Editing String instrument (section)

==== Other methods ====
The [[aeolian harp]] employs a very unusual method of sound production: the strings are excited by the movement of the air.

Some instruments that have strings have an attached [[musical keyboard|keyboard]] that the player presses keys on to trigger a mechanism that sounds the strings, instead of directly manipulating the strings. These include the [[piano]], the [[clavichord]], and the harpsichord. With these [[keyboard instrument]]s, strings are occasionally plucked or bowed by hand. Modern [[composer]]s such as [[Henry Cowell]] wrote music that requires that the player reach inside the piano and pluck the strings directly, "bow" them with bow hair wrapped around the strings, or play them by rolling the bell of a [[brass instrument]] such as a [[trombone]] on the array of strings. However, these are relatively rarely used special techniques.

Other keyed string instruments, small enough for a strolling musician to play, include the plucked [[autoharp]], the bowed [[nyckelharpa]], and the hurdy-gurdy, which is played by cranking a rosined wheel.

Steel-stringed instruments (such as the guitar, bass, violin, etc.) can be played using a magnetic field. An [[E-Bow]] is a small hand-held battery-powered device that magnetically excites the strings of an electric string instrument to provide a sustained, singing tone reminiscent of a held bowed violin note.

[[3rd bridge|Third bridge]] is a plucking method where the player ''frets'' a string and strikes the side opposite the bridge. The technique is mainly used on electric instruments because these have a pickup that amplifies only the local string vibration. It is possible on acoustic instruments as well, but less effective. For instance, a player might press on the seventh [[fret]] on a guitar and pluck it at the head side to make a tone resonate at the opposing side. On electric instruments, this technique generates multitone sounds reminiscent of a clock or bell.

Electric string instruments, such as the [[electric guitar]], can also be played without touching the strings by using [[audio feedback]]. When an electric guitar is plugged into a loud, powerful guitar amplifier with a [[loudspeaker]] and a high level of [[distortion (music)|distortion]] is intentionally used, the guitar produces sustained high-pitched sounds. By changing the proximity of the guitar to the speaker, the guitarist can produce sounds that cannot be produced with standard plucking and picking techniques. This technique was popularized by [[Jimi Hendrix]] and others in the 1960s. It was widely used in [[psychedelic rock]] and [[heavy metal music]].