Joy Cecil-Dyrkacz, Faith Donkor, Alexandra Frey, Amanda Glenn-
Bradley, Martin Parker, and Ellen Stevens

➔ Defined in Oxford Dictionaries as “an object or device for producing musical sounds”
➔ System created to organize and catalog musical instruments from different museums and institutions
Oxford Dictionaries (2013). http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/instrume nt

➔ Developed in 1914 by Erich Mortiz von Hornbostel and Curt Sachs
➔ Similar number classification as Dewey Decimal system
➔ Identifies instruments based on method of vibration resulting in sound transmission:
◆ idiophones - sound produced by vibrating themselves
◆ membranophones - sound produced by a vibrating membrane
◆ chordophones - sound produced by vibrating strings
◆ aerophones - sound produced by columns of air
◆ electrophones - sound produced by electricity (added circa 1970)

➔ Largest open-access database for musical instruments (2011)
➔ Main families: wind, stringed, keyboard and percussion
➔ Identification: title, repository, inscription and description
➔ Classification: object type, classification, keyword and Hornbostel-
Sachs class
➔ Events: production, date and place
➔ Digital Resources: type such as image and hyperlinks
➔ Original Record: raw metadata

➔ Added components of Getty’s Categories for Description of Works of Art (CDWA) as a framework for mapping new and old art information systems in the online environment.

➔ Hornbostel-Sachs Number/Categorical Description
➔ Name/Title of Object
➔ Order
➔ Creator
➔ Date of Creation
➔ Materials
➔ Clef/Pitch/Range
➔ Size
➔ Inscriptions/Descriptions/Notations
➔ Location
➔ Accession Number

➔
➔
➔

➔
➔
➔
➔
➔

Example Worksheet #1
Hornbostel-Sachs Class: 423.233.1, Aerophone
Name/Title of Object: Trumpet, coiled
Origin: German, Celle/Tyskland
Creator: Otto Steinkoph (1904-1980)
Date of Creation: 1960-1965
Materials: Brass
Clef/Pitch/Range: Treble Clef, F#3 – D6
Size:
33.6 in (85.34 cm), 7 in bell (17.78 cm)
Inscriptions/Descriptions/
Notations:
N/A
Location:
UNCG Museum (Greensboro, NC),
Famous Makers Collection
Accession Number: 2013.10.1

Example Worksheet #2
Hornbostel-Sachs Class: 111.242.2, Struck Idiophone
Name/Title of Object: Musical Glasses
Origin: American, Maryland, Baltimore
Creator:
Francis Hopkinson Smith (1797-
1872)
Date of Creation: circa 1830
Materials: Glass, Mahogany case
Clef/Pitch/Range: Treble Clef, C4-F5
Size:
36 x 21 x 8 ¼ x 31.6in (91 x 54 x 21 x
79.5cm)
Inscriptions/Descriptions/
Notations:
N/A
Location:
UNCG Museum (Greensboro, NC),
19th Century American Music
Collection
Accession Number: 2013.10.2

Example Worksheet #3
Hornbostel-Sachs Class: 314.122.4.8, Chordophone
Name/Title of Object: Piano, Baby Grand, Model S
Origin: American, New York, Long Island
Creator: Steinway & Sons
Date of Creation: 2003
Materials:
Hard Rock Maple body, Spruce keys, brass pedals
Clef/Pitch/Range: Treble Clef and Bass Clef, A0-C8
Size: 4.92 x 3.5ft (1.5 x 1.06m)
Inscriptions/Descriptions/
Notations:
N/A
Location:
UNCG Museum (Greensboro, NC),
Modern American Music Collection
Accession Number: 2013.10.3

Example Worksheet #4
Hornbostel-Sachs Class: 423.1, Aerophone
Name/Title of Object: Didgeridoo
Origin: American
Creator: Schalloch Co.
Date of Creation: 2000-2013
Materials: Bamboo
Clef/Pitch/Range: Treble Clef, F#3 – C6
Size: 33.4 in (85 cm)
Inscriptions/Descriptions/
Notations:
Aboriginal style design painted on body
Location:
UNCG Museum (Greensboro, NC),
Cabinet 1, Row 2A
Accession Number: 2013.10.4

Example Worksheet #5
Hornbostel-Sachs Class:
321.322.71, Composite
Chordophone
Name/Title of Object: Violin
Origin: Italian, Cremona
Creator: Antonio Stradivari (1644-1737)
Date of Creation: 1693
Materials: Wood, Spruce/Maple
Clef/Pitch/Range: Treble Clef, G3-A7
Size: 5.3 x 7.4 in (13.4 x 18.8cm)
Inscriptions/Descriptions/
Notations:
Label inside body reads: Antonius
Stradivarius Cremona Faciebat Anno
1693
Location:
UNCG Museum (Greensboro, NC),
Famous Makers Collection
Accession Number: 2013.10.5

Harpring, P. (2013). Categories for the Description of Works Art. Retrieved November 9, 2013 from http://www.getty.edu/research/publications/electronic_publications/cdwa/index.html.
Hornbostel, E. M. & Sachs, C. (1961). Classification of Musical Instruments: Translated from the Original German by
Anthony Baines and Klaus P. Wachsmann. The Galpin Society Journal, 14, 3-29. Retrieved November 9, 2013 from http://www.jstor.org/stable/842168
Kartomi, M. J. (1990). On Concepts and Classifications of Musical Instruments. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press.
Musical Instrument Museums Online Consortium. (2011). Revision of the Hornbostel-Sachs Classification of Musical
Instruments by the MIMO Consortium. Retrieved November 9, 2013 from http://www.mimointernational.com/documents/Hornbostel%20Sachs.pdf
Music Dictionary (2013). Hornbostel-Sachs. Retrieved November 9, 2013 from http://www.music.vt.edu/musicdictionary/texth/Hornbostel-Sachs.html.
Oxford Dictionaries (2013). Instrument. Retrieved November 9, 2013 from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/instrument.