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Musical Instruments

The document provides an overview of musical instruments, detailing their classification into four main families: wind, string, percussion, and electronic instruments. It highlights the traditional classification methods and mentions alternative systems based on physical properties and materials. The site aims to create a virtual exhibition that combines theoretical information with audio and visual resources for learning about these instruments.

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35 views2 pages

Musical Instruments

The document provides an overview of musical instruments, detailing their classification into four main families: wind, string, percussion, and electronic instruments. It highlights the traditional classification methods and mentions alternative systems based on physical properties and materials. The site aims to create a virtual exhibition that combines theoretical information with audio and visual resources for learning about these instruments.

Uploaded by

ScribdTranslations
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Musical instruments

Welcome to the musical instruments website!!

This site is also available in and in


Here you will find information and videos about the most common musical instruments that
make up a classical orchestra, as well as their classification. As for the classification, it
must be said that we have based ourselves on the traditional classification: wind
instruments, string instruments, percussion instruments and electronic instruments.
All this information is part of a project that aims to create a virtual exhibition of musical
instruments. For many
years, we have used
photos, textbooks, audios,
videos... to learn about
musical instruments, but
there is no place that
combines all these
resources. That is why we
wanted to create an
exhibition in which, based
on drawings of musical
instruments, we can not
only learn theoretical
information but also see
and hear them. To set up
this exhibition it is
necessary to print the
following drawings and
labels

What are the types of musical


instruments?
There are many alternative divisions and subdivisions of
instruments. Generally, when studying musical instruments it is
common to find the classic division of instruments into four
families: wind, string, percussion and electric instruments
(created by humans approximately 50 years ago). However,
because this classification is oriented towards the instruments of
the symphony orchestra, it suffers from certain restrictions and
defects. Because of this, some musicologists simply expand this
classification by adding up to three additional categories: voice,
keyboards and electronics. However, in 1914 the musicians Curt
Sachs and Erich Hornbostel devised a new classification method
which, taking into account the physical properties of each
instrument, was intended to be able to encompass all existing
instruments. A third classification, widely followed in East Asia,
classifies instruments according to their construction materials: metal, wood, clay, leather,
among others.
The most conventionally used classification is wind, string and percussion.

 Wind: saxophone, flute, clarinet, trumpet, oboe, etc.


 String: guitar, harp, violin, piano (the piano is a percussive string instrument), etc.
 Percussion: timpani, drum, cymbals, bass drum, etc.
 Electric instruments: electric bass, electric guitar, theremin, synthesizer, etc.

What are the families of musical


instruments?
Musical instruments are objects
created specifically to generate music.
There are many of them, very varied
in shapes, sizes and origins, and they
are grouped into families that share
similar sound characteristics. What are
the families of instruments?
String, wind and percussion are
the three main families of musical
instruments; each of them also has
subdivisions based on the materials
used for their manufacture or the way in which the sound is
generated, and we could also speak of a fourth family in which we
would include electronic instruments.
String instruments are those capable of producing sounds thanks to
the vibration of strings through different mechanisms. Depending on
how they are played, they are subdivided into bowed string
instruments (violin, viola, etc.), struck string instruments (piano),
plucked string instruments (guitar, harp, etc.) and plucked or
strummed string instruments (harpsichord).
In wind instruments, the performer must blow so that the air vibrates
inside the musical object and the sound is generated. Within this
family there are woodwind instruments (flute, clarinet, saxophone...)
and brass instruments (trumpet, trombone...).
Percussion instruments perform their function by striking or shaking.
There are instruments of indeterminate percussion (triangles, Chinese
box...) and instruments of determined percussion (timpani,
xylophone...), and both can be made of wood, metal or skin.
When sound is produced through devices that use electronics, they
are called electronic instruments.

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