Talk:Plectrum

Should guitar pick be integrated into this article, or is there enough of a distinction for it to warrant its own? -- Lypheklub 08:07, Aug 30, 2003 (UTC)

Perhaps. The idiosyncracies of the various kinds of guitar plectra suggest to me it should stay where it is... Dysprosia 08:09, 30 Aug 2003 (UTC)

Having read the article, I am still at a loss as to why the guitarist would wear a plectrum. A-giau 07:21, 1 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Plectrums

Am I the only one who calls them "plectrums"? 66.92.237.111 03:49, 26 February 2006 (UTC)

(update: There are 225,000 Google hits for "plectrums", and only 76,000 for "plectra", so I guess not. Perhaps the article ought to mention it as an alternative plural?) 66.92.237.111 03:50, 26 February 2006 (UTC)

I gave this a try, taking the (hopefully non-POV) line that speakers should tune their choice to the context. Opus33 18:47, 26 February 2006 (UTC)

Its the whole dice vs die thing Its "wrong" to call them plectrums, but 90% of people do.

Image of harpsichord jack

Hello, the new jack image is sharper and better colored, but it's also less accurate. The damper on a harpsichord jack is generally a bit of felt folded in half and slipped into a slot at the top of the jack; it's not some kind of box glued to the side. The old image was closer to correct. And I think accuracy is more important than prettiness in a technical diagram.

Here are links to realistic jack images, showing how the dampers work: [1], [2], [3]

If someone who likes to do these pictures ever wanted to redo the jack image, there's a problem shared by both images we've had here so far: it's rather unusual for harpsichords to use wound strings; this should be fixed, too. Opus33 (talk) 16:58, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

Small change to sentence about which angle of the plectrum is used to pluck

I added "commonly" to the comment about the acute angle of a pick being the one used to pluck a string. Many guitarists, even professional ones, use the rounder corners of a pick to play. -- goatasaur

Use of the word

Does anyone actually use the word "plectrum"? I've played guitar since 1968 and I've never heard a guitarist use the term. To me it sounds archaic. John Link (talk) 01:58, 4 November 2014 (UTC)

Yes. Yes, we do. I've played since early '70s in the UK and oh, yeah, indeed we do. Never heard the word 'pick' until YouTube... Seriously! Blitterbug 13:36, 9 August 2020 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Blitterbug (talk • contribs)

Revert

@Just plain Bill: Do you think this is "speculative content" or can I put it back in the article?:

Visual representations of the plectrum are known from from statues, vases and bas-reliefs showing pieces of what may be hooked pieces of bone, ivory or wood used to either pull strings to strike them.

Dartslilly (talk) 01:07, 12 August 2019 (UTC)

Seems OK, if supported by reliable sourcing, with page number(s). The extravagant opinions in the Dubourg source, for example, seemed iffy, and I did not find mention of that (Greek?) imagery.

What first raised a red flag for me was the mention of bowstrings, linked to catgut. Modern violin bows use rosined horsehair, and historical archers' bowstrings used such materials as gut or waxed linen, which might allow percussive methods of making strings sound, although such use would be news to me. If that were to stay, it would need clarification as well as proper sourcing. Regards, Just plain Bill (talk) 01:33, 12 August 2019 (UTC)

@Just plain Bill: Your right about linking to catgut. Dubourg is a second source, everything is corroborated in the Dover book. Does it have to page numbers? Dartslilly (talk)

Yes. I believe you mean p.2 of the Fetis/Vuilllaume book, republished by Dover. Just plain Bill (talk) 14:15, 12 August 2019 (UTC)