Drum

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search For other uses, see Drum (disambiguation). The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones.[1] Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a drum stick, to produce sound. There is usually a "resonance head" on the underside of the drum, these are usually tuned to a slightly lower pitch than the top drumhead. Other techniques have been used to cause drums to make sound, such as the thumb roll. Drums are the world's oldest and most ubiquitous musical instruments, and the basic design has remained virtually unchanged for thousands of years.[1] All types of drums such as timpani for example are always tuned to a certain pitch. Often, several drums, other than timpani drums, can be arranged together to create a drum kit

Contents
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1 Uses 2 Construction 3 Sound of a drum 4 History

Flute
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search This article is about the whole family of side-blown, end-blown, globe, and duct instruments. For the flute commonly used in orchestras, see Western concert flute. For other uses, see Flute (disambiguation).

A selection of flutes from around the world The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike Musical instruments woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless Woodwinds wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening. According to the instrument classification of Hornbostel Piccolo Sachs, flutes are categorized as edge-blown aerophones. Flute Oboe A musician who plays the flute can be referred to as a flute player, a Cor anglais flautist, a flutist, or less commonly a fluter. Clarinet Saxophone Aside from the voice, flutes are the earliest known musical Bassoon instruments. A number of flutes dating to about 40,000 to 35,000 Contrabassoon years ago have been found in the Swabian Alb region of Germany. Bagpipes These flutes demonstrate that a developed musical tradition existed Recorder from the earliest period of modern human presence in Europe.[1] Brass Percussion String instruments Keyboardss

Harp
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Jump to: navigation, search For other uses, see Harp (disambiguation).
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Harp

A medieval harp (left) and a single-action pedal harp (right)

String instrument

HornbostelSachs classification

322-5 (Composite chordophone

sounded by the bare fingers)

Playing range

(modern pedal harp)[1]

Related instruments

Chang eng Lyre

The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones (stringed instruments) and has its own sub category (the harps). All harps have a neck, resonator and strings. Some, known as frame harps, also have a pillar; those without the pillar are referred to as open harps. Depending on its size, which varies, a harp may be played while held in the lap or while it stands on a table, or on the floor. Harp strings may be made of nylon, gut, wire or silk. On smaller harps, like the folk harp, the core string material will typically be the same for all strings on a given harp. Larger instruments like the modern concert harp mix string materials to attain their extended ranges. A person who plays the harp is called a harpist or harper. Folk musicians often use the term "harper", whereas classical musicians use "harpist". Various types of harps are found in Africa, Europe, North and South America and in Asia. In antiquity, harps and the closely related lyres were very prominent in nearly all cultures. The harp also was predominant with medieval bards, troubadors and minnesingers throughout the Spanish Empire. Harps continued to grow in popularity through improvements in their design and construction through the beginning of the 20th century

Guitar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation).

Guitar

A classical guitar (nylon string)

String instrument

Classification

String instrument (plucked, nylonstringed guitars usually played with fingerpicking, and steel-, etc. usually with a pick.)

Hornbostel Sachs classification

321.322 (Composite chordophone)

Playing range

(a standard tuned guitar)

Related instruments

Bowed and plucked string instruments

The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with either nylon or steel strings. Some modern guitars are made of polycarbonate materials. Guitars are made and repaired by luthiers. There are two primary families of guitars: acoustic and electric. Acoustic guitars (and similar instruments) with hollow bodies have been in use for over a thousand years. There are three main types of modern acoustic guitar: the classical guitar (nylonstring guitar), the steel-string acoustic guitar, and the archtop guitar. The tone of an acoustic guitar is produced by the vibration of the strings, which is amplified by the body of the guitar, which acts as a resonating chamber. The classical guitar is often played as a solo instrument using a comprehensive fingerpicking technique. Electric guitars, introduced in the 1930s, rely on an amplifier that can electronically manipulate tone. Early amplified guitars employed a hollow body, but a solid body was found more suitable. Electric guitars have had a continuing profound influence on popular culture. Guitars are recognized as a primary instrument in genres such as blues, bluegrass, country, flamenco, jazz, jota, mariachi, metal, reggae, rock, soul, and many forms of pop