A chordophone is a musical instrument that produces sound through the vibration of strings stretched tightly between two points. Chordophones can be divided into two main groups: those whose resonator is an integral part of the instrument and whose removal would destroy the instrument and those with a resonator that could be removed although the sound volume would be greatly diminished. Most Western instruments fall into the first category, including members of the violin family and guitars, while the piano and harpsichord fall into the second.