliably, that is, it will neither stick nor slip.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Tuning peg'
Start a new discussion about 'Tuning peg'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Recent Posts

I took my cello to a local music store and had geared tuning pegs, Perfection Pegs, installed. It s...








Encyclopedia


A tuning peg is used to hold a string
Vibrating string

A vibration in a strings is a wave. Usually a vibrating string produces a sound whose frequency in most cases is constant. Therefore, since frequency characterizes the Pitch_, the sound produced is a constant note....
 in the pegbox
Pegbox

A pegbox is the part of certain String instrument musical instruments that houses the tuning pegs.See alsoHeadstock...
 of a stringed instrument
String instrument

A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones....
. It may be made of ebony
Ebony

Ebony is a general name for very dense black wood. In the strict sense it is yielded by several species in the genus Diospyros, but other heavy, black woods are sometimes also called ebony....
, rosewood
Rosewood

Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining but found in many different hues. All rosewoods are strong and heavy, taking an excellent polish, being suitable for Parquetry, furniture, Woodturning, musical instruments, John Parris, and chess piece ....
, boxwood
Boxwood

Boxwood may refer to:* Boxwood , a genus of about 70 species in the family Buxace?* Boxwood Public School, a school located in Markham, Ontario...
 or other material. Some tuning pegs are ornamented with shell, metal, or plastic inlays, beads (pips) or rings.

Turning the peg tightens or loosens the string, changing the pitch
Pitch (music)

Pitch represents the perceived fundamental frequency of a sound. It is one of the three major auditory system attributes of sounds along with loudness and timbre....
 produced when the string is played and thereby tuning
Tuning

Tuning can refer to:*Musical tuning**Guitar tunings**Piano tuning*Radio tuning: see tuner*Tuning properties of neurons: see neuronal tuning...
 it.

Friction pegs

Friction pegs are most often used on violin family
Violin family

The Violin family of musical instruments was developed in Italy in the sixteenth century. The modern violin family consists of the violin, viola and cello, along with the double bass....
 instruments (not on the double bass
Double bass

The double bass or contrabass is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow string instrument used in the modern orchestra. It is a standard member of the string section of the orchestra and smaller string musical ensembles in European classical music....
, which typically uses geared tuning machines.) They are also used on older instruments, such as the Bulgarian gadulka
Gadulka

The Gadulka is a traditional Bulgaria bowed string instrument. Alternate spellings are "gudulka" and "g'dulka". It is a descendant of the Hudok or Gudok....
 and the hurdy gurdy
Hurdy gurdy

The hurdy gurdy is a stringed musical instrument in which the strings are sounded by means of a rosined wheel which the strings of the instrument pass over....
, as well as on flamenco guitar
Flamenco guitar

A flamenco guitar is a type of classical guitar, built for the purpose of playing Flamenco music.Flamenco guitar can also refer to toque, the guitar-playing part of the art of Flamenco....
s.

A properly working peg will turn easily and hold reliably, that is, it will neither stick nor slip. Modern pegs for violin
Violin

The violin is a Bow string instrument with four strings usually tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola and cello....
 and viola
Viola

The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.The casual observer may mistake the viola for the violin because of their similarity in size, closeness in pitch range , and nearly identical playing position....
 have conical shafts, turned to a 1:30 taper, changing in diameter by 1 mm over a distance of 30 mm. (Modern cello
Cello

The violoncello is a bowed string instrument. A person who plays a cello is called a cellist. The cello is used as a solo instrument, in chamber music, and as a member of the string section of an orchestra....
 pegs have a slightly more aggressive 1:25 taper. 19th century and earlier pegs, for use with gut strings, typically had an even steeper taper of 1:20.)

The taper allows the peg to turn more easily when pulled out slightly, and to hold firmly when pushed in while being turned. Since the typical wear pattern on a peg shaft interferes with this action, pegs occasionally require refitting, a specialized job which amounts to reshaping both pegs and holes to a smooth circular conical taper.

Geared pegs

Pegs for acoustic bass
Acoustic bass

The term acoustic bass could refer either to;*Double bass - an upright contrabass violin*Acoustic bass guitar - the acoustic version of the bass guitar...
 and guitar
Guitar

The guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six Strings , but Tenor guitar, Seven-string guitar, Eight-string guitar, Ten-string guitar, Eleven-string guitar, Twelve-string guitar, Thirteen-string guitar and doubleneck guitar string guitars also exist....
 family instruments are usually geared, and are called tuning machines or machine head
Machine head

A Machine Head, also called a tuner, gear head, or tuning machine, is part of a string instrument ranging from guitars to double basses, a geared apparatus for tensioning and thereby tuning a string, usually located at the headstock....
s. Geared pegs for violin family
Violin family

The Violin family of musical instruments was developed in Italy in the sixteenth century. The modern violin family consists of the violin, viola and cello, along with the double bass....
 instruments also exist, although they have not gained wide use. The most recently marketed pegs of this sort use planetary gears designed to fit inside a case shaped like a friction peg.

See also

  • Peg dope
    Peg dope

    "Peg dope" is a substance used to coat the bearing surfaces of the tuning pegs of string instruments . Manufactured varieties are generally sold in either a small stick , a block , or as a liquid in a bottle....
  • Machine head
    Machine head

    A Machine Head, also called a tuner, gear head, or tuning machine, is part of a string instrument ranging from guitars to double basses, a geared apparatus for tensioning and thereby tuning a string, usually located at the headstock....


External links