A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the beginnings of human culture. The academic study of musical instruments is called organology.
Instruments are the tools of musicians. And like other craftsmen, as the musician becomes more skilled he/she becomes more capable of producing great works with his/her tool.
Music seems to be a primal love of people. It seems that as new ways were found to make music news of their development spread quickly. So there are ancient drums, harps and whistles in Asia that look very similar to ancient instruments in Africa, Europe and the Americas. Many modern instruments are refinements of these very primitive instruments. It is only with the development of electronics that the method of making music has dramatically changed.
Different Types of Musical Instruments
Musical instruments from all over the world can broadly be categorized as follows:
- wind instruments
- percussion instruments
- brass instruments
- string instruments
- electronic instruments.
Wind Instruments: Wind instruments require a person to blow into the instrument in order to produce the desired sound. They work on the principle of sound waves, frequencies, harmonics, resonance and acoustics. When you blow into the instrument, the pitch of the sound note produced, varies depending on the length of the internal air column in which the sound waves vibrate. The shorter the air column, the higher is the pitch of the note produced, and vice-versa. Some of the popular wind instruments are:- flute
- piccolo
- shakuhachi
- clarinet
- bassoon
- english horn
- oboe
- accordion
- saxophone
- shehnai
- bagpipe
- pianica
- harmonica.
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| Wind Instruments |
Percussion Instruments: Percussion instruments require a person to strike or beat the instrument surface in order to generate vibrations, which then produce the desired sound note. Depending on the type of surface, one can use one's hands, sticks, or other similar objects for striking the instrument surface. A characteristic feature of percussion instruments is that the type of sound produced varies depending on the spot that is struck on the instrument surface. For example, in case of the djembe, striking it at the center produces a deep and muffled sort of thump, whereas striking it at the edges produces a sharp and crisp sound which is totally different from the earlier one. Some of the well-known percussion instruments are:- drum
- congo
- djembe
- tabla
- duff
- dhol
- nagara
- cymbals
- bells
- xylophone
- marimba.
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| Percussion Instrument |
Brass Instruments: All those shiny trumpets and trombones that feature so prominently in jazz and blues music are classic examples of brass instruments. Brass instruments are named so, not because all of them are made from brass, but because of the nature and texture of the sound that they produce. They work on pretty much the same principle as wind instruments, with a few modifications here and there. In case of brass instruments, the length of the air column can be changed using press-valves or through a slide mechanism. Some of the popular brass instruments are:- trumpet
- trombone
- bugle
- conch
- tuba
- french horn.
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| Brass Instruments |
String Instruments: All your guitars, violins and pianos fall under the category of string instruments. String instruments work on the basis of sound wave vibrations that are created with the help of strings. The pitch of the sound note produced depends on the length of the air column as well as the type and thickness of the string involved. Some of the famous string instruments are:- guitar
- piano
- violin
- viola
- sitar
- cello
- double bass
- mandolin
- banjo
- harp
- sarod
- santoor.
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| String Instruments |
Electronic Instruments: These are some of the newer musical instruments that have been produced in recent years with the advent of technology. Most of them are designed to reproduce the sounds of existing musical instruments in a simple and user-friendly way. Some of the common electronic instruments include:- piano keyboards
- octopads
- rhythm machines
- samplers
- synthesizers.
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Electronic Instruments
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It is quite heartwarming to see that despite different countries being associated with different musical instruments, all of them ultimately unite in contributing towards the common language of music. Therefore, one can safely say that music's universal appeal is clearly visible in the different types of musical instruments that one gets to see all over the world.
