Musical instrument
A
musical instrument is a
device constructed or modified with the purpose of making
music. In principle, anything that produces
sound, and can somehow be controlled by a
musician, can serve as a musical instrument. The expression, however, is reserved generally to items that have a specific musical purpose. The academic study of musical instruments is called
organology.
Instruments are often divided by the way in which they generate sound:
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Wind instruments generate a sound when a column of air is made to vibrate inside them. The
frequency of the wave generated is related to the length of the column of air and the shape of the instrument, while the
tone quality of the sound generated is affected by the construction of the instrument and method of tone production. The group is typically subdivided into
Brass, like the
trumpet, and
Woodwind instruments, such as the
clarinet,
bagpipes and
flute.
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Lamellaphones create a sound by the plucking of lamellas made from different materials (metal, raphia etc.). These Instruments are tunable, so they do not belong to the
idiophones. An example is the
Mbira.
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Percussion instruments create sound, with or without
pitch, when struck. The shape and material of the part of the instrument to be struck and the shape of the resonating cavity, if any, determine the sound of the instrument. Examples:
drums,
bells and
cymbals.
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String instruments generate a sound when the string is plucked, strummed, slapped, etc. The
frequency of the wave generated (and therefore the note produced) usually depends on the length of the vibrating portion of the string, its linear density (mass per unit length of string), the tension of each string and the point at which the string is excited; the
tone quality varies with the construction of the resonating cavity. Examples:
guitars,
violins and
sitars.
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Voice, that is, the human voice, is an instrument in its own right. A
singer generates sounds when airflow from the lungs sets the
vocal cords into
oscillation. The fundamental frequency is controlled by the tension of the vocal cords and the
tone quality by the formation of the vocal tract; a wide range of sounds can be created.
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Electronic instruments generate sound through electronic means. They often mimic other instruments in their design, particularly keyboards, drums and guitars. Examples:
synthesizers and
theremins.
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Keyboard instruments are any instruments that are played with a
musical keyboard. Every key generates one or more sounds; most keyboard instruments have extra means (
pedals for a piano,
stops for an organ) to manipulate these sounds. They may produce sound by wind (
organ), vibrating strings either hammered (
piano) or plucked (
harpsichord), by electronic means (
synthesizer) or in some other way. Sometimes, instruments that do not usually have a keyboard, such as the
Glockenspiel, are fitted with one. This term is also used to refer to the family of
percussion instruments who resemble a piano keyboard. Though they have no moving parts and are struck by mallets held in the player's hands, they possess the same physical arrangement of keys and produce soundwaves in a similar manner.
Many
alternate divisions and further subdivisions of instruments exist. To learn about specific instruments, consult the
list of musical instruments or
list of archaic musical instruments.
All classes of instruments save the electronic are mentioned in ancient sources, such as Egyptian inscriptions and the Bible, and probably predate recorded history. The human body, generating both vocal and percussive sounds, may have been the first instrument. Percussion instruments such as stones and hollow logs are another likely candidate. For instance, nine-thousand-year-old bone flutes or recorders have been found in Chinese archeological sites.
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Extended technique*
Folk instrument - a description and a list
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Music lessons*
New interfaces for musical expression*
Orchestra*
Vocal and instrumental pitch ranges
