Instrument Families

An instrument is categorized into a family depending on its sound, how the sound is produced and how the instrument is engineered.

There are a lot of different ways of thinking about families and list contain anywhere from 4 - 7 families/categories.

The great majority of musical instruments fall readily into one of six major categories: bowed strings, woodwind, brass, percussion, keyboard, and the guitar family. The first four of which form the basis of the modern symphony orchestra.

Western musical instruments can be classified into five broad categories: strings, woodwinds, percussion, keyboards and brass. Depending on the type of music being played, one type of instrument will be more or less prominent than other types. For instance, a jazz band may have more brass and percussion, while a classical orchestra may have many more strings.

Strings

Strings are instruments such as violin, guitar, harp and bass. They are played either by strumming or plucking the strings with the fingers, which is the case for guitars and harps, or by gliding a bow across the strings, for violins and cellos. In the case of a stand-up (or acoustic bass), all three methods may be used to play the instrument.

Instruments that fall into the string category consist of a set of strings that vibrate to produce sound and various pitches when they are pulled, hit, rubbed, or rubbed with a bow. The pitch of the sound produced via these instruments is highly dependent on the length of the air column inside the instrument. The pitch also significantly depends upon the thickness of the strings used in the instrument.

Some examples of string instruments include the guitar, violin, mandolin, cello, harp, banjo, and double bass. The guitar is the most commonly known out of all the string instruments and is more straightforward to learn and play than other instruments in this category. This is what makes it a great option for children to begin learning.

Benefits of Playing Stringed Instruments:

Learning a stringed instrument is supposed to improve your problem-solving skills and mathematical abilities.
Establishes a positive learning environment.
Helps with focus and concentration.
Enhances imagination.
Creates a multi-sensory learning experience.
Acts as a tension release.
Can alter mood and change attitudes to learning.
Can enhance cognitive recovery following a stroke.
You can learn the smaller instruments at a young age.

Woodwinds

Woodwinds are instruments such as bassoons and oboes. They are played by blowing air into a reed, which is attached by a wind pipe to the instrument, which has valves situated along its length to regulate the flow of air. Woodwinds are constructed of wood, which gives them a distinct sound.

As the name implies, woodwind instruments have a mouthpiece at one end containing a single or double strip of thin wood, known as a reed. This vibrates when air is blown across, which causes the sound to come out the other end. All woodwinds require the use of the mouth and blowing air into the instrument, which then splits the air into different holes that produce different sounds, depending on the instrument. The different sounds and frequencies are controlled by running your fingers along the holes located along the top of the instrument

Despite the name, a woodwind may be made of any material, not just wood. Common examples include brass, silver, cane, as well as other metals such as gold and platinum. For example, a saxophone is made of brass but is considered a woodwind because it requires a reed to produce sound. The most common examples of woodwind instruments are flutes, clarinet, bassoon, piccolo, recorder, and harmonica.

Woodwind instruments have to be learned through practice and lessons just like any other instrument. However, they are known to be one of the easier types of instruments to learn so it shouldn’t take fairly long to start catching on after first starting. Recorders and harmonicas are extremely popular instruments in the woodwind category, as they are both inexpensive to buy and very simple to learn. It is important to have your own woodwind instrument for hygiene reasons, so we do recommend purchasing your own if you decide you want to begin practicing.

Benefits of Playing the Woodwind Instrument:

You can learn to play a woodwind instrument quite early, often from the age of 5 years.
It will strengthen your breathing and increase your lung capacity
It actually strengthens posture, and can even exercise your abdominal muscles as you have to engage them to play the instrument longer.
It will aid confidence levels, and if you join an orchestra you will be required to work under pressure.
Boosts hand-eye coordination.

Brass

Brass instruments take their name from the material most often used to make them. Trumpets and saxophones are common examples of brass instruments. Sometimes brass and woodwinds are classified together as wind instruments; however, the playing technique is different. While both woodwinds and brass are played by blowing air into the instrument, brass instruments do not use reeds, although saxophones may have shaped mouthpieces attached to the end of the instrument.

Brass instruments are similar to wind instruments with a few distinct differences that set them apart. The main difference obviously being that they are made of brass and that they are also long and hollow resembling a pipe. They work by blowing into the mouthpiece, and most have valves to be pressed down creating musical notes. At the end is a bell-shaped opening through which sounds are produced. These are not suitable instruments for a small child to play because of their larger size and need for strong air flow. They are one of the harder types of instruments to learn to play and are typically seen in jazz ensembles.

One of the attractive features of brass instruments is the decibel of sound that they produce and the fact that they can be played louder than any other instrument. For this reason, brass instruments can be heard from far away. Brass instruments include french horns, trombones, and trumpets that are various shapes to make them easier to play. Once again you will see them as part of the orchestra, so expose yourself to live performances or symphony orchestras to get used to seeing the orchestra in action.

Benefits of Playing Brass Instruments:

It will develop confidence and breath control
Strengthens core muscles, and helps to control breathing.
Increases hand-eye coordination, strengthening the neural pathways.
Makes you mentally stronger
If you work in an orchestra, it teaches you to get along with others.
Acts as a stress release

Percussion

The most commonly known form of percussion instruments are drums. However, triangles and cymbals are also considered to be percussion instruments. Percussion instruments are struck with drumsticks or the flat palm of the hand to produce sound. Cymbals are struck against one another to produce sound, or they can be struck with a drumstick, or brushed with a percussion brush.

Percussion instruments are a wide-ranging category of instruments that produce a noise when they are hit, shaken, rattled, or scraped with a hand, stick, or similar instrument. These instruments include drums, cymbals, maracas, xylophones, triangle, tambourine, and many others.

Percussion instruments are broadly divided into 2 subclasses which include pitched percussion instruments and unpitched percussion instruments. Pitched percussion instruments are instruments that produce notes with an identifiable pitch. On the other hand, unpitched percussion instruments are the ones that produce notes with a pitch that is not identifiable. The pitch of sounds produced by such instruments is indefinite.

Interestingly, pianos are classified as percussion instruments but there is some controversy behind this. The piano is played by pressing its 88 black and white keys, which puts it in the percussion family. However, on pressing the keys, a hammer is lifted inside the piano that strikes the strings which point to it belonging to the string family. Percussion instruments are mainly used to keep rhythms in rhythm. These instruments can be a bit difficult to learn for those just starting out, as it takes a lot of experience and practice to be able to hit the instrument with the right amount of intensity for a given tone. These instruments are widely used and quite popular due to the melodic sounds that they produce.

Benefits of Percussion Instruments:

Playing the drums is energetic and can be classified as exercise.
Will improve coordination and motor skills.
Will improve manual dexterity.
Can be a stress release.
Promotes social interaction with others.
Enables self-expression.
May lead to a career choice.
Increases brain development.
Therapeutic for low mood.

Keyboards

The most common forms of keyboards are pianos and organs. However, a harpsichord, an instrument dating from the middle ages, is also considered a keyboard instrument. Electronic keyboards are often used in modern jazz, contemporary, classical and other forms of music.

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