About Musical Instruments
Musical instruments create controlled vibrations. Strings vibrate, air columns resonate, membranes move, solid objects ring, and electronic systems generate or process signals. Cultures around the world developed thousands of instrument types.
Strings
String instruments produce sound from vibrating strings.
Learn MoreWoodwinds
Woodwinds use vibrating air columns.
Learn MoreBrass
Brass instruments begin with vibrating lips at a mouthpiece.
Learn MorePercussion
Percussion instruments sound when struck, shaken, scraped, or otherwise excited.
Learn MoreKeyboards
Keyboard instruments use keys to control another sound-making system.
Learn MoreElectronic Instruments
Synthesizers and digital instruments generate or transform electronic signals.
Learn MoreCraftsmanship
Instrument making combines acoustics with materials and skilled craft.
Learn MoreCulture
Instrument families differ across cultures.
Learn MoreStrings
Violins, guitars, harps, cellos, sitars, and many others transfer vibration to a body or electronic pickup.
Woodwinds
Flutes split an air stream, while clarinets and saxophones use reeds. The name woodwind describes the family, not always the modern material.
Brass
Trumpets, trombones, horns, and tubas change pitch through tube length and the player's embouchure.
Percussion
Drums, cymbals, xylophones, bells, shakers, and many world instruments belong here.
Keyboards
Pianos strike strings, pipe organs control airflow, and synthesizers trigger electronic circuits or software.
Electronic Instruments
They can imitate acoustic instruments or create sounds with no acoustic equivalent.
Craftsmanship
Wood species, metal thickness, string design, reeds, membranes, and body shape all affect sound.
Culture
A global music education should include instruments from Africa, Asia, the Americas, Oceania, the Middle East, and Europe.