Thursday 30 July 2015

single word requests - Xylophone-like, piano-like, and violin-like

Instrument sellers sometimes use "tunable" and "un-tunable" (or non-tunable); plus "hand-tunable" to specify that features exist enabling the player to tune it themselves without expert help or tools.




In the context of percussion, tunable is often used (the word is also used in the context of other frequency-based instruments, e.g. radio emitters and lasers). Merriam-webster:




capable of being tuned




For example, drum sellers selling drums that are tunable, in a category that isn't always tunable, will often advertise the fact. Example:




The new NINO® Tunable Hand Drums are a great sounding drum in a kid-friendly form with a natural goat skin head




Plenty of guides to piano tuning warn that neglect or improper use could render the instrument "un-tunable" (example):




Loose tuning pins or brittle strings can make a piano un-tunable.




As for the distinction between instruments that require professional tuning and those that can be tuned by the player, the best I can find is "hand-tunable", as seen here in an advert for a particular type of bodran (traditional Irish drum) that can be tuned by the player (most can't and need special tools and skill to tune). Example:




These beautiful hand-tunable bodhrans require no tools and can be easily fine-tuned without fuss




Another example from a book:




He was also instrumental in helping to develop the first hand-tunable conga




So you could say something like, "Violins and pianos are tunable, unlike xylophones. Violins are particularly hand-tunable".

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