MUSICAL INSTRUMENT CLASSIFICATION

A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that
produces sound can be a musical instrument; it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The
history of musical instruments dates to the beginnings of human culture. Early musical instruments may have used for
ritual: such as a trumpet to signal success on the hunt, or a drum in a religious ceremony. Cultures eventually developed
composition and performance of melodies for entertainment. Musical instruments evolved in step with changing
applications.
Musical instrument classification is a discipline in its own right, and many systems of classification have been used over
the years. Instruments can be classified by their effective range, their material composition, their size, etc. However, the
most common academic method, Hornbostel-Sachs, uses the means by which they produce sound. The academic study of
musical instruments is called ORGANOLOGY.
The original Hornbostel-Sachs system classified instruments into four main groups. Within each category are many
subgroups:

1. IDIOPHONES, which produce sound by vibrating the primary body of the instrument itself without the use
of strings or membranes:
-

Concussion idiophones are played by clashing two of them together (castanets, claves, spoons);
Friction idiophones are made to vibrate by rubbing them (as when you make a wine glass ring by rubbing its rim);
Percussion idiophones are hit with sticks, beaters, or clappers (bells, steel drums);
Plucked idiophones have a thin tongue of metal or bamboo that vibrates when plucked (jew's harp);
Scraped idiophones are played by scraping a stick across a set of notches or corrugations on the instrument (guiro,
washboard);
- Shaken idiophones are shaken (maracas, jingle bells);
- Stamping idiophones are stamped on the ground, floor, or hard surface. (Tap shoes [Tap-dance] are in this category);

2. MEMBRANOPHONES, which produce sound by a vibrating a stretched membrane; they may be drums (further sorted
by the shape of the shell), which are struck by hand, with a stick, or rubbed.
- Tubular drums are divided into cylindrical, conical, barrel, long, waisted (hourglass-shaped), goblet (with a stem at
the base), and footed (with feet around the edge of the bottom);
- Kettledrums or vessel drums have rounded bottoms;
- In frame drums, the membrane is stretched over a frame, usually making a wide, shallow instrument (Tamborines);
- Friction drums come in a variety of shapes. Instead of beating on the membrane, the player runs a stick through a hole in
the membrane;
- In mirlitons, the membrane is made to vibrate by blowing air across it. These are the only membranophones that are not
drums (Kazoos);

3. CHORDOPHONES, which produce sound by vibrating one or more strings. The main groups of chordophones are
classified according to the relationship between the strings and the resonator. (Resonators pick up the original
vibrations and vibrate sympathetically with them, amplifying the original sounds and altering them so that they
sound more musical.) Subcategories depend on how the string is played, and types of resonators.
- Plucked string instruments. Plucking is a way of pulling and releasing the string in order to give it an impulse that
causes the string to vibrate. Plucking can be done with either a finger or a plectrum;
- Bowed string instruments are played by a bow rubbing the strings. The bow rubbing the string causes vibration which
the instrument emits as sound. These instruments can also be plucked in the technique known as pizzicato;
- In struck string instruments the sound is produced by the string being hit with a mallet or hammer. Instruments like
the clavichord where the striking is performed through a hammering mechanism triggered from a keyboard are the
exception;

4. AEROPHONES, any musical instrument that produces sound through a vibrating mass of air without the use of strings
or membranes, and without the vibration of the instrument itself.

These instruments are typically grouped into two families:

- Brass instruments. The sound is produced by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy
with the vibration of the player's lips. Brass instruments are also called labrosones, literally meaning "lip-vibrated
instruments". There are several factors involved in producing different pitches on a brass instrument: slides
(pompa mobile, tiro, coulisse), valves (pistoni), crooks (canneggi), or keys are used to change vibratory length of
tubing, thus changing the available harmonic series, while the player's embouchure (mouthpiece [bocchino]), lip
tension and air flow serve to select the specific harmonic produced from the available series;
- Woodwind instruments (also called Woodwinds). There are two main types of woodwind
instruments: flutes and reed instruments (otherwise called reed pipes).
5. ELECTROPHONES, such as theremins, which produce sound by electronic means. Such an instrument sounds by
outputting an electrical audio signal that ultimately drives a loudspeaker. An electronic instrument may include
a user interface for controlling its sound, often by adjusting the pitch, frequency, or duration of each note.

Musical instruments are also often classified by their musical range in comparison with other instruments in the same
family. This exercise is useful when placing instruments in context of an orchestra or other ensemble. These terms are
named after singing voice classifications: Some instruments fall into more than one category depending on how its music
fits into the ensemble and the range it is played in. Many instruments have their range as part of their name: soprano
saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone horn, alto flute, bass guitar, etc.
-

SOPRANO INSTRUMENTS: flute, violin, soprano saxophone, trumpet, clarinet, oboe, piccolo
ALTO INSTRUMENTS: alto saxophone, french horn, english horn, viola, alto horn
TENOR INSTRUMENTS: trombone, tenor saxophone, guitar, tenor drum
BARITONE INSTRUMENTS: bassoon, baritone saxophone, bass clarinet, cello, baritone horn, euphonium
- BASS INSTRUMENTS: double bass, bass guitar, bass saxophone, tuba, bass drum

Bowed string instruments

Violin
Viola
Cello
Doublebass

- The violin is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments. It has four strings
tuned in perfect fifths (G3, D4, A4, E5);

- A fiddle is any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the
instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music. To a greater extent than classical violin playing,
fiddle playing is characterized by a huge variety of ethnic or folk music traditions, each of which has its own
distinctive sound;
- Someone who plays the violin is called a violinist or a fiddler;
- The violinist produces sound by means of a 1. bow that is a long slightly curved stick across which are stretched
strands of horsehair. The violinist draws it between the tip and frog (also called talon, nut, or heel) across one or
more strings (which may be stopped by the fingers of the other hand to produce a full range of pitches); 2. by
plucking the strings (with either hand); 3. EXTENDED TECHNIQUES1 (i.e. snap pizzicato/Bartk pizzicato, bowing
under the bridge);
Term used to describe unconventional, unorthodox, or non-traditional methods of singing or of playing musical
instruments employed to obtain unusual sounds or timbres.
1

Violin
Viola
Cello
Doublebass

- The viola is slightly larger than a violin in size and has a deeper sound. It is the middle voice of the violin family,
between the violin. It is tuned a perfect fifth below it (C3, G3, D4, A4) and the cello (which is tuned an octave below
it);
- A person who plays the viola is called a violist or a viola player;
- The technique required for playing a viola has certain differences compared with that of a violin, partly because of
its larger size: the notes are spread out farther along the fingerboard and often require different fingerings;
- Music that is written for the viola differs from that of other instruments, in that it primarily uses the alto clef, which
is otherwise rarely used. Viola music employs the treble clef when there are substantial sections of music written
in a higher register;
- As the viola is tuned exactly one octave above the cello, pieces written for the cello can be easily transposed to the
viola clef;

Violin
Viola
Cello
Doublebass

- The violoncello, usually abbreviated to Cello [plural cellos or celli] is tuned an octave below the viola (C2, G2, D3,
A3).
- A person who plays the cello is called a cellist;
- Unlike the violin or viola but similar to the double bass, the cello has an endpin (also called Spike or Tailpin) that
rests on the floor to support the instrument's weight;
- It is a part of the standard orchestra and is the bass voice of the STRING QUARTET, as well as being part of many
other chamber groups;

Violin
Viola
Cello
Doublebass

- The double bass is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument. It is the only modern bowed string
instrument that is tuned in fourths rather than fifths (E1, A1, D2, G2). It is played either with a bow or by plucking
the strings;
- A person who plays this instrument is called a bassist, double bassist, double bass player, contrabassist, contrabass
player, or bass player.
- In jazz and other genres outside of classical music, this instrument is commonly called the upright
bass or acoustic bass to distinguish it from the electric bass guitar;
- The double bass bow comes in two distinct forms. The "FRENCH" bow is similar in shape and implementation to the
bow used on the other members of the orchestral string instrument family, while the "GERMAN" bow is typically
broader and shorter. These two bows provide different ways of moving the arm and distributing force on the
strings;
- Traditionally, the double bass is a transposing instrument.2 Since much of the double bass's range lies below the
standard bass clef, it is notated an octave higher than it sounds avoiding in this way excessive ledger lines;
2

Any instrument whose part in a score is notated at a pitch different from the pitch that actually sounds.

DEFINITIONS
- Bridge (Ponte), a device for supporting the strings and transmitting its vibrations;
- C- bout (Incavo a C), a C shaped cavity;
- Chinrest (Mentoniera), a shaped piece of wood (or plastic) attached to the body of a violin or a viola to aid in the
positioning of the player's jaw or chin on the instrument;
- Endpin or Tailpin or Spike (Puntale), the component of a cello or double bass that makes contact with the floor to
support the instrument's weight;
- F-hole (Effe), an F shaped sound hole;
- Fine tuner (Tiracantino), devices round shaped used to assist in the tuning of the instrument. The tail piece may
have a single tuner or one for each string of the instrument;
- Fingerboard (also known as a Fretboard on fretted instruments) (Tastiera), a thin, long strip of material, usually
wood, that is laminated to the front of the neck of an instrument. The strings run over the fingerboard, between
the nut and bridge. To play such an instrument, a musician presses strings down to the fingerboard to change the
vibrating length, changing the pitch. This is called stopping the strings;
- Neck (Manico), the part of certain string instruments that projects from the main body and is the base of
the fingerboard, where the fingers are placed to stop the strings at different pitches;
- Nut (Capotasto), a small piece of hard material that supports the strings at the end closest to
the headstock or scroll. The nut sets the spacing of the strings across the neck, and usually holds the strings at the
proper height from the fingerboard;
- Pegbox (Cavigliere), the part of the instrument that houses the tuning pegs;
- Purfling (Filettatura), a narrow decorative edge inlaid into the top plate and often the back plate;

- Scroll (Riccio), the decoratively carved end of the neck. It is typically carved in the shape of a rolled-up spiral
(volute);
- Shoulder rest (Spalliera), an accessory that can be found in the back of violins and violas. Its goal is to allow a
more comfortable attitude while playing by adding height to the shoulder and preventing the instrument from
slipping;
- Sound board or Soundboard or Belly (Tavola di risonanza), the surface of the instrument that the strings vibrate
against. The resonant properties of the sound board and the interior of the instrument greatly
increase loudness over the string alone;
- Sound hole (Foro di risonanza), an opening in the upper sound board of a stringed musical instrument;
- Sound post or Soundpost (Anima), a small rod inside the instrument under the treble end of the bridge. It serves
as a structural support for an archtop instrument, transfers sound from the top plate to the back plate and alters
the tone of the instrument by changing the vibrational modes of the plates;
- String (Corda), the vibrating element that produces sound in string instruments. They are lengths of a flexible
material that a musical instrument holds under tension so that they can vibrate freely, but controllably;
- Tailpiece (Cordiera), a component that anchors one end of the strings (the opposite end usually corresponds to
the tuning mechanisms);
- Tuning peg (Pirolo, Bischero, Cavicchio or Chiave), the device used to hold a string in the pegbox. Turning the peg
tightens or loosens the string, changing the pitch produced when the string is played and thereby tuning it;