Why Not Just Use Your Fingers? A Piece of Plastic Changes the Whole Sound

Plucking works by pulling a string aside and releasing it, and how the release happens determines which overtones are produced. A hard stiff edge releases the string abruptly, which puts energy into high overtones and gives a bright percussive attack. A fingertip is soft and wide, releases the string gradually and damps the highest components, giving a rounder and quieter sound. The difference is audible immediately and is why the same instrument played both ways sounds like two different instruments.

Small changes in the object make large changes in the sound:

• •Thickness, with thin ones flexing and giving a lighter attack
• •Stiffness, which sets how abruptly the string is released
• •Material, affecting both tone and the noise of contact
• •Shape of the point, sharp for definition or rounded for warmth
• •Surface texture, which changes grip and the scrape across wound strings
• •Bevelling of the edge, which players frequently do themselves

The history of the object is largely a history of one material and its replacement. Tortoiseshell, taken from the hawksbill turtle, was the preferred material for centuries because it is stiff, warm to handle, wears smoothly and produces a tone players considered unmatched. The species became critically endangered, and international trade in it was prohibited in 1973, which forced the industry to find substitutes. Celluloid had already been developed as an imitation in the nineteenth century and became standard, and modern alternatives use various engineering plastics chosen specifically to imitate the stiffness and wear behaviour of the banned material.

The grip is a technical subject in itself and the variations produce audibly different results. Holding it tightly with a stiff wrist transfers more force and gives a harder attack, at the cost of speed and of a tendency to catch on the strings. A loose grip lets the object pivot slightly against the string, which softens the attack and is what most fast players use. The angle matters as much, since presenting the flat face gives a full tone and tilting it slices past the string more easily and brightens the sound. Players also use several worn at once on separate fingers.

Several instruments have the object permanently fitted rather than held, which is a useful thing to notice. A harpsichord plucks each string with a small tongue of quill or plastic mounted on a jack that rises when a key is pressed, which is why it cannot play louder when a player presses harder and why it needed the piano to replace it. Various plucked instruments across Asia and the Middle East use long thin ones held in particular grips, and the Japanese instrument played with a large fan-shaped one produces its characteristic percussive attack partly from striking the body as well as the string.

A hard stiff edge releases a string abruptly, putting energy into high overtones for a bright percussive attack, where a soft fingertip releases gradually and damps them. Thickness, stiffness, material and point shape all change the result audibly. Tortoiseshell was preferred for centuries until trade was banned in 1973, which forced the switch to engineered plastics.