Transcript Document

Percussion instruments are designed to make unique
noises when you hit them, with either a stick or your
hands. There are 2 parts to these instruments
membranophones and idiophones.
Membranophones
A membranophone is an instrument
that has a stretched membrane or
drum head covering a hollow shell.
For example : a timpani (a type of
drum).
Idiophones
An idiophone is an instrument
without a membrane that creates
sound when the instrument itself is
made to vibrate.
A wind instrument is a type of instrument that
you play by blowing air through it. This picture
shows some examples of different types of brass
instruments. By buzzing your lips against the
mouthpiece it causes the tube and the air inside it
to vibrate producing a clear tone.
Different factors help to produce different pitches
in a brass instrument. For example the valves,
crooks and the keys. The valves allow the player
to change the pitch of notes by pressing down on
the series of valves.
A woodwind instrument is a tube with holes
along it. Flutes, saxophones, clarinets and
oboes are woodwind instruments. This family
has a series of holes running down its length.
To make music air is blown through a reed or
a mouthpiece. A reed is often made of
bamboo, through this the vibrating air
produced inside makes sound.
With flutes and recorders, you blow air over an
edge in the mouthpiece, this is called edge
blown. Clarinets and saxophones have a single
reed this vibrates to get the air inside the
instrument moving. Instruments like oboes use a
double reed that produces even more vibration.
A stringed instrument can be plucked, like
flicking it with your thumb or a small piece of
plastic. It can be struck, or hit, usually using
a small hammer. On a piano a felt-covered
hammer hits one of the strings, producing a
sound, each string in a piano has a fixed
pitch.
A resonator is a hollow structure made out of wood or metal.
It amplifies the sound from a vibrating string, which makes it
fuller or louder.The long and thick strings have lower pitches
than the short and thin strings which have a high pitch.