Transcript What are Musical Instruments

Instructor Anthony Johnson
Course Music
INTRODUCTION TO MUSIC
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
MUSIC: MUSICAL
INSTRUMENTS
 What are Musical Instruments
 They are different instruments, or different voices that create or produce
different tone colors or timbres.
 In the instrument family we break it down as follows:
 Strings
 Woodwinds
 Brass
 Percussion
 Keyboard Instruments
 Just a reminder music sound is produced by rapid vibrations, and each of the
above vibrate to create sound it their own distinct way.
MUSIC: STRINGED INSTRUMENTS
 THE VIOLIN FAMILY
 VIOLIN
 The high voice of the string family and considered the most beautiful.
 VIOLA
 The tenor ranged instrument of the string and it is slightly larger and
more mellow than the violin.
 CELLO
 This is the bass of the violin family, they have a rich sound in the lower
range.
 DOUBLE BASS OR BASS
 This instrument is used to back up the violin family and actually belongs to
the viol family
 HARP
 Is more often than not used for effects in the orchestra and is plucked.
MUSIC: WOODWINDS
 Woodwind Instruments
 Flute and Piccolo
 The Soprano voices of the woodwinds
 Clarinet
 This is the tenor voice of the woodwinds and has a richer sound than
the flute or piccolo
 Oboe
 This is a double reed instrument and produces a focused crisp, tingy sound.
 English Horn
 This is a larger version of the oboe and creates a deeper lower
sound.
 Bassoon and Contrabassoon
 Bassoon is the cello of the woodwind family with a warm reedy
sound, and the contrabassoon is the bass of the bassoon family.
Play example
MUSIC: WOODWINDS CONT.
 Saxophone
 Much like the clarinet, it is a single reed, but it is made of brass and has a
mellower sound. More often than not it is found in jazz and not orchestras.
 Much like the other instruments the sax family also has a wide array of
voice parts from low to high.
Soprano Sax-High
Alto Sax-Medium High
Tenor Sax-Medium Low
Baritone Sax-Low
MUSIC: BRASS INSTRUMENTS
 Brass
 Trumpet
 Highest sounding brass instrument. The sound it produces is bright, strong,
and piercing tone. Almost an exciting sound.
 French Horn
 Has a lower thicker tone from the trumpet. They are often referred to as
hunting horns
 Trombone
 It has less bright of a sound than the trumpet but can produce a variety of
sounds from a vocal like quality to a a blaring sound in lower registers.
 Tuba
 This is the lowest end of the brass family and creates the foundation of the
brass family.
MUSIC: PERCUSSION
INSTRUMENTS
 Percussion
 Timpani
 Large kettle drums made usually of brass and are pitched.
 Xylophone, marimba, vibraphone
 These are instruments made up up plates or slats that are stuck
will mallets to produce a pitched sound.
 Tubular bells and Chimes
 Hanging tubes struck with a mallet that create a sound like church bells.
 Cymbals, triangle, tam-tam, snare drums, tenor drums, bass drums
 These instrument are either stuck with sticks to together to produce an
unpitched sound.
MUSIC: KEYBOARD INSTRUMENTS
 Keyboard
 Piano
 The strings are struck by hammers to produce a tone.
 Harpsichord
 Instead of hammers, the strings are plucked and create a brittle
tone.
 Organ
 Pipes with air flowing through them produce the sound and has the ability to
create a wide variety of tone with the use of stops, or tunes pipes.
 Plucked Instruments
 Guitar, mandolin, lute, theorbo