Musical Instruments
Exploring the Families of
Musical Instruments, and
More!
Overview:
• Musical instruments have been
used by people to create music for
almost as long as people could
think creatively.
Categories:
• Musical instruments, like plants
and animals, are categorized into
families. Traditional classical
orchestra instruments are divided
into four distinct families. Today,
we recognize a fifth family. Also,
non-traditional instruments, new
creations, and odd-ball instruments
are classified in the family
structure, based on their
characteristics.
The Brass Family
• Brass instruments were
traditionally made of brass, but
today, we recognize that some
instruments are classed as “brass”
although they’re made of other
materials. Some instruments made
of brass are in fact not in the brass
family!
• Brass instruments create sound by
the musician ‘buzzing’ their lips
into a round mouthpiece. Here is a
trombone mouthpiece:
• Brass instruments usually have long, sometimes
coiled tubing which leads to a ‘bell’ where the
sound comes out.
Trumpet
French Horn
• The Tuba and the Euphonium look very
similar, but the Euphonium has longer,
narrower coils, and makes a less abrupt
sound.
Left: Tuba
Right: Euphonium
• Here are some brass instruments that are not
in common use. They look similar to other
more familiar instruments, don’t they!
Ophicleide
(Off-i-clyde)
Cornett
• Here are some really different instruments,
that are (believe it or not) members of the
brass family. The player must buzz their lips as
they play:
Conch
Didgeridoo
Alphorn
• The Woodwind Family
• Woodwinds are, like brass,
instruments whose sound is created
by the musician’s breath.
However, these instruments do not
require the ‘buzzing’ that the brass
need. There are two types of
woodwinds, flutes and reeds.
• The Flute family consists of instruments with which
you blow over a hole or edge to create the sound.
These include all flutes, recorders, and various types
of whistles.
Flute
Recorder
• Most of the woodwinds have a mouthpiece
with either one or two reeds. When the
musician blows into the mouthpiece, the reed
vibrates to create the sound.
Clarinet
Comparison of the
sizes of 4 different
woodwinds.
The bassoon and the oboe are tworeed woodwinds.
Top: Bassoon
Bottom: Oboe
The bagpipes can have either one
or two reeds
• Beware!
• The Saxophone is classified as a
woodwind instrument. Although
it’s body is made of brass, the
mouthpiece contains a reed, and
only exhaling is necessary to make
to work.
Didgeridoos, Cornetts and
Alphorns, although
they’re made of wood,
are not woodwinds.
Which of these instruments are
woodwinds?
The Strings Family
• Instruments whose sounds are
created by manipulating tightened
strings are members of the string
family. The strings may be
plucked; they may be scratched
with a bow, and they may be
strummed.
Right: Jeff Healey
Far right: Jimmy Page
(Led Zeppelin)
• String quartets consist of two violas, one
violin, and one cello. The viola is slightly
larger than the violin, and has a lower register.
Check out the difference in size! The cello is
too large to hold to your chin; it rests on the
floor and the player sits to play it.
String Quartet
Left: Violin Right: Viola
Left: Double Bass,
or Contrabass
Cello
Electric Bass
• There are many different types of guitars, and
they can be found in cultures all around the
world. The Classical Guitar is used more
frequently in modern symphonies. Modern
rock music is largely guitar-based.
Left: Classical Guitar
Center: Mandolin
Right: Banjo
• Many guitars are uniquely crafted to create
new, innovative sounds. They often go by
their inventor’s name:
Left: Warr Guitar
Above: Dobro
Right: Chapman Stick (Bass Guitar)
• There are too numerous string family
instruments to list here. The string family is
one of the most diverse, with countless
different styles found everywhere, and in
virtually ever genre of music.
Top Left:
Hurdy Gurdy
Top Right:
Sitar
Bottom Left:
Mouth Bow
Bottom Right:
Zither
• Harps are also part of the string family; the
harp is included in the classical orchestra.
Below: Autoharp
The musician
pushes keys while
strumming.
Left: Classic Harp
Right: Lyre (ancestor of the harp)
• The Percussion Family
• Percussion instruments are those
that are played by striking or
shaking.
• All drums are percussion
instruments.
• Often, drums are used to keep the
rhythm in a musical piece. They
are used for effect and add
dynamics to complex compositions.
• Here are some examples of different types of
drums:
Left: Snare drum; Bottom Left: Concert Tom Drums
Bottom Right: Timpani
• Some percussion instruments are tuned
instruments, which means you can play notes
in a scale on them:
Left: Chimes (Orchestra)
Bottom Left: Glockenspiel
Bottom Right: Xylophone
Right: Bells
Glockenspiels are
made of metal;
xylophones are made
of wood.
Here are some other familiar percussion
instruments:
Left: Tambourine
Left: Triangle
Center: Cymbals
Center: Cowbell
Right: Maracas
Right: Wood block
What family of instruments does this belong to?
The Keyboard Family
• Today, many people recognize that there is
now a fifth family of instruments. The
keyboard family includes pianos, organs,
electronic keyboards and synthesizers, among
others.
Left: Strings inside a grand
piano.
Right: Felt mallets that
strike the strings inside an
upright piano
• One could argue that a piano is a percussion
instrument, because you strike the keys to
play it. It has also been considered a string
instrument, because it has tightly bound
strings which produce the sound.
Some other keyboard family instruments:
Top Left: Mellotron – popular in the 1960’s and
70’s, replicates string sounds.
Top Center: Early model Moog Synthesizer
Top Right: Harpsichord, very common Baroque
keyboard, ancestor of the piano
Left: Pipe organ – found in churches and
cathedrals around the world.
What Is This?!?!
It is called a Theramin. It is played by moving
your hands closer and further from the device,
causing the radio frequencies to change pitch.
Like the theramin, there are other ‘oddball’
instruments that defy classification. Who
knows, maybe there will be more families of
instruments some day!
And then there were…
…these!
Any questions?