Welcome to the world of classical music instruments!
Musical instruments are grouped into different families based on the way the instrument makes its sound. There are four main families of instruments: strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion.
Below are many of the instruments used in classical music and the orchestra! Hover your mouse over each to hear a clip of what they sounds like!
The Strings
The four most commonly used instruments in the string family are the violin, the viola, the cello and the double (string) bass. They are all made by gluing pieces of wood together to form a hollow “sound box.” The quality of sound of one of these instruments depends on its shape, the wood it is made from, the thickness of both the top and back, and the varnish that coats its outside surface.
The Brass
Brass instruments are essentially very long pipes that widen at their ends into a bell-like shape. The pipes have been curved and twisted into different shapes to make them easier to hold and play. Instruments in the brass family produce their sound when the player “buzzes” her or his lips while blowing air through the mouthpiece, creating a vibrating column of air within the instrument. Most brass instruments have valves attached to their long pipes. When the player presses down on the valves, they open and close different parts of the pipe, increasing the length of the pipe when played and creating a lower sound.
The Percussion Family
The percussion section provides a variety of rhythms, textures and tone colors to orchestral music. Instruments in the percussion family make sound in one of three ways, by striking, shaking, or scraping. Percussion instruments can also be tuned or untuned. Tuned instruments play specific pitches or notes, just like the woodwind, brass and string instruments. Untuned instruments produce a sound with no definite pitch, like the sound of hitting two pieces of wood or metal together. Percussion instruments are an international family, representing musical styles from many different cultures. Keyboard instruments are a special class of percussion instrument.
The Woodwinds
Instruments in the woodwind family used to all be made of wood, hence the name, but now they can be made of wood, metal, plastic or some combination of materials. They are all tubes with an opening at one end and a mouthpiece at the other end. They each have rows of holes that are covered by metal caps called keys. Pressing on different keys produces different musical notes – the sound changes depending on where the air leaves the instrument.
