Throughout time, instruments have used many different kinds of materials for their strings. Many of us are used to the steel strings that are common on instruments today, and we don’t always stop to think about when that became the standard or what may have come before. So here we’ll delve a little deeper into the subject and learn about what different materials have been used for string making through history.

In Asia they used silk strings, horse hair could be used in Scandinavia, and strings made of plant fibers were used in tropical areas.[1] But in Europe the popular choice was animal gut. Specifically, the intestines. These strings are also sometimes referred to as catgut, though it isn't because cat’s guts were a common choice for string makers. It’s thought that catgut is an abbreviation of cattle gut.[2] Sheep or goat intestines were preferred, but pigs and cows could also be used.[3]

Gut string making from Etwas für alle, Würzburg, Germany, 1699

We’ll now take a closer look at the history of gut strings with some examples from the ancient world. There is an Ancient Greek myth that the god Hermes made the first lyre by using a tortoise shell for the body and cow guts for the strings.[4] In terms of extant examples, an archaeologist named Harry Burton found harps that still had their gut strings intact inside the ancient Egyptian tombs of Thebes in 1823.[5] The harp strings were said to still be playable when they were discovered.

Apollo playing a lyre from the Cylix of Apollo, around 480–470 BC

Gut strings continued to be used into the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Stringed instruments of the period such as the lute, the gittern, and the vielle were all generally strung with gut.[6] There is some evidence for gitterns and related instruments using metal strings, but gut strings were more common.[7] There is a quote from the Shakespeare play, Much Ado About Nothing, that goes “Is it not strange that sheep's guts could hail souls out of men's bodies?”[8] Later on, the bass strings of the lute could be wound with copper or silver wire, while silk and metal wire were used for the core of the string.[9]

Classical guitars continued to use gut strings until fairly recently. Nylon strings (which are now the standard for classical guitars) weren’t invented until the early 1930s. But they didn’t become popular until 1948, as there was a shortage of gut strings caused by World War II.[10] Outside of the classical world, steel strings were being used on guitars as early as the late 19th century. A Gibson catalog from 1903 instructs you to say whether you wanted the guitar you ordered with steel or gut strings.[11] In the 1910s and 20s, the increased volume of steel strings allowed the guitar to replace the banjo as the primary instrument in folk and blues music.[12]

Martin 2-17, the first Martin “Spanish Style” guitar braced for steel strings, 1922

Starting in the 1970s, researchers who study historical performance and instruments brought attention to how historical gut strings were made.[13] Nowadays, Early Musicians seek to play on accurate replicas of historical instruments and study historical performance through text and visual sources where available.[14] And reproducing authentic strings to play this music on is part of recreating the historical sound. There are now string makers who make gut strings for this use. Though we also have more alternatives nowadays, there are many who have played gut strings who still swear by their sound, and it's hard to beat the real thing when studying historical music.

Reproduction of a 7-course Lute made by Dodd Lutherie

Listening examples-

Introducing: Gut Strings- This first video is by Early Musician Brandon Acker, where he compares the sound of Nylgut (nylon strings that attempt to sound more like gut) to real gut strings so you can hear some of the sound difference for yourself. Visit http://brandonackerguitar.com/ for more on Brandon Acker.

Demonstrating Authentic Unpolished Gut Lyre Strings on an Ancient Greek Kithara- In this next video, you can hear a reproduction of an Ancient Greek Kithara (a seven-stringed lyre). It’s strung with gut strings, and is played by Michael Levy, a composer for the lyre who seeks to recreate the sounds of the ancient world. Visit https://ancientlyre.com/ for more on Michael Levy.

Lute | Mrs. Winter's Jump Renaissance Lute Matthew Weinman- This video features the lutenist Matthew Weinman playing a 7-course (courses are pairs of strings) Renaissance lute, again strung with gut strings. The piece featured in this video is by John Dowland, an English Renaissance composer and lutenist. Visit https://www.mwlutemusic.com/ for more on Matthew Weinman.

Sarabande from Partita No. 1 in B minor J.S. Bach - Greg Ewer (gut strings)- Finally, this video presents a piece by Bach played on a violin strung with gut strings. This one is performed by the violinist Greg Ewer. Visit https://www.orsymphony.org/discover/orchestra/strings/gregory-ewer/ for more on Greg Ewer.

Work Cited

References for information in text-