What is a musical Instrument?

A musical instrument is a device constructed
or modified for the purpose of making music. In
principle, anything that produces sound can
serve as a musical instrument. The term
"musical instrument", however, is generally
reserved for items that have a specific musical
purpose.
Types of Musical Instruments
These categories are based on the
mechanism by which the instrument
makes its sound.
 String Instruments
 Percussion Instruments
 Wind Instrumets
 Brass Intrumets

String Instruments
Their sound is made by a vibrating string.
Strings can be made of metal, synthetic or
natural materials. The strings can have
different gauge or thickness, weight,
length and tension.
Pictures of Some String Instruments
Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by
means of a keyboard that produces sound by
striking steel strings with felt hammers that
immediately rebound allowing the strings to
continue vibrating at their resonant frequency.
These vibrations are transmitted through a
bridge to a soundboard that amplifies them.
Guitar

The guitar is a musical instrument with
ancient roots that is used in a wide variety
of musical styles. It typically has six
strings, but four, seven, eight, ten, and
twelve string guitars also exist.
Violin

The violin is a bowed string instrument
with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It
is the smallest and highest-pitched
member of the violin family of string
instruments.
Other Members of the violin family

Cello

Viola

Bass
Harp

The harp is not like any other member of
the string family. It has about 45 strings
stretched across its tall triangular frame.
The strings are plucked by hand while
seven pedals at the bottom of the harp
adjust the length of the strings to produce
additional notes.
Percussion Instruments

With a name that means, "the hitting of
one body against another," instruments in
the percussion family are played by
being struck, shaken, or scraped. In the
orchestra, the percussion section provides
a variety of rhythms, textures and tone
colors.
Pictures of Some Percussion
Instruments
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.
Chimes

Chimes are a tuned instrument consisting
of a set of 12 to 18 metal tubes hung from
a metal frame. The chimes, or tubular
bells, are struck with a mallet and sound
like church bells when played. The longer
the length of tube that is struck, the lower
the pitch that is created.
Xylophone

The xylophone is a tuned instrument
made of hardwood bars in graduated
lengths set horizontally on a metal frame.
Striking the bars with hard mallets
produces a bright, sharp sound. The
xylophone was originally modeled after an
African instrument and its name is Greek,
meaning "wood sound".
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.
Bass Drum

The bass drum is much larger than a
snare drum and is played on its side, so
that either head may be struck. The
beater or mallet for a bass drum is large
with a soft material such as sheep's wool
covering the end.
Cymbals

Cymbals are made from two large, slightly
concave brass plates, are fitted with leather
hand straps and are shaped so that when they
are crashed together, only the edges touch.
Although cymbals are untuned instruments,
different sized cymbals produce a wide range of
sound effects.
Wind Instruments

The three branches of the woodwind
family have different sources of sound.
Vibrations begin when air is blown across
the top of an instrument, across a single
reed, or across two reeds.
Pictures of Some Wind Intruments
Piccolo

The piccolo is exactly like the flute except
that it is much smaller and is usually made
of silver or wood. The pitch of the piccolo
is higher than that of a flute.
Oboe

The oboe is similar to the clarinet in many
ways. Both are made from wood and have
metal keys that can produce many notes
rapidly. It has two reeds tied together. By
placing them between one's lips and
blowing air through them, the reeds
vibrate and produce a sound.
Saxophone

Conically shaped, 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.
Flute

The flute is now made from silver or gold
and is about 2 feet in length. It looks like
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.
Brass Instruments

Brass Family instruments produce their
unique sound by the player buzzing
his/her lips while blowing air through a
cup- or funnel-shaped mouthpiece. To
produce higher or lower pitches, the
player adjusts the opening between
his/her lips. The mouthpiece connects to a
length of brass tubing ending in a bell.
Pictures of some Brass Instruments
Tuba

The tuba is the lowest sounding member
of the brass family. The tuba has four to
five valves and is held upright in the
player’s lap.
Trombone

The trombone is larger than that of a
trumpet, and gives the instrument a more
mellow sound. Instead of valves, the
trombone has a slide which changes the
length of its approximately 9 feet of tubing
to reach different pitches.
Trumpet

The trumpet is the highest sounding
member of the brass family. The player
presses the three valves in various
combinations with the fingers of the right
hand to obtain various pitches
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