CLASSIFICATION OF
INSTRUMENTS
A. String instruments are instruments that are plucked or bowed and are often referred to as the “backbone” of the orchestra.
Examples:
● Violin – the leader and the heart of the orchestra. Played by moving the bow to and from across the strings.
● Viola – a little larger than violin. It is tuned a fifth lower than violin.
● Cello –larger than viola. Held by the player between his/her knees and moves the bow
to and from.
● Double bass – larger among the stringed instruments that has the lowest pitch.
● Harp – stringed instrument that is played by plucking.
B. Woodwind instruments produce music when musicians blow the mouthpiece.
Examples:
● Piccolo is the smallest instrument in the woodwind section. It has a range octave higher than flute.
● Flute has a high range and is really capable of producing fast series tones.
● Oboe is the most dramatic among the woodwind musical instruments.
● Clarinet is a cylindrical instrument with a cup-shaped mouthpiece and a flaring bell at the end.
● Bassoon is called “clown” of the orchestra for it has a long curving metallic mouthpiece. Its
tone is soft and mellow.
C. Brass instruments are used to produce sound by means of blowing. They are made of brass metal.
Examples:
● Trumpet is the main instrument of the brass section which has a brilliant and brassy sound.
● Trombone is the only sliding instrument in the brass section that charges pitch in any key.
● French Horn is 12-feet long and sounds more mellow than the
trumpet.
● Tuba is the largest in the brass section and has the lowest pitch.
D. Percussion instruments are played by striking the instruments with sticks or hammers while other are through
shaking or rubbing like maracas.
Examples:
● Timpani look like big polished bowls or upside-down teakettles, which is why they're also called kettledrums.
They are big copper pots with drumheads made of calfskin or plastic stretched over their tops.
● Snare drum is a smallish drum made of wood or brass with drumheads made of calfskin or plastic stretched
over both ends of a hollow cylinder. It has a set of wire-wrapped strings stretched across the bottom head (the
snare), which give the snare drum its unique "rattling" sound when the drum is hit.
● Bass drum, like the double bass, is the biggest member of the percussion family
and therefore makes the lowest sounds. The bass drum is built like a very large
snare drum, although without the snare; it is also an untuned instrument.
● Xylophone originally came from Africa and Asia, but has a Greek name that means "wood sound." The modern
xylophone has wooden bars or keys arranged like the keys of the piano, which the player hits with a mallet.
● Gong, also known as the tamtam, is a very large metal plate that hangs suspended from a metal pipe. It looks
similar to a cymbal and is also untuned, but is much larger and has a raised center.
