The Woodwind Family

The flute, oboe, English horn, bassoon, clarinet and saxophone are all instruments in the woodwind family. Except for the saxophone, all these instruments were once made of wood. They were all played by blowing with air or wind, so they were called “woodwind”.

All the woodwind instruments are made like a tube. The tube has holes in it. When all the holes are covered, air goes all the way to the end of the tube and makes a low sound. When all the holes are open, the air goes only a little way. This makes a high sound. Try this with a recorder!

The clarinet and saxophone have a reed made of cane that is attached to a mouthpiece. When the reed vibrates, it makes a sound. The oboe and bassoon have a double reed. Two pieces of cane are tied together and placed in the instrument. When the double reed vibrates, the sound is made.

The flute does not have a reed. The player blows over the tone hole. The air entering the flute vibrates and creates sound. This is just like blowing over the top of a pop bottle.

1. A long tube will make this kind of sound: low or high (circle one)

2. A short tube will make this kind of sound: low or high (circle one)

3. Most woodwind instruments were once made of: brass or wood (circle one)

4. The clarinet, saxophone, oboe and bassoon have a _______ that vibrates and makes the sound.

flute oboe clarinet saxophone bassoon

The Brass Family

The trumpet, cornet, French horn, trombone, baritone (or euphonium), tuba and sousa-phone are all members of the brass family. All these instruments are made of brass.

On all the brass instruments, the sound is made by the player buzzing their lips. Lick your lips; say “mmm” and blow, keeping your lips together. This should make a buzz. The mouthpiece helps the sound become clearer. The rest of the brass instrument makes the sound louder.

Most of the brass instruments have lots of tubing that is curled up. Valves are used to open up different lengths of tubing. When long tubes are opened, the sound is low. When short tubes are opened, the sound is high.

1. Brass instruments are made of _________.

2. Sound on the brass instruments is made by ___________ the lips.

3. ______ are used to open up lengths of tubing.

Answers: buzzing valves brass

trumpetFrench horn

tuba trombone

The Percussion Family

A percussion instrument is one that is shaken or hit to make a sound. There are many different percussion instruments.

Some percussion instruments can play melodies. These are called “tuned” percussion. The xylophone is a tuned percussion instrument.

There are many kinds of drums in the percussion family. The snare drum, bass drum, drum set and timpani are all percussion instruments.

You may have played some percussion instruments such as the triangle, woodblock, claves, maracas or tambourine. These are used to give special effects in the concert band or the orchestra.

1. How is sound made on a percussion instrument? _______________________________________________________________________________________

2. How are tuned percussion instruments different from untuned percussion? __________________________________________________________________

3. Name three percussion instruments: ______________ _______________ ______________

bass drumtimpani

triangle

chimes

xylophone

snare drum

cymbals

The String Family

1. When the strings of the violin are plucked, what is it called? _______________

2. How are the strings of the harp played? ______________________________

3. What are the strings of the violin, viola, cello and double bass usually played with? _________________________________________________________

violin

viola cello double bass

harp

A common ensemble for string instruments is the string quartet. A string quartet is made up of two violins, a viola, and a cello. It is called a quartet because there are four instruments.

The instruments in the string family all have strings. They have a beautiful wooden body that makes the sound of the strings louder.

The violin, viola, cello adn double bass are played with a bow. When a bow is pulled across the strings, the sound is made. When the strings of these instruments are plucked, it is called pizzicato.

The hard is played by strumming the strings. The guitar’s strings can be strummed or plucked. The violin, viola, cello and double bass are found in the symphony orchestra. The harp and the guitar are sometimes used in the orchestra. The double bass and electric bass guitar are sometimes used in the concert band.

A harpsichord looks similar to a grand piano, and is made with wood and strings just like a piano. While a piano strikes the strings with hammers, a harpsichord instead plucks the strings with quills. Because it is being plucked, harpsichords can only play at one dynamic level.

The Piano is a wooden instrument with 88 keys. A piano can either be upright or grand. An upright piano is built with the strings vertical. A grand piano has the strings horizontal, and can be up to 9 feet long. The keys are connected to hammers which hit the strings to make a sound. A piano also has a cast iron frame which helps to amplify the sound.

A celeste looks similar to an upright piano, although has smaller keys. Just like the piano, the celeste has keys which connect to hammers. However, instead of hitting strings, the hammers strike metal plates or bars, sort of like a glockenspiel. It has a very soft and gentle sound.

Electronic keyboards and synthesizers are able to create a lot of different sounds. These keyboards have a built in computer which play anything from a traditional piano sound, voices, any of the other instruments of the orchestra, or even funny things like dog and cat sounds. When you press a key, the computer plays a sound

1. How are upright and grand pianos different? _______________________________________________________________________________________

2. How is sound made on a celeste?___________________________________ _____________________________________________________________

3. Why can a harpsichord only play at one dynamic level? ________________________________________________________________________________

The Keyboard Family

piano

celeste

electronickeyboard

harpsichord