Knowledge
of
Musical Instruments
Knowledge of musical instruments
There are an awful lot of musical instruments, in all sorts and sizes.
They all produce sound.
What the sound is like (the timbre of an instrument), is dependent on the shape of the instrument, the material of which it is made and, quite importantly, how the instrument is made to vibrate.
Sounds are air vibrations, which can be detected by the ear.
The acoustic vibration begins at the sound source (e.g. the string of a guitar) and travels through air. This vibration is received by the ear drum in the ear and subsequently interpreted by our brains as sound.
Musical instruments are categorized on the basis of the way in which they are made to vibrate, in other words: the way in which the sound is produced.
Musical instruments are divided into four categories:
1. Wind instruments 2. Stringed instruments 3. Percussion instruments 4. Electronic instruments
A 5th group could be created, namely keyboard instruments.
These instruments have a common characteristic: the keyboard.
With a keyboard instrument it is often not quite clear how the sound is produced, you hit a key and you hear a sound. Dependent on the way in which the sound is produced, keyboard instruments are subdivided into the categories mentioned above.
• With the piano a string is made to vibrate by a hammer with a felt head (stringed instruments). • With the harpsichord a string is made to vibrate by a plectrum, which plucks the string (stringed instruments). • With a pipe organ and accordion the air in a tube is made to vibrate (wind instruments). • With a synthesizer and keyboard the sound is produced electronically (electronic instruments).
Wind instruments
In wind instruments the sound is produced by blowing air in or across the instrument.
There are different kinds of wind instruments:
Flute Recorder French Horn
Oboe Clarinet Saxophone
Trumpet Trombone Tuba
Stringed instruments
In stringed instruments the sound is produced by the vibration of a string.
There are different kinds of stringed instruments:
Violin Cello
Harp Acoustic guitar
Piano Grand piano
Percussion instruments
Percussion instruments produce a sound by striking or rubbing the instrument to make it vibrate, such as the vibration of a tight membrane or instruments which do not have a membrane and are made to vibrate themselves. The most important group of instruments which use a membrane as a sound source are drums. Drums are played with the hands, fingers or sticks. Another group of percussion instruments are the so-called idiophones: percussion instruments which do not have a membrane and are made to vibrate themselves.
There are different kinds of percussion instruments:
Drum kit Bongos
Djembe Xylophone
Cymbals Triangle
Woodblock Electronic instruments
Electronic instruments are called electrophones.
There are various electronic instruments:
Electric guitar Electric bass guitar
Keyboard
Questions and assignments
Put the name of the instrument under the right image:
Questions and assignments
Put the following instruments in the correct main category:
Violin, drum kit, French horn, cello, bongos, recorder, guitar, harp, keyboard, piano, trumpet, saxophone, electric guitar, oboe, flute, djembe, electric bass guitar, double bass, clarinet, cymbals, triangle, trombone, woodblock, xylophone.
Wind instruments Stringed instruments
………………………………… ………………………………… ………………………………… ………………………………… ………………………………… ………………………………… ………………………………… ………………………………… ………………………………… ………………………………… ………………………………… ………………………………… ………………………………… ………………………………… ………………………………… ………………………………… ………………………………… ………………………………… ………………………………… ………………………………… …………………………………. ………………………………….
Percussion instruments Electronic instruments
………………………………… ………………………………… ………………………………… ………………………………… ………………………………… ………………………………… ………………………………… ………………………………… ………………………………… ………………………………… ………………………………… ………………………………… ………………………………… ………………………………… ………………………………… ………………………………… ………………………………… ………………………………… ………………………………… ………………………………… …………………………………. ………………………………….
Questions and assignments
1. Which four main categories of instruments can be distinguished?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. How is the sound produced by wind instruments?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………..
3. In which three ways can you play a percussion instrument?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
Listening exercise
The teacher lets you hear various fragments of music. Write down which instrument you hear. You can choose from the following instruments: Piano, guitar, recorder, drum kit, clarinet, violin, saxophone, harp, trumpet, triangle
Fragment 1: …………………………….
Fragment 2: …………………………….
Fragment 3: …………………………….
Fragment 4: …………………………….
Fragment 5: …………………………….
Fragment 6: …………………………….
Fragment 7: …………………………….
Fragment 8: …………………………….
Fragment 9: …………………………….
Fragment 10: …………………………….
Listening exercise
The teacher lets you hear various fragments of music. Write down which instrument you hear.
Fragment 1: …………………………….
Fragment 2: …………………………….
Fragment 3: …………………………….
Fragment 4: …………………………….
Fragment 5: …………………………….
Fragment 6: …………………………….
Fragment 7: …………………………….
Fragment 8: …………………………….
Fragment 9: …………………………….
Fragment 10: …………………………….
Listening exercise
The teacher lets you hear various fragments of music.
Write down which instrument you hear and to which category the instrument belongs. Choose from: wind instruments, stringed instruments, percussion instruments and electronic instruments.
Instrument Category
Fragment 1: ……………………………. …………………………….
Fragment 2: ……………………………. …………………………….
Fragment 3: ……………………………. …………………………….
Fragment 4: ……………………………. …………………………….
Fragment 5: ……………………………. …………………………….
Fragment 6: ……………………………. …………………………….
Fragment 7: ……………………………. …………………………….
Fragment 8: ……………………………. …………………………….
Fragment 9: ……………………………. …………………………….
Fragment 10: ……………………………. …………………………….
Listening exercise
The teacher lets you hear various fragments of music.
Write down which instrument you hear and to which category the instrument belongs. Choose from: wind instruments, stringed instruments, percussion instruments and electronic instruments.
Instrument Category
Fragment 1: ……………………………. …………………………….
Fragment 2: ……………………………. …………………………….
Fragment 3: ……………………………. …………………………….
Fragment 4: ……………………………. …………………………….
Fragment 5: ……………………………. …………………………….
Fragment 6: ……………………………. …………………………….
Fragment 7: ……………………………. …………………………….
Fragment 8: ……………………………. …………………………….
Fragment 9: ……………………………. …………………………….
Fragment 10: ……………………………. …………………………….
Puzzle
Musical Instruments
All these instruments occur in the puzzle. They could be both across and down in the puzzle. When you have found a word you cross it out.
Double bass Triangle Trombone Flute Bongo
Violin Oboe Bass guitar Keyboard Woodblock Saxophone Trumpet Piano Djembe Tuba
S C S Y U P Q T K S T H K C P
C A Y S I Y R V S M R E O B O
Z M X A A O R A N U I R W F F
H F N O M B B T I G A S U A U
E O M B P E V X L N N S O S R
K I O E L H O W O Y G M K A B
G N J B P I O G I M L L T B O
E O U D C A R N V L E I K U N
T O D R A O B Y E K U K U T G
D E D J E M B E F G V L D I O
A S P F W O O D B L O C K Y F
I R N M T J D S R E U A M E G
J D Q G U S E F G K B T Y I Y
O L D T T R N D A D S T E D D
W X X P Q T T J Q K S S B E V
Notes
Notes