The Different Musical

Instruments
 The three main types of musical
instruments
• The instruments which are bowed
• The instruments which are blown
– Brasses
– Woodwinds
• The instrument which are struck
The String Instruments
 Bowed Strings
• These instruments produce tone by means of a
bow of horsehair drawn across the strings.
• These have four strings which are made to vibrate
by drawing a bow across them.
• The hair of the bow is rubbed with rosin so that it
will “grip” the strings.
Violin
• The highest member of the string
section of the orchestra.
• Its universally admired for its
voice-like quality.
• It has a wide range of tones which
can be sustained indefinitely .
viola

• Slightly larger than the violin.

• Strings are longer, thicker, and
heavier; it is lower in range.
• It is used for harmony than for
melody.
Violoncello
• Properly known as cello, is
much longer than viola.
• It is lower in range than the
viola and the strings are thicker
and heavier than those of the
viola.
• The bow is shorter and heavier
and the instrument has to be
held between the knee of a
seated performer.
• The violin is the soprano, the
viola is the alto, the cello is the
tenor.
Double Bass

• Known also as the contrabass, is

the largest member of the string
family.
• It rests upon the floor, and the
performer stands to play it. It is
the lowest on the range of range
of the string group.
• Its deep indistinct tones come
into focus when they are
duplicated an octave higher,
usually by the cello.
 Plucked Strings
• The player plucks the strings either with his fingers
or with a plectrum held in his/her hand.
• This instruments is associated mostly with dance
band instrumentation and popularly used as an
instrument to accompany the singing of folk songs
as well as popular songs.
 Plucked Strings
• Legato
– Smooth and connected
– Played in preeminent
• Staccato
– Short and detached
– Capable of the opposite quality of tone.
• Pizzicato
– Plucked
– Special effect, is executed by the performers plucking the
string with his finger instead of using the bow.
 Special effects of the string
instrument
• Spiccato
– Playing with short, crisp strokes of the bow.
• Saltallato
– Bouncing the bow in the string to produce light
and detached tones.
• Martellato
– Which hammering the bow quiver on the string
making each note separate and emphatic
 Special effects of the string
instrument
• Tremolo
– Making the bow quiver on the strings to produce
shimmering effect.
• Vibrato
– Denotes the rich, throbbing tones achieved when the
player moves his finger slightly away from the back to the
required spot.
• Glissando
– The player moves a finger of his left hand rapidly along the
string, sounding all the pitches of the scale.
 The Woodwind Instruments
• Consist of four different families:
– Flute and Piccolo
– Oboe and English horn
– Clarinet and Bass clarinet
– Bassoon and Contrabassoon
• The pitch of the notes are altered by
shortening or lengthening the column of air
vibrating inside the instrument.
Flute
• A cylindrical tube made of a
silver alloy or metal.
• The coloratura soprano of the
woodwind choir.
• Its sound is silvery or liquid.
• It can play rapid, brilliant scale
passages.
• The tone is cool and velvety in
the row register but in its
upper register, the sound is
bright, thin and stands out
against the orchestral mass.
Piccolo
• A smaller flute, produces the
highest notes in the orchestra.
• Tones produced are piercing and
shrill.
Oboe
• Made of wood
• The body is a tube which
gets wider at the end.
• The double reed in the
mouthpiece consist of two
slips of cane so shaped as to
leave between them an
extremely small passage for
air.
• Oboe timbre is generally
described as plaintive, nasal,
and reedy.
English horn

• Large Oboe
• The Oboe and the English horn
look very much like except that
the English horn is wider and
longer and longer and ends in a
pear-shaped bell which accounts
for tis soft, somewhat mournful
timbre.
• Its range is slightly lower than that
of the oboe and its sound is richer
and more plaintive.
 Clarinet
• It has a single reed, small elastic piece of
cane fastened against its chisel-shaped
mouthpiece.
• The instrument often takes part of the violin
on the band music.
• It has a remarkably wide range- from low to
high and from soft to loud – and produces
three distinct tone colors:
• In its upper register- the sound is clear
and powerful
• In its middle register- the sound is
smooth or relaxed
• In its lower register- the tones are rich
and hollow.
Bassoon and Contrabassoon
• The tenor and bass, respectively of the
oboe family.
• The bassoon is one of the most flexible and
useful of the bass instruments.
• Its tone is weighty and thick in the low
register, dry and sonorous in the middle,
reedy and intense in the upper.
• Capable of a hollow-sounding staccato and
wide leaps that create a humorous effect;
it is at the same time a highly expansive
instrument.
Saxophone
• Wind instrument has a single reed that
combines the reed mouthpiece of a
clarinet with a curved conical metal tube.
• It blends well with either woodwind or
brass.
 The Brasses
• They consist of the trumpet, horn, trombone.
And tuba.
• They are indispensable for their ability to play
very loudly, for melody, for sustaining
harmony, for rhythmic accent, and for the
flame like sonority they contribute to
climaxes.
• These instruments have cup-shaped
mouthpiece.
Trumpet
• Possesses a firm and brilliant timbre that
lends radiance to the orchestral mass.
• Played softly, the instrument commands a
round tone..
 Horn

• Generally called French horn, normally has

a smooth, mellow tone, but can be made
to sound very brassy.
• The timbre of the horn blends equally well
with woodwinds, brass, and strings, for
which reason it serves as the connecting
link among them.
• The horn is a versatile instrument; a solo
instrument, it is very satisfactory because it
has a wide range and can be loud or soft,
lyrical or dramatic.
 Trombone
• Which in Italian means “large instrument,”
are of two kinds: tenor and bass.
• The two are alike in construction but the bass
trombone has a lower range.
• Tone is rich and mellow
• It can play softly, but it is more often used to
achieve effect of nobility and grandeur.
Tuba
• The bass of the choir.
• Like the string bass and
contrabassoon, it furnishes the
foundation for the harmonic fabric.
• It sound is rather like the bass
trombone, but fuller, richer, and
more powerful.
Cornet

• A brass-wind musical instrument of the

trumpet family, consisting of a long looped
tube, 9 feet long.
• It is used in orchestras, bands, and brass bands.
• This instrument is larger than the trumpet.
• It has shorter body and possesses greater
agility.
• The tone is rounder but less brilliant than of
the trumpet.
 The Percussion Instrument
• The percussion section comprises a variety of
instruments that are made to sound by hitting
them with special sticks, or by striking or
shaking their parts together.
• Some are made of metal or wood.
• Vibrations is set up by striking a stretched
skin.
Kettledrums
• Or timpani, which are used in sets of
two or three.
• The kettledrum is a hemisphere
copper shell, across which is a
stretched “head” of calfskin held in
place by a metal ring.
• The instrument is played with two
padded sticks, which may either be
soft or hard.
• Its dynamic range extends from a
mysterious rumble to a thunderous
roll.
Glockenspiel
• German for a set of bells, consists
of a series of horizontal turned
plates of various sizes, made of
steel.
• The player strikes these with
mallets, producing bright and
metallic sounds.
Xylophone
• Consists of tuned blocks of
wood which produce a dry, crisp
timbre when struck.
• Expert xylophone players attain
dazzling speed and accuracy.
Marimba
• A xylophone of African and south
American origin, is associated with
dance and music.
• Xylophone with resonator.
• Small tubes suspended under the
wooden bass resonate the sound of
the vibrating wood.
Chimes
• Consists of a set of turned metal
tubes of various lengths attached to
a frame and struck with hammer.
• They have a broad dynamic range,
from a metallic tinkle to a sonorous
clang, are frequently called upon to
simulate church bells.
 Harp
• One of the oldest musical instruments.
• Its earliest form appeared in the
Babylonian inscriptions several thousand
years ago.
• Its strings are played by plucking,
producing a crystalline tone that blends
well with the orchestral timbres.
 Keyboard Instruments
• These instruments are operated by means of a
keyboard which consists of a series of black
and white keys.
Piano
• Most popular and most widespread
of all instruments.
• It has ability to sound several tones
simultaneously and has the
capacity to present complex
musical textures by itself, making it
an extremely useful instrument.
• It is an indispensable instrument for
accompaniment.
Organ
• It has a physical property
which makes it wind
instrument.
• Its sounds are made by air
forced by mechanical means
through pipes
• Those pipes are controlled by
two or more keyboards and
set of pedals.
Celesta
• Which resembles a
miniature piano, is a kind of
glockenspiel that is
operated by a keyboard;
the steel plates are truck by
a small hammers producing
bell-like tones.
 Combination of Music
• The composer uses them in any combinations
he wishes, but certain combinations or –
ensembles as they are usually called in music
–have been found to be particularly satisfying
and consequently commonly used.
 Combination of Music
• Ensemble Media
– When two or more performers are equally engage
in a playing or singing a piece of music, the
medium called an ensemble (an’sam’b’l) and the
music is called ensemble music.
 Orchestra
• It is the most spectacular of the ensembles,
composed of any sizable group of
instrumental performers usually under the
direction of a conductor.
• An orchestra may vary in size from a relatively
small groups to an ensemble of a hundred or
more players.
• Is constituted with a view of securing the best
balance of tone.
 The Symphony Orchestra
• Is a large ensemble which includes all the
principal instrument types
• Each of the section has at least one
instrument which fall into each four basic
ranges: soprano, alto, tenor, and bass.
 The Symphony Orchestra
• Concerto
– A form of written for orchestra and usually one
solo instrument is given a prominent role in music.
• Band
– Instrument ensemble, large like the orchestra but
consisting mainly or exclusively of wind and
percussion instruments.
 The Symphony Orchestra
• The Rondalla
– Best known instrumental group in the philippines.
– Made up mostly of stringed instruments: the
banduria, which assumes the lead part and plays
the melody; the laud and the octavina, which
carry the alto and contrapuntal parts; the piccolo,
turned above the banduria, which plays the
ornamental passage; and the guitara and the
banjo, which give solidity to the rhythm and
support the harmony.
 The Symphony Orchestra
• Mixed Ensembles
– Such musical types as an opera, oratorio, cantata,
mass, requiem mass, and even symphonies may
employ vocal soloist, chorus, and orchestra.
– Made their appearance in 20th century
• Chamber Orchestra
– Applied to small instrumental ensembles in which
there are only few performers for a part.
– In a category if ensembles between a chamber
ensemble and the full orchestra.
 The Symphony Orchestra
• Chamber ensembles
– Is a medium which calls for only a few performers with one
player to each part.
– Solo Sonatas
• music written for a solo instrument with an accompaniment
by such instruments as the piano or harpsichord, belongs to
the category of chamber music ensemble.
– String Quartet
• most common music
• It consist of two violins, a viola, and a cello.
• When a piano replaces one of the four instruments, the
ensemble is called a piano quartet.
 The Symphony Orchestra
• Duos, Trios, Quartet, and Other
• Music in which two instruments have equal importance
is called a duo; music for three instruments is a trio; for
five, a quintet; for six, a sextet; for seven, a septet; for
eight, an octet; for nine, nonet.
• Consists of any combination of instruments, including
strings, woodwinds, brass, keyboard, and percussion
instruments.
 The Symphony Orchestra
• Special Ensembles
– A particularly significant trend in recent years has
been the development of electronic instruments
• Conductor
– The director of the orchestra
– Known every detail of the music and be able to
give the most precise directions with his baton
and hands.