Families of the Instruments
Written by Halina Grechko
Table of Contents
Meet the Coaches-----------------------p.3
Family of the Instruments--------------p.4
Strings--------------------------------------p.5
Woodwinds--------------------------------p.6
Brass family-------------------------------p.7
Percussion family------------------------p.8
Piano----------------------------------------p.9
Resources --------------------------------p.10
Meet the Coaches
Reading this book you will meet three coaches that help you to explore family of the musical instruments. They will ask you some questions, help you to navigate through the digital book and give you some ideas and suggestions.
Instrument Families
If you ever listen to a symphony orchestra , you probably noticed that many instruments look similar to one another and they are usually made of the same types of materials . Some of the instruments are bigger and some are smaller, just like parents and their children. Just like in human families, musical instruments are related to each other.
There are four families of the instruments: woodwinds, brass, strings, and percussion . Instruments are grouped into families based on how they make sounds. Musicians sit together in these family groupings .
Strings are the largest family in the orchestra. This family includes a violin , viola , cello and bass . All strings are similarly shaped, with curly wooden bodies and wooden necks. The strings are streched over the bodies and neck and attached to decorative heads, where they are tuned with small tuning pegs .
The sounds of these instruments come from their strings . When stringes are plucked or bowed , it creates a vibration that causes sounds. The violin and viola are smallest instruments in string family, and they make higher-pitched sounds. Cello and double bass produce low rich sounds.
Woodwind instruments usually include flute , clarinet , oboe and bassoon .This section of the orcestra has onle one or two players on each instrument. Depending on the piece, other instruments may be included in this section, such as saxophone .They produce sound when air is blown inside. The sound occurs when the air passing over the mouthpiece .
Woodwind instruments used to be made of wood , which gives them their name, but today they usually made of metal , plastic or some combination . Woodwinds are basically narrow cylinders or pipes with holes, an opening at the bottom end and a mouthpiece at the top. Performer plays them by blowing air through the mouthpiece and opening or closing the holes with his/her fingers to change the pitch . Metal caps called keys cover the holes of most woodwind instruments. The mouthpiece has a thin piece of wood called a reed . The reed vibrates when musician blows across it. Just like in the string family, the smaller woodwinds instruments play higher pitches while the longer and larger instruments play the lower notes.
Brass family usually includes trumpet , trombone , French horn and tuba. Like woodwinds, brass instruments have their sounds produced by air, but they sound when the performer's lips are buzzing while blowing into the mouthpiece. If you think that brass instruments got its name because they are made of brass, you are right! This family play louder than any other family in the orchestra. They can be heard from far away.
Brass instruments are very long pipes that widen at their ends into a bell-like shape. The pipes have been curved and twisted into different shapes to make them easier to hold and play. Most brass instruments have valves attached to their long pipes that look like buttons . When the musicians press down on the valves, they open and close different parts of the pipe and it changes the pitch. The sound may be changed also by buzzing the lips harder or softer.
Percussion family is large family of the orchestra. Percussion family includes drums , cymbals , triangle , chimes , tam-tam , glockenspiel , timpani , bells and xylophones . Most percussion instruments make sounds when they are hit, shaken, rubbed or scratched. Some percussion instruments are tuned and can play different notes, and some have no definite pitch.
It's not easy to be a percussionist because it takes a lot of practice to hit an instrument with the right amount of strength , in the right place and at the right time. Also a percussionist usually plays many different instruments in one piece of music. Percussion instruments keep the beats and play different rhythms , make special sounds and add excitement and color.
Resourses
- Apel, Willi. Harvard Dictionary of Music. Harvard University Press, 1967
- Barber, Nocola. The World of Music. Silver Burdett Press, 1995
- Kruckenberg, Sven. The Symphony Orchestra and its Instruments. Crescent Books, 1993
Online:
http://www.dsokids.com/listen/instrumentlist.aspx
Dallas Symphony Orchestra's site provides attractive, accessible and child-friendly resources that introduce symphonic music, the orchestra and its instruments, and to encourage both adults and young people to explore the world of the symphony orchestra.
http://datadragon.com/education/instruments/
The San Francisco Symphony Kids' Site provides a great way for people of all ages to hear, learn, and have fun exploring musical instruments.
Recordings:
Audio recordings are made by author using instrumental loops with GaregeBand Mac application.
Images:
Ctrl-c, Ctrl-v: ACODOX service provides users with high-quality FREE pictures hosted by Acobox to paste into you web blog page.