An orchestra has instruments that produce sounds in different ways, but all cause air to vibrate to carry the sound to listening ears. String instruments have vibrating strings that are bowed or plucked. Wind instruments cause a column of air to vibrate when the player blows into them. Instruments that create sounds by being struck or shaken are percussion instruments. Brass instruments resonate when air is blown into them.
Welcome to the world of classical music instruments! Musical instruments are grouped into different families based on the way the instrument makes its sound. There are four main families of instruments: strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. Here is how an orchestra is often set up:
The Strings
The four most commonly used instruments in the string family are the violin, the viola, the cello and the double (string) bass. They are all made by gluing pieces of wood together to form a hollow “sound box.” The quality of sound of one of these instruments depends on its shape, the wood it is made from, the thickness of both the top and back, and the varnish that coats its outside surface.
Four strings made of gut, synthetics, or steel are wrapped around pegs at one end of the instrument, tightly stretched across a “bridge,” and attached to a tailpiece at the other end. The pegs are used to tune the instrument (change the length of the string until it makes exactly the right sound). The strings are tuned in perfect “fifths” from each other – 5 notes apart.
The player makes the strings vibrate by plucking them, striking them, strumming them, or, most frequently, by drawing a bow across them. The bow is made of wood and horsehair. The instrument sounds different notes when the performer presses a finger down on the strings on the instrument’s neck, changing the length of the portion of the string that vibrates. The shorter the vibrating part of the string, the higher the sound produced.
The Woodwinds
Instruments in the woodwind family used to all be made of wood, hence the name, but now they can be made of wood, metal, plastic or some combination of materials. They are all tubes with an opening at one end and a mouthpiece at the other end. They each have rows of holes that are covered by metal caps called keys. Pressing on different keys produces different musical notes – the sound changes depending on where the air leaves the instrument (through one of the key holes or out the far end). There are three ways in which the woodwind family creates sound: by blowing air across the edge of or into the mouthpiece (flute or piccolo), by blowing air between a single reed and a fixed surface (clarinet and bass clarinet), or by blowing air between two reeds (oboe, English horn, bassoon, and contrabassoon).
The Brass
Brass instruments are essentially 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. Instruments in the brass family produce their sound when the player “buzzes” her or his lips while blowing air through the mouthpiece, kind of like making a “raspberry,” creating a vibrating column of air within the instrument. Most brass instruments have valves attached to their long pipes. When the player presses down on the valves, they open and close different parts of the pipe, increasing the length of the pipe when played and creating a lower sound. In addition to the valves, the player can select the pitch from a range of overtones or harmonics by changing his or her lip aperture and tension (known as the embouchure). The mouthpiece can also make a big difference in tone. Brass musicians can also insert mutes into the bell of their instrument to change the timbre of its sound.
The Percussion Family
The percussion section provides a variety of rhythms, textures and tone colors to orchestral music. Instruments in the percussion family make sound in one of three ways, by striking, shaking, or scraping. Percussion instruments can also be tuned or unturned. Tuned instruments play specific pitches or notes, just like the woodwind, brass and string instruments. Unturned instruments produce a sound with no definite pitch, like the sound of hitting two pieces of wood or metal together. Percussion instruments are an international family, representing musical styles from many different cultures. There are numerous kinds of percussion instruments, such as rattles, castanets, or tambourines. Keyboard instruments are a special class of percussion instrument.
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