;))))) esther: musical instruments.:)

CLASSIFICATION OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

Aside from the voice ,musical sound is produced by musical instruments. These instruments come in different sizes and shapes. Usually, they are made from raw materials available in the locality.

Indigenous people, for example, make use of wood, bamboo, animal, skin, gourd, coconut shell to create their own set of musical instruments. Other musical communities or groups use steel, metal, nylon strings, brass, and plastic to create musical instruments that suit their way of living and their culture .it is

Important to note that though instruments vary in the quality of material they are made [of, they all serve the purpose of providing cultural band self-expressions as well as musical entertainment .

Musical instruments are classified according to how their respective sounds are produced by the instrumentalist or performer. This system pf musical classification is called the sachs-Hornbostel system.

Idiophones

Are instruments that are struck,shaken or rubbed. Bells, cymbals, triangles, and maracas are examples of this group of musical instruments.

EXAMPLES

Membranophones

Ø Are musical instruments that use stretched skins as membranes. They are struck with bare hands or with the use of sticks or mallets .some examples of this kind of instrument include the timpani, bongos, tugo, dabakan, and snare drums.

EXAMPLES:

SNARE DRUMS

DABAKAN

TUGO

Aerophones

Ø Are wind instruments that Are blown on the mouth –piece to produce sound.trumpets,horns,saxophones

sahunay, and flute belong to this group of instruments .in the case of the nose flutes,sound is produced by exhaling air through the nostrils

FRENCH HORN

SAHUNAY

EXAMPLES:

NOSE FLUTE

Chordophones

Ø Are string instruments that are either plucked or bowed. Examples of this kind of instruments are the kudyapi, banduria, laud, violin and lutes.

EXAMPLES:

LAUD

VIOLIN

KUDYAPI

Electrophones

Ø Are instruments that use electronics group includes the keyboard, electric guitar, and electronic drums.

EXAMPLES:

KEY BOARD

ELECTRONIC DRUMS

Instrumental music is divided into two broad categories known as chamber music and orchestral musics.

Chamber music

Ø Is a composition played by a group of musicians for a small room performance .the smallest group that can perform chamber music is called a duo(two musicians).other groups may perform music in trio(three musicians),quartet(four musicians),quintet(five musicians), octet(eight musicians), and so on. The most popular instrumental combination for chamber music is the string quartet.other chamber music may performed by the brass quintet which is usually made up of two trumpets ,French horn, A trombone, and a tuba.

Orchestral music and instruments

Ø The term orchestration in its specific sense refers to the way instruments are used to portray any musical aspect such as melody or harmony.

For example, a C major chord is made up of the notes C, E, and G. If the notes are held out the entire duration of a measure, the composer or orchestrator will have to decide what instrument(s) play this chord and in what register. Some instruments, including woodwinds and brass are primarily monophonic and can only play one note of the chord at a time. However in a full orchestra there is generally more than one of these instruments, so the composer may choose to outline the chord in its basic form with clarinets or trumpets. Other instruments, including the strings,piano, harp, and pitched percussion are polyphonic and may play more than one note at a time.

Additionally in orchestration, notes may be placed into another register (such as transposed down two octaves for the basses), doubled (both in the same and different octaves), and altered with various levels of dynamics. The choice of instruments, registers, and dynamics affect the overall tone color. If the C major chord was orchestrated for the trumpets and trombones playing fortissimoin their upper registers, it would sound very bright; But if the same chord was orchestrated for the celli and string basses playing sul tasto, doubled by the bassoons and bass clarinet, it might sound heavy and dark.

There are four basically four sections in the orchestra.

1. stringed instruments (chordophones)

Ø are often referred to as the “backbone” of the orchestra.

EXAMPLES:

· The violin is the leader and the heart of the instruments in the orchestra.it is played by moving the bow across the strings.sometimes the strings are also plucked with fingers.

· The viola looks like a violin but is a little larger, it is tuned fifth lower than a violin.

· The cello is held between the knees as the player moves the bow to and fro .it is larger than the viola.

· The double bass is the largest among the stringed instruments but has the lowest pitch.

2. Woodwind instruments (aerophones)

Ø Are blown through the mouth piece .the air passes through the air column and it impinges on an edge or on a reed.

EXAMPLES:

· The piccolo is the smallest instrument in the wood wind section .it has a range of an octave higher than a flute.

· The flute has high range and is extremely capable of producing rapid successions of tones.

The oboe is the most expressive among the woodwind musical instruments.

· The clarinet is a cylindrical instrument with a cup- shaped mouth piece and a flaring bell at the end.

· The bassoon is called the “clown” of the orchestra with a long curving metallic mouthpiece.its tone is soft and mellow.

3.Brass instruments

Ø Are also aerophones but are made out of brass metal.

· The trumpet is the main instrument of the brass section and makes a brilliant and brassy sound.

· The trombone is the only sliding instrument in the brass section that shifts pitch in any key.

· The French horn is a coiled brass instrument that is more mellow than the trumpet.

· The tuba is the largest instrument in the brass section;it has the lowest pitch.

EXAMPLES:

4.percussion instruments

Are considered the special effects department of the orchestra because of the dynamics rhythmic effects they · the tambourine,the triangle,the snare drum and the bass drum.

Ø create.most percussion instruments are played by striking the instruments with sticks and mallets .other are sounded by shaking or rubbing .

Ø These instruments are further classified into two groups,namely the definite pitch percussion and the indefinite pitch percussion instruments

Ø Examples of percussions instruments with definite and indefinite pitch are the following:

· The xylophone consists of a set of wooden bars arranged in scale .it is struck with a set sticks .

· Chimes a set of metal tubes hanging from a frame. Its metal tubes are struck to create the musical sounds.

· The timpani or kettle drums are bowls made out of copper or brass that are covered by a stretched membrane.

EXAMPLES: