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Accordion
An accordion is a musical instrument of the handheld bellows-driven free reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as squeezeboxes. The accordion is played by compression and expansion of a bellows, which generates air flow across reeds; a keyboard controls which reeds receive air flow and therefore the tones produced. Bagpipes
Bagpipes are a class of musical instrument, aerophones using enclosed reeds. The term is equally correct in the singular or plural, although pipers most commonly talk of "pipes" and "the bagpipe". Banjo
The banjo is a stringed instrument of African-American origin, sometimes called the "gourd banjo". Its name is commonly thought to be derived from the Kimbundu term mbanza. Some etymologists derive it from a dialectal pronunciation of "bandore", though recent research suggests that it may come from a Senegambian term for the bamboo stick used for the instrument's neck.The banjo consists of a wooden or metal rim with a plastic (Mylar) or calf or goat skin drumhead stretched across it, a neck mounted on the side of the rim, a tailpiece mounted opposite the neck, four or five strings, and a bridge. The woods used in construction vary, but are often combinations of maple, walnut, and ebony for fingerboards, pegheads, and the tops of bridges. In the five-string banjo, the fifth peg is normally on the side of the neck, although some English versions mount the fifth string tuner on the tuning head with the others, and route the string through a tube in the neck where it exits near the fifth fret. Bouzouki
The bouzouki (plural sometimes transliterated as bouzoukia) is the mainstay of modern Greek music, and is also found in Irish music. It is a stringed instrument with a pear-shaped body and a very long neck. The bouzouki is a member of the 'long neck lute' family and is similar to an oversized mandolin. The front of the body is flat and is usually heavily inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The instrument is played with a plectrum and has a sharp metallic sound.There are three main types of bouzouki:Trichordo having three pairs of strings (courses), Tetrachordo having four pairs of strings,Irish. Brass Instrument
The view of most scholars (see organology) is that the term "brass instrument" should be defined by the way the sound is made, as above, and not by whether the instrument is actually made of brass. Thus, as exceptional cases one finds brass instruments made of wood, like the cornett, and woodwind instruments made of brass, like the saxophone. Crumhorn
The crumhorn is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. It was popular in the Renaissance period. In the 20th century, there was a revival of interest in Early Music and people started to play crumhorns again.The crumhorn is a capped reed instrument. Its construction is similar to that of the chanter of a bagpipes. A double reed is mounted inside a chamber at one end of a long pipe. Blowing into the chamber produces a musical note. The pitch of the note can be varied by opening or closing finger holes along the length of the pipe. One unusual feature of the crumhorn is its shape; the end is bent upwards in a curve, so that the instrument resembles a banana, or more prosaically, the letter J. Guitar
A guitar is a stringed musical instrument. It is often played with the fingers of the left hand[1]. The right hand plucks the strings with either the fingers or a plectrum (guitar pick). The sound is produced by vibrating strings, which in turn resonate the body and neck.Guitars may be acoustic, electric (i.e. with electrical amplification) or both. Classical guitars are also present in the guitar family, although they are not as popular as the prior two. Guitars have a body acting mostly as a resonator, which can be hollow in acoustic guitars or solid in most electric guitars, and a neck. Typically, a headstock extends from the neck for tuning. Guitars are made and repaired by luthiers.
Harmonica
A harmonica is a very common free reed musical wind instrument (also known, among other things, as a mouth organ, French harp, blues harp, simply harp, or "Mississippi saxophone"), having multiple, variably-tuned brass or bronze reeds, each secured at one end over an airway slot of like dimension into which it can freely vibrate, thus repeatedly interrupting an airstream to produce sound. Harmonium
The most common pedal-pumped free reed keyboard instrument is known as the American reed organ, parlor organ, pump organ, cabinet organ, cottage, organ, etc. and along with the earlier melodeon, is operated by a suction bellows. In North America, a reed organ with a pressure bellows is referred to as a harmonium. In much of Europe, the term "harmonium" is used to describe all pedal pumped keyboard free reed instruments, making no distinction whether it has a pressure or suction bellows.The harmonium was invented in Europe in Paris in 1842 by Alexandre Debain, though there was concurrent development of similar instruments. Resonator
Most musical instruments include resonators for the sound of the instrument. In string instruments this is the body of the instrument. In many keyboard percussion instruments, below the centre of each note is a tube, which is a Cavity resonator, that is referred to simply as the resonator. The length of the tube varies according to the pitch of the note, with higher notes having shorter resonators. The tube is open at the top end and closed at the bottom end, creating a column of air which resonates when the note is struck. This adds depth and volume to the note. Harp
The harp is a chordophone which has its strings positioned perpendicular to the soundboard. All harps have a neck, resonator and strings. Some, known as frame harps, also have a forepillar; those lacking the forepillar are referred to open harps. Harp strings can be made of nylon (sometimes copper-wound), gut (more commonly used than nylon), or wire.Various types of harps are found in Africa, Europe, North and South America, and a few parts of Asia. In Antiquity harps and the closely related Lyras were very prominent in nearly all musical cultures, but they lost popularity in the early 19th century in Western music, being mainly played by women or as a minor ensemble member. There was no harp-exclusive museum until the North Italian harp building firm of Victor Salvi started one in 2005. Harpsichord
Harpsichord is the general term for a family of European keyboard instruments, including the large instrument nowadays called a harpsichord, but also the smaller virginals, the muselar virginals and the spinet. All these instruments generate sound by plucking a string rather than striking one, as in a piano or clavichord. The harpsichord family is thought to have originated when a keyboard was affixed to the end of a psaltery, providing a mechanical means to pluck the strings. Lute
The lute is a plucked string instrument with a fretted neck and a deep round back. It evolved from an instrument originally developed in Persia (Iran) called the Barbat,which was also the ancestor of the superficially similar oud. The words 'lute' and 'oud' are both derived from Arabic al‘ud, "the wood". The player of a lute is called a lutenist, and a maker of lutes (or guitars) is called a luthier. Nyckelharpa
The nyckelharpa (Swedish for key harp) is traditional in Sweden. It is a string instrument or chordophone. Its keys are attached to tangents which, when the key is depressed, serve as frets to change the pitch of the string. Organ
The organ is one of the oldest musical instruments in the western musical tradition, with a rich history connected with the Christian religion and civic ceremony. Its sound output is continuous rather than decaying, i.e., the sound continues for as long as a key is depressed and does not depend on how hard the key is struck—as is the case with a (velocity sensitive) piano—nor decay quickly, as with the harpsichord and clavichord.Organs range in size from a single, short keyboard to large instruments intended to play a full range of repertoire, which typically have three or four manuals, sometimes as many as seven, plus a two-and-a-half octave pedalboard.Most classical music for the organ is written on three staves; the upper two for the manuals and the lower one for the pedals. The bar lines are broken between the lowest two staves. Piano
The word piano is a shortened form of the word "pianoforte", which seldom used except in formal language. It is derived from the original Italian name for the instrument, clavicembalo col piano e forte. Literally harpsichord with soft and loud, this refers to the ability of the piano to produce notes at different volumes depending on how hard its keys are pressed. Violin
The violin is a stringed musical instrument that has four strings tuned a perfect fifth apart. It is the smallest and highest-tuned member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola, cello and arguably the double bass (the double bass technically belongs to the similar but distinct viol family).A common colloquial name for the violin is the fiddle, and a violin is typically called a fiddle when used to play traditional music (see below). Occasionally the instrument is modified for playing in these styles. Sheet music for a violin almost always uses the G clef (treble clef). Woodwind
A woodwind instrument is a wind instrument in which sound is produced by blowing through a mouthpiece against an edge or by a vibrating reed, and in which the pitch is varied by opening or closing holes in the body of the instrument. As the name implies, they were originally made of wood. Tin whistle
The tin whistle, also called the whistle, pennywhistle, Irish whistle, or, anachronously, the flageolet, is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. The Irish words for the instrument are feadóg ('whistle' or 'flute') or feadóg stáin ('tin whistle'); feadóga stáin is the plural. It can be described as an end blown fipple flute, putting it in the same category as the recorder, Native American flutes, and many other woodwind instruments found in traditional music. Drum
A drum is a musical instrument in the percussion family, technically classified as a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drumskin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with parts of a player's body, or with some sort of implement such as a drumstick, to produce sound. Drums are among the world's oldest and most ubiquitous musical instruments, and the basic design has been virtually unchanged for hundreds of years. Percussion Instruments
Percussion instruments are music instruments played by being struck, shaken, rubbed or scraped, hence the "percussive" name. They are perhaps the oldest form of musical instruments, rivaled only by vocal. Percussion instruments play not only rhythm, but also melody and harmony, and percussion could also be the only category of instruments that has musical notation in all three of the traditional clefs (treble, bass and rhythm- though sometimes bass clef is simply substituted for rhythm clef).
String Instrument
A string instrument (or stringed instrument) is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones. Brass Instrument
A brass instrument is a musical instrument whose tone is produced by vibration of the lips as the player blows into a tubular resonator (mouthpiece). Brass sousaphones weigh ca. 100lbs. Instruments are also called labrosones, literally meaning "lip-vibrated instruments" (Baines, 1993).The view of most scholars (see organology) is that the term "brass instrument" should be defined by the way the sound is made, as above, and not by whether the instrument is actually made of brass. Thus, as exceptional cases one finds brass instruments made of wood, like the cornett, and woodwind instruments made of brass, like the saxophone. Carillon
A carillon is a musical instrument composed of at least 23 cup-shaped bells played from a keyboard using fists and feet. Carillon bells are made of bell bronze, approximately 78% copper and 22% tin. Carillons are normally housed in towers (campaniles). The carillon has the widest dynamic range of any mechanical (non-electric) musical instrument. Celesta
The celesta is a transposing instrument, sounding one octave higher than written. The original French instrument consisted of five octaves, but the lowest octave was considered unsatisfactory and was omitted from later models, giving us the standard French four octave instrument. A larger, five-octave German model also exists, and is becoming more standard in symphony orchestras. Although treated as a member of the percussion section in orchestral terms, it is usually played by a pianist, the part being normally written on two bracketed staves. Cello
The violoncello, or as it is more commonly to refered to as the cello or 'cello (pronounced Cheh-loh), is a stringed instrument and a member of the violin family. Cornett
The cornett or cornetto is an early wind instrument, dating from the Renaissance period. It was used in what are now called alta capellas or wind ensembles. It is not to be confused with the cornet.The cornett or cornetto is an early wind instrument, dating from the Renaissance period. It was used in what are now called alta capellas or wind ensembles. It is not to be confused with the cornet. Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The name derives from adding the suffix -et meaning little to the Italian word clarino meaning trumpet, as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet.Clarinets are made from one of three different materials. Professional clarinets are constructed of wood, and the highest level of professional clarinets are usually handcrafted to custom specifications. Glasschord
The glasschord (or glasscord) is a crystallophone that resembles the celesta but uses keyboard-driven hammers to strike glass bars instead of metal bars. Melodica
The melodica is a free-reed instrument similar to the accordion and harmonica. It has a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. Pressing a key opens a hole, allowing air to flow through a reed. The keyboard is usually two or three octaves long. Mandolin
A mandolin is a stringed musical instrument. The number and type of strings found on mandolins has varied over time and place. Today, the predominant configuration is that of the Neapolitan mandolin, with four courses of metal strings. Each pair of strings is tuned in unison, and are a fifth apart from adjacent pairs, giving an identical tuning to a violin (G-D-A-E low-to-high). Unlike a violin, the fingerboard of a mandolin is fretted and it is typically played with a flat pick (a plectrum). Saxophone
The saxophone or sax is a conical instrument of the woodwind family, usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece like the clarinet. It was invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The saxophone is most commonly associated with popular music, big band music, and jazz, but it was originally intended as both an orchestral and military band instrument. Saxophone players are appropriately called saxophonists. Oboe
The oboe is a musical instrument of the woodwind double reed family. It is a descendant of the shawm. The word "oboe" is derived from the French word hautbois, meaning "high wood". A musician who plays the oboe is called an oboist. Careful manipulation of embouchure and air pressure allows the player to express a huge range of emotions and moods. Baritone Horn
A baritone horn, most often shortened to baritone, is a base saxhorn in Bb, which is also at trombone/trumpet pitch, most often shortened to baritone, is a base saxhorn in Bb, which is also at trombone/trumpet pitch.The singular difference in the baritone and the euphonium instruments lies in the shape of the bore. The baritone horn - a saxhorn - is closer in relation to the trombone and trumpet with a cylindrical bore. The euphonium is closer in nature to the horn and tuba with its conical bore. There is a common misconception that all three-valve insturments are baritones and all four-valve instruments are euphoniums. Tuba
The tuba is the largest of the low-brass instruments and is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the ophicleide. Flugelhorn
The flugelhorn (also spelled fluegelhorn or flügelhorn) is a brass instrument resembling a cornet but with a wider, conical bore. It is thought by some to be a member of the saxhorn family developed by Adolphe Sax (who also developed the saxophone); however, other historians assert that it is a member of the keyed bugle family, long predating Adolphe Sax's innovative work. Autoharp
The Autoharp is a zither-like musical string instrument having a series of chord bars attached to dampers which, when depressed, mute all the strings other than those that form the desired chord. It has been a registered trademark since 1927, and is currently owned by U.S. Music Corporation, whose Oscar Schmidt division manufactures Autoharps. The generic term for the instrument is chorded zither. French Horn
The horn is a brass instrument that consists of tubing wrapped into a coiled form. The instrument was first developed in France in about 1650 from the cor de chasse or hunting horn, and has been known as the French horn since it was refined and improved in England in 1750, although musicians, and particularly players of the instrument, generally refer to it simply as the horn. Trombone
A lip-reed aerophone with a predominantly cylindrical bore, the trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. The most frequently encountered trombones are the tenor and bass counterparts of the trumpet. The trombone is usually characterised by a telescopic slide with which the player varies the length of the tube. Kazoo
The kazoo is a simple musical instrument (membranophone) that adds tonal qualities when the player hums into it. The kazoo is a type of mirliton - a device which modifies the sound of a person's voice by way of a vibrating membrane. Although the membranophone label is a key element in its definition as an instrument, it should be noted that to call the kazoo (which merely distorts and amplifies the sound of ones hum) an instrument would require one to call the distortion pedal used for guitar an instrument. Ukulele
The ukulele (pronounced /ukuleɪleɪ/, or the Anglicised/jukəleɪli/), or uke, is a fretted string instrument which is, in its construction, essentially a smaller, four-stringed version of the guitar. In the early 20th century, the instrument's name was often rendered as "ukelele", a spelling still used in Great Britain. The Hawai'ian spelling 'ukulele is also sometimes seen. Piccolo
A piccolo is a small flute. Its name in Italian means "tiny". Like the flute, the piccolo is normally pitched in the key of C, but written music for the piccolo is written an octave lower than than the sounds desired in order to avoid too many leger lines above the staff. The range of the piccolo is about an octave higher than that of the flute. Fingerings on the piccolo correspond to fingerings on the flute, but sound an octave higher. Also, many alternate fingerings may be used to tune the individual pitches, as many are consistently out of tune. Cymbals
Cymbals (Fr. cymbales; Ger. Becken; Ital. piatti or cinelli), are a modern percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various cymbal alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. Most modern cymbals are of indefinite pitch (tuned sets have been manufactured but are rare), whereas small cup-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a definite note; see crotal.
Cymbals are used in modern orchestras and many military, marching, concert and other bands. They are one of the two instrument types that form the modern drum kit, the other of course being the drum, and as such are a basic part of much contemporary music. Even the most basic drum kit normally contains at least one suspended cymbal and a pair of hi-hat cymbals. Bells
A bell is a simple sound-making device. The bell is a percussion instrument and an idiophone. Its form is usually an open-ended hollow drum which resonates upon being struck. The striking implement can be a tongue suspended within the bell, known as a clapper, a small, free sphere enclosed within the body of the bell, or a separate mallet.
Bells are usually made of metal, but small bells can also be made from ceramic or glass. Bells can be of all sizes: from tiny dress accessories to church bells literally weighing tons. Tambourine
The tambourine is musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a single drumhead mounted on a ring with small metal jingles. It is held in the hand and can be played in numerous ways, from stroking or shaking the jingles to striking it sharply with hand or stick or using the tambourine to strike the leg or hip. It is found in many forms of music, classical music, Roma music, Persian music, gospel music, pop music and rock and roll. The word tambourine finds its origins in the Middle Persian word tambūr "lute, drum" (via the Middle French tambour). Xylophone
The xylophone is a musical instrument in the percussion family which probably originated in Indonesia (Nettl 1956, p.98). It consists of wooden bars of various lengths that are struck by a plastic, wooden, or rubber mallet. Each bar is tuned to a specific pitch of the chromatic scale. The arrangement of the bars is similar to the layout of the piano keyboard. Marimba
The marimba is a musical instrument in the percussion family. Keys or bars (usually made of wood) are struck with mallets to produce musical tones. The keys are arranged as those of a piano, with the accidentals raised vertically and overlapping the natural keys to aid the performer both visually and physically.
The marimba is pitched an octave lower than its cousin, the xylophone. Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike other woodwind instruments, a flute produces its sound from the flow of air against an edge, instead of using a reed. A musician who plays the flute is generally referred to as either a flautist or a flutist.
Flute sounds are typically closed and hollow as a result of relatively weak upper partials. As a result, flute tones are sweet in character and blend well with other instruments. The flute's timbre, pitch and attack are flexible, allowing a very high degree of instantaneous expressive control. Electric Guitar
The popularity of the electric guitar began with the big band era because amplified instruments became necessary to compete with the loud volumes of the large brass sections common to jazz orchestras of the thirties and forties. Initially, electric guitars consisted primarily of hollow "archtop" acoustic guitar bodies to which electromagnetic transducers had been attached. Bass drum
A bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. French horn
The horn is a brass instrument that consists of tubing wrapped into a coiled form. The instrument was first developed in France in about 1650 from the cor de chasse or hunting horn, and has been known as the French horn since it was refined and improved in England in 1750, although musicians, and particularly players of the instrument, generally refer to it simply as the horn. Tuba
The tuba is the largest of the low-brass instruments and is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the ophicleide. Mandolin
A mandolin is a stringed musical instrument. The number and type of strings found on mandolins has varied over time and place. Today, the predominant configuration is that of the Neapolitan mandolin, with four courses of metal strings. Each pair of strings is tuned in unison, and are a fifth apart from adjacent pairs, giving an identical tuning to a violin (G-D-A-E low-to-high). Unlike a violin, the fingerboard of a mandolin is fretted and it is typically played with a flat pick (a plectrum). Piano Roll
A piano roll is the medium used to operate the player piano or pianola, band/fairground organs, calliopes and hand-cranked organs and orchestrions and pipe organs as well.A piano roll is a roll of paper with perforations (holes) punched in it. The position and length of the perforation determines the note played on the piano. The piano roll moves over a device known as the 'tracker bar', which first had 58 holes, was expanded to 65 and then was upgraded to 88 holes (generally, one for each piano key). When a perforation passes over the hole, the note sounds. Trumpet
The trumpet is the highest brass instrument in register, above the horn, trombone, euphonium, and tuba. A musician who plays the trumpet is called a trumpet player or trumpeter.
Viola
The viola (in French, 'alto'; in German 'Bratsche') is a stringed musical instrument which serves as the middle voice of the violin family, between the upper lines played by the lighter violin (soprano register) and the lower lines played by the heavier cello (bass) and double bass. |