Stringed instruments are "chordophones". Chordophones make their sound when a stretched string vibrates. There is usually something that makes the sound reverberate such as the body of a guitar or violin. The strings are set into motion by either plucking, strumming or by rubbing with a bow.

This family includes: Banjo, Cello, Double Bass, Dulcimer, Fiddle, Guitar, Harp, Lute, Ukelele, Viola, Violin.
All except guitars are found in symphony orchestras.

Banjo

This stringed instrument has a long slender neck and a hollow circular body with a covering of plastic or stretched skin on which the bridge rests. It typically has four strings and often a short fifth string plucked with the thumb. Notes are played by positioning fingers on the strings along the long slender neck of the banjo.

Cello

A four-stringed musical instrument of the violin family, pitched lower than the viola but higher than the double bass.The cello is still bigger than the violin and viola. It has a beautiful, mellow sound. The cello must rest on the floor because it is too big to be held like the violin or viola.

Double Bass

The largest bowed stringed instrument in the modern orchestra, also used frequently in jazz ensembles. The double bass, usually considered a member of the violin family, is tuned in fourths and has the sloping shoulders and flat back characteristic of the viols. It has a deep range, going as low as three octaves below middle C.

It is also called bass fiddle, bass viol, bull fiddle, contrabass, string bass.

Dulcimer

The dulcimer was first created in the 15th Century. It is anarrow, often hourglass-shaped stringed instrument having three or four strings and a fretted fingerboard, typically held flat across the knees while sitting and played by plucking or strumming. It is tuned by stretching the strings with a key. The sound is amplified in through the accoustical shape of the instrument.

Fiddle

The fiddle is a stringed instrument of music played with a bow though country musicians sometimes pluck the strings. The tones of the fiddle are changed by pressing the strings against the neck with the fingers thereby shortening the length of the string that vibrates and raising the sound it makes.

Guitar

A musical instrument having a large flat-backed sound box, a long slender neck, and usually six strings, played by strumming or plucking.

The guitar evolved from the lyre and medieval instruments known as the cittern and gittern. Along its neck, which holds six strings, are frets which guide finger placement. It is the placement of fingers on the upper part of the neck that determines the note the string will make. Guitarists learn special plucking patterns that give rhythm to some songs.

Harp

A harp is an instrument having an upright triangular frame consisting of a pillar, a curved neck, and a hollow back containing the sounding board, with usually 46 or 47 strings of graded lengths that are played by plucking with the fingers.

The length and tightness of the strings determines the tone each string will produce. Modern harps have foot pedals that alter the pitch of the strings to allow for different notes.

Lute

A stringed instrument having a body shaped like a pear sliced lengthwise and a neck with a fretted fingerboard that is usually bent just below the tuning pegs.

The lute produces sound when its strings are plucked and the vibration resonates in the body of the instrument.

Ukelele

A ukelele is a small four-stringed guitar that was brought to Hawaii from Portugal. The ukelele produces sound when
its four strings are plucked or strummed. This small instrument makes the sound we traditionally associate with Hawaiian music.

Viola

A stringed instrument of the violin family, slightly larger than a violin, tuned a fifth lower, and having a deeper, more sonorous tone. It is also in the "middle register" of the string family. Although not as popular as the violin, it is still a vital part of the orchestra.

Violin

A stringed instrument played with a bow, having four strings tuned at intervals of a fifth, an unfretted fingerboard, and a shallower body than the viol and capable of great flexibility in range, tone, and dynamics.

The violin is by far the most common orchestral instrument. It is also the smallest out of all the strings and has the highest pitch. This is usually the first choice of musicians who want to learn a string instrument.

Brass instruments are made of brass or some other metal and make sound when air is blown inside. They are "aerophones" meaning that as the air vibrates inside the instrument, it produces a sound.

Some Brass instruments include: English horn, Conchhorn, Euphonium, French horn, Saxaphone, Sousaphone, Trombone, Trumpet, Tuba, Zinke.

English horn

The English horn is similar to the oboe, but produces a different sound because it is slightly longer and has a bell rather than conical opening at the end.

Conchhorn

One of the oldest of instruments, the horn produces sound when air is forced through blowers lips. Notes are played on a valved horn by opening or closing the valves with a button. The valves change the length of the tube which changes the pitch of the sound.

Though very similar to trumpets, the distinction is based on the fact that most trumpets have straight cylindrical tubes while horns tend to have curved, conical forms.

Euphonium

A brass wind instrument similar to the tuba but having a somewhat higher pitch and a mellower sound.

French Horn

A valved brass wind instrument that produces a mellow tone from a long narrow tube that is coiled in a circle before ending in a flaring bell.

The French Horn is often played with the right hand inside the bell. It is also said to be the most difficult instrument to play.

Saxophone

Invented by the creative woodwind maker, Adolphe Sax in 1845, the saxophone is a woodwind instrument with a single-reed mouthpiece and a usually curved conical metal tube, including soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone sizes.

It uses keys to adjust the sound.

Sousaphone

A large brass wind instrument, similar in range to the tuba, having a flaring bell and a shape adapted to being carried in marching bands.

Trombone

A brass instrument consisting of a long cylindrical tube bent upon itself twice, ending in a bell-shaped mouth, and having a movable U-shaped slide for producing different pitches.

The trombone has the the greatest note range out of all the brass because of its slide. The 'bone is an essential part of any big band group.

Trumpet

A soprano brass wind instrument consisting of a long metal tube looped once and ending in a flared bell, the modern type being equipped with three valves for producing variations in pitch.

The trumpet produces sound when air is forced through mouthpiece and into the instrument. Notes are played by the correct placement of the lips and by pressing or releasing valves that were the 19th Century innovation given to the instrument. The development of a "slide" which alters the length of the tube the air moves through gives the trumpet a broader range of sounds.

Tuba

The tuba was developed in the early 19th Century and because of its coiled length and wide bore, it produces its rich deep sounds. It is a large, valved, brass wind instrument with the lowest instrument in the whole brass section.

The tuba is used a lot in marches and other compositions where it is important to have a strong beat.

Zinke

Very similar to the trumpet is the cornet which is often used in jazz music because its natural scale harmonizes well with other jazz instruments. The Germans call the cornet the "zinke."

A woodwind instrument in which produces sound when air is blown inside. They are "aerophones", and produce a note in most cases by air passing across a reed, which causes air inside the instrument to vibrate before being amplified. The exceptions to this are flute and picollo. These instruments can be single- or double-reeded. Some examples are: bassoon, clarinet, flute, oboe, pan flute / panpipes, piccolo, recorder, shakuhachi and urua.

Bassoon

Invented in the 17th Century, the bassoon is a double-reeded woodwind instrument. It has a long wooden body attached to a U-shaped lateral tube that leads to the mouthpiece. The range of this instrument is typically two octaves lower than that of the oboe.

Notes are played on keys that alter the movement of air through the long, jointed, doubled body.

Clarinet

A woodwind instrument having a straight cylindrical tube with a flaring bell and a single-reed mouthpiece, played by means of finger holes and keys.

It comes in a variety of sizes which vary the pitch of the instruments from soprano to contrabass. Notes are played by opening and closing holes in the cylinder with keys.

It plays a wide range of music from classical to jazz. It plays a wide range of music from classical to jazz.

Flute

A high-pitched woodwind instrument consisting of a slender tube closed at one end with keys and finger holes on the side and an opening near the closed end across which the breath is blown. Also called transverse flute.

The flute produces sound when air is forced through tubes. Notes are played on a by fingering keys or holes that change the pattern of air moving through the tubes. The dimensions, both length and width, of the tube change the pitch of the flute.

It produces very bright and joyful notes.

Oboe

The oboe was developed in the 17th Century from an instrument called the shawm. It is a slender woodwind instrument with a conical bore and a double-reed mouthpiece, having a range of three octaves and a penetrating, rich sound. The oboe is widely used in classical compositions.

Pan Flute / Panpipes

A primitive wind instrument consisting of a series of pipes or reeds of graduated length bound together, played by blowing across the top open ends. Often used in the plural. Also called mouth organ, Pandean pipe, syrinx.

Pan flutes or panpipes are made from a collection of small graduated tubes assembled together to make one instrument. It is played by blowing into the proper tube to hit one note and then another to hit a different note, much like the modern harmonica.

Piccolo

A piccolo is a small flute pitched higher than a regular flute. It is exactly the same in all respects -- notes and fingerings.

Recorder

A flute with eight finger holes and a whistlelike mouthpiece. Many students are often familiar with this whistle flute known as a recorder. It comes in various lengths and shapes and is blown like a whistle. The notes are reached by placing fingers over one or more of the air holes which changes the pitch of the sound.

Shakuhachi

The Japanese have a whistle flute known as the shakuhachi which has only four holes and make a rich sound because it is relatively wide.

Urua

To broaden the range of sound they could produce, many musicians put multiple clarinets together. In South America, this led to the urua--one long and one shorter cane with a reed and finger holes tied together. In Palestine, double clarinets were assemble from bird bones. The Sardinians play a triple clarinet, the launedda which as two drone pipes and a melody pipe.

Percussion instruments are "idiophones" meaning that they make a sound when hit or "membranophones" meaning that they make a sound through the vibration of a stretched skin. The percussion family is very large, and includes: bass drum, bells, castanets, chimes, cymbals, glockenspiel, gong, rattles, tambourines, timpani (kettle drums), triangle, woodblocks, xylophone

Bass Drum

A bass drum is a large drum having a cylindrical body and two heads and producing a low, resonant sound. The bass drum is mainly used to keep a pulse in music. They are extensively used in marches.

Bell

The bell, one of the earliest intrument created, is a percussion instrument consisting of metal tubes or bars that emit tones when struck. It produces sound when struck by a hammer, clapper, pellet or suspended ball.

The pitch of the bell is determined by the size of the bell and its thickness, bigger making the sound lower. Bells are commonly made from metal, but even ceramic and glass bells can be found.

Castanets

A percussion instrument consisting of a pair of slightly concave shells of ivory or hardwood, held in the palm of the hand by a connecting cord over the thumb and clapped together with the fingers. It by dancers and musicians to make a clicking sound.

Chimes

A set of tuned bells used as an orchestral instrument

Cymbals

Cymbals are percussion instruments consisting of a concave brass plate that makes a loud clashing tone when hit with a drumstick or when used in pairs. They provide the exclamation points in orchestra and band music and a soft delicate rhythm in jazz and rock.

Glockenspiel

The glockenspiel, a percussion instrument, is a series of metal bars tuned to the chromatic scale and played with two light hammers, like a xylophone. It produces a series of "rings" when hit. It is played vertically and is small enough to be carried by members of marching bands.

The length of each bar determines the note it will make. Longer bars produce larger reverberations when hit thus producing a deeper tone

Gong

The gong is an ancient instrument from Malay. A rimmed saucer-shaped metal disk that produces a loud, sonorous tone when struck with a padded mallet. The quality of the sound is affected by the size of the gong itself. It is sometimes called a tam-tam.

Rattles

The earliest rattles were dried seed pods--often gourds--that made a noise when shaken. Other materials were later used to make a resonating chamber in which the seeds or beads could be move and make noise.

Tambourine

The tambourine is a percussion instrument consisting of a small drumhead with jingling disks fitted into the rim, usually played by shaking and striking with the hand.

Timpani

The timpanis are also commonly used in rolls. They can, however, be tuned to a certain note and have a deeper sound.

Triangle

A percussion instrument consisting of a piece of metal in the shape of a triangle open at one angle.

Woodblock

A hollow block of wood struck with a drumstick to produce percussive effects in an orchestra. Its slotted shape and hollow center amplify the sound of the contact on this percussion instrument which is often known as the Chinese temple block.

Xylophone

A percussion instrument consisting of a mounted row of wooden bars graduated in length to sound a chromatic scale, played with two small mallets.

Each wooden bar is a different size--the larger making the lower sounds, the smaller making the higher sounds. Together the bars make up the same sounds as are found in the piano, the lower row of the xylophone are the white keys, the upper row are the black keys--the sharps and flats.

Keyboard are musical instruments produce their sounds on a set of pianolike keys. In general they are somewhat more complicated machines than other instruments.
Some keyboads include: accordion, celesta, clavichord, harpsichord, organ and piano.

Accordion

The accordian is a portable wind instrument with a small keyboard and buttons that plays music and pushes air across the reeds that produces sound when air is forced. The tone of the accordian changes by the changing of the keys.

Celesta

A musical instrument with a keyboard and metal plates struck by hammers that produce bell-like tones. Pressing a key causes a hammer to strike the bar.

Clavichord

An early keyboard instrument with a soft sound produced by small brass wedges striking horizontal strings. Pressing a key causes a hard bridge or rod (called a "tangent") to hit the string. The string vibrates only as long as the tangent is in contact with it.

Harpsichord

A keyboard instrument whose strings are plucked by means of quills or plectrums. To change volume or sound quality, pedals or levers allow the player to link each key to one or more strings, tuned to the same note or the same note in different octaves.

Organ

An organ is an instrument consisting of a number of pipes that sound tones when supplied with air and a keyboard that operates a mechanism controlling the flow of air to the pipes. Also called pipe organ.Notes are played on a piano-style keyboard but on large organs the player must also use "stops" that direct the air to specific sets of pipes.

Piano

The Piano, also called the "pianoforte," is a musical instrument with a manual keyboard actuating hammers that strike wire strings, producing sounds that may be softened or sustained by means of pedals.

There are four basic types of pianos: the grand piano, the spinet, the square piano and the upright piano. The grand piano has the strings running horizontally and is believed to have the richest sound. The square piano , like the grand, has the strings running horizontally, parallel to the keyboard; it differs from the grand because of its shape. The upright (or vertical) piano has strings running vertically from the ground. Without gravity to assist the vibration of the string, these pianos are not as rich in sound as the grand pianos. The spinet is a small upright piano.