Musical Instruments

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Musical Instruments

• By Mrs. Wood and Eli

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The String Family

• The vibrating objects that are the source of
  sound in this family are the strings. The strings
  are stretched across a wooden box and start to
  vibrate when either a bow made of horsehair
  touches the strings (the horsehair is rough, it
  catches the strings, causing them to move) or
  when fingers pluck the strings.
•  

This boy is playing a guitar. He uses his fingers
to play this instrument.
This Lady is playing a violin. She uses a bow to
play this instrument.
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The String Family
Members of the String Family found in the
orchestra all have four strings, and each string
is tuned to a different note. The four pegs at
the top of the instruments allow the player to
loosen or tighten the strings to keep them in
tune.
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Hand Positions

• A player's left hand is in charge of playing
  the correct note or pitch. The right hand
  produces sound by pulling the bow across the
  string or plucking the strings.

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The Violin

• The Violin is the smallest member of the string
  family. It is played with a bow and held under
  the chin. It plays the highest notes and is
  recognized by its beautiful singing tone. When
  playing with other instruments, the violin often
  plays the tune.

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The Viola

• The Viola is slightly bigger than the violin
  and is also played with a bow and held under the
  chin. The sound of the viola can be distinguished
  from that of the violin because it is lower,
  richer and more mellow.

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String Bass

• The string bass has the lowest, deepest, most
  gruff voice. It is taller than a person, and
  someone would have to sit on a high stool or
  stand to play this instrument.

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The Cello

• Cello is short for Violoncello. The Cello is
  also played with a bow. Unlike the violin or
  viola, it is too large to be placed on your
  shoulder, so it is played sitting down, resting
  on its "end pin". Because of its size and the
  thickness of its strings, the cello can produce
  beautiful, rich deep tones. It can also play very
  high notes.

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The Brass Family

• The sounds of these instruments are produced by
  blowing air between your lips, causing lip
  vibrations. Your lips are shaped by a metal
  mouthpiece. Then the sound and air are amplified
  by the instrument.

See his mouth on the instrument? He blows out air
and it makes sound!
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The Trombone

• A unique feature of the trombone is the slide.
  While other brass instruments change pitches by
  pressing valves to change the length of the air
  flow, the trombone player simply moves the slide
  in and out to the change the length of the
  instrument. The trombone has seven different
  position of the slide.

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Trumpet

• All brass instruments are simply tubes!
  Cornets and Trumpets are half of the length of a
  trombone and sound an octave higher.

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French Horn
A medium-size instrument made of coiled brass
tubing. At one end it has a large bell. The
French Horn also has three valves. The player
holds this horn on their lap and keeps one hand
inside the bell. The sound of the horn is very
mellow because it has a funnel shaped mouthpiece.
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The Woodwind Family

• Piccolo
• Bassoon  
• Contrabassoon 
• Saxophone
• Flute
• Oboe 
• English Horn  
• Clarinet 
• Bass Clarinet

The Woodwind family has many instruments in its
group. Here are some of the many in this family.
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Flute

• Its a narrow tube with a row of holes covered
  by keys along one side. The player blows air
  across the small hole in the mouthpiece to
  produce a sound that can be either soft and
  mellow or high and piercing.

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Saxophone

The saxophone is the only woodwind instrument
made of brass. Although it is found only
occasionally in the symphony orchestra, it is
considered a member of the woodwind family
because it has a single reed like the clarinet.
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Clarinet

• A clarinet is a wind instrument shaped like a
  long cylinder. It is usually made of wood and has
  a reed in the mouthpiece. Low notes on the
  clarinet are often soft and deep. The middle
  notes are open and bright and the highest notes
  are thin with a very high piercing sound.

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Keyboard Family

• Keyboard instruments are often classified as
  percussion instruments because they play a
  rhythmic role in some music. However, most
  keyboard instruments are not true members of the
  percussion family because their sound is not
  produced by the vibration of a solid material.

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Piano

• Sound is produced on the piano by small hammers
  striking strings. The hammers are controlled
  mechanically and strike the strings when the
  player's hands press the piano keys.

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Organ

• When an organist presses the keys of an organ,
  air is allowed to flow into corresponding pipes.
  The vibration of the air in the pipes creates the
  sound of the organ.

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Percussion Family
Instruments in the percussion family are played
by being struck, shaken, or scraped. They are
classified as tuned or untuned. The percussion
instruments are an international family. They
have ancestors from the Middle East, Asia,
Africa, the Americas and Europe representing
musical styles from many different cultures.
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Triangle

• The triangle is made from a small round steel
  tube, and is played by striking it with a steel
  beater. Its bright shimmering sound is untuned
  and resembles that of a bell.

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Tambourine

The tambourine is a shallow, handheld drum made
of a circular wooden frame with a calfskin or
plastic drumhead stretched across the top. The
tambourine has small discs called jingles set
into its circular frame which produce sound when
the tambourine is shaken, rubbed, or struck on
the drum head with the knuckles.
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Questions

• What do you pluck on the String Family
  instruments to make sound?
• How do you play the triangle?
• What flows through pipes in an organ?
• Is a string bass tall or short?
• How do you play a Brass Family instrument?

• Strings
• By striking it with a steel beater
• Air
• Tall (Remember its taller than a person!)
• By blowing air into the instrument