Instruments of the Orchestra

1. Instruments of the Orchestra • Percussion Instruments • Brass Instruments • Stringed Instruments • Woodwind Instruments • By Sharon Omaguvwe

2. Percussion Instruments Percussion instruments are designed to make unique noises when you hit them, with either a stick or your hands. There are 2 parts to these instruments membranophones and idiophones. Membranophones A membranophone is an instrument that has a stretched membrane or drum head covering a hollow shell. For example : a timpani (a type of drum). Idiophones An idiophone is an instrument without a membrane that creates sound when the instrument itself is made to vibrate.

3. Brass Instruments A wind instrument is a type of instrument that you play by blowing air through it. This picture shows some examples of different types of brass instruments. By buzzing your lips against the mouthpiece it causes the tube and the air inside it to vibrate producing a clear tone. Different factors help to produce different pitches in a brass instrument. For example the valves, crooks and the keys. The valves allow the player to change the pitch of notes by pressing down on the series of valves.

4. Woodwind Instruments A woodwind instrument is a tube with holes along it. Flutes, saxophones, clarinets and oboes are woodwind instruments. This family has a series of holes running down its length. To make music air is blown through a reed or a mouthpiece. A reed is often made of bamboo, through this the vibrating air produced inside makes sound. With flutes and recorders, you blow air over an edge in the mouthpiece, this is called edge blown. Clarinets and saxophones have a single reed this vibrates to get the air inside the instrument moving. Instruments like oboes use a double reed that produces even more vibration.

5. Stringed Instruments A stringed instrument can be plucked, like flicking it with your thumb or a small piece of plastic. It can be struck, or hit, usually using a small hammer. On a piano a felt-covered hammer hits one of the strings, producing a sound, each string in a piano has a fixed pitch. A resonator is a hollow structure made out of wood or metal. It amplifies the sound from a vibrating string, which makes it fuller or louder.Thelong and thick strings have lower pitches than the short and thin strings which have a high pitch.