# Instruments and their families

Source: https://projectgcse.co.uk/music/instruments_and_their_families

> String, Brass, Woodwind, Keyboards and Percussion instrument families and their corresponding instuments.

#### **Families**

- Instruments can be split up into different groups, or families.
- These relate to the way an instrument is played, the sound it makes or the material it is made from.
- The main five groups are: Strings, Brass, Woodwind, Keyboards, and Percussion.

#### **Strings**

- Stringed instruments are "chordophones" which means they make sound by vibration of their strings.
- This family includes: - Violin - Viola - Cello - Double Bass - Harp - Guitar (electric and acoustic)
- All except guitars are found in symphony orchestras

#### **Brass**

- Brass instruments are - surprisingly enough - usually made of brass.
- They are "aerophones" so produce sound as the air blown through them vibrates in the tubes.
- They use a series of valves (or a slide) to produce the required pitch, passing the air through a longer or shorter distance of tubes.
- The longer the distance, the lower the note.
- Some Brass instruments include: - Trumpet - Trombone - Tuba - French Horn - Cornet - Tenor Horn - Euphonium
- The first four are found in symphony orchestras

#### **Woodwind**

- Woodwind instruments are, as their name suggests, usually made from wood, and create sound with the aid of wind.
- They are "aerophones", and produce a note in most cases by air passing across a reed, which causes air inside the instrument to vibrate before being amplified.
- The exceptions to this are flute and picollo.
- These instruments can be single- or double-reeded. Some examples are: - Flute - Oboe - Clarinet - Bassoon - Piccolo - Cor Anglais - Bass Clarinet - Contra Bassoon
- The first four are found in symphony orchestras, the others only occasionally.

#### **Keyboards**

- Keyboard instruments have a keyboard, like a piano, that you play and which then produces the given note for you.
- This family includes: - Piano - Harpsichord - Organ - Electric organ - Electric keyboard - Clavichord

#### **Percussion**

- Most percussion instruments are "idiophones" - make sound when hit - or "membranophones" - make a sound through the vibration of a stretched skin.
- The percussion family is very large, and includes: - Timpani (kettle drums) - Drums - Cymbals - Maracas - Bongos - Woodblocks
- The list goes on and on...