Stringed Instruments Violin It is the smallest but

Stringed Instruments

Violin It is the smallest, but the chief instrument of the string family. It has the highest pitch, and its tone is brilliant and active with tremendous expression. It is not only an ideal solo instrument but also plays an important role in the orchestra. It produces sounds by striking the strings with a finger(pizzicato), thus causing the strings to vibrate. Different pitches can be obtained by pressing the strings on the fingerboard in different positions.

Viola v v It is slightly larger than a violin and has strings which are a fifth lower. Its tone is thicker and lacks the brightness of the violin, even when it is playing the some note, It often plays the notes of the middle range in the orchestra. The viola uses the alto clef because its range comes in between the treble and the bass staff,

Cello(Violoncello) v v v Its tone is rich with deep emotion. It has wide range. For most of the time it provides the bass party of the harmonies in the orchestra, but sometimes it plays the melody of the solo party. It has strings an octave below those of the viola. The instrument is held downwards, with a spike pressed against the floor to keep it firm. It usually uses the bass clef, but the alto clef is used for fairly high notes and the treble clef for notes which are even higher.

Double Bass v v v It provides a firm bass to the orchestra. It seldom plays the solo part or an independent party. There are four strings, but some have five strings. For pizzicato(i. e. plucking the strings with fingertips), it can produce very loud and low sounds. Its scores are written with the bass clef(as follows), but it actually sounds an octave lower.

Harp v v 1. 2. It is a large-sized stringed instrument. Two typical effects of the harp are: arpeggio – spreading out the notes of a chard; Glissando – creating a rapid slide between two notes when the player’s fingers are sweeping across the strings.

Woodwind Instruments

Flute v v It is usually made of silver. It is consists of three parts-the mouthpiece, the middlepiece and the endpiece. It is held horizontally, and the player blows through a hole at the side of the mouthpiece to cause the air inside the tube to vibrate It has a range of about three octaves, starting at middle C. By blowing harder, the player can produce a sound an octave higher without changing the fingering. The sound pitch can also be changed by manipulating a system of keys which cover the holes.

v Its low register is melancholy and mysterious, its middle register sweet and bright, and its high register loud and sharp.

Piccolo v v v It produces sounds of the highest pitch among woodwind instruments. It is about half as long the flute, but sounds an octave higher than the latter. Its tone is very shrill.

Oboe v v It is held vertically. It is a double-reed wind instrument. It is particularly suitable for pastoral melodies. Its low register is melancholy and harsh, its middle register plaintive, and its high register rich.

English Horn v It is fifth lower than the oboe with similar tone and is more suitable for plaintive or pastoral melodies.

Clarinet v v It is a single-reed wind instrument. It is the most expressive instrument in the woodwind family , and can be used to convey complex emotions. Its low register is mysterious, its middle register elegant and powerful, and its high register brilliant and similar to that of the oboe. Its range is wide and its volume is high.

Bassoon v v It is double-reed wind instrument. It has a deep tone. Its range is wind. Its low register is gloomy, its middle register warm, and its high register smooth.

Brass Instruments

French Horn v v v It is the most expressive instrument in the brass family. It has a beautiful and poetic tone. Its range is wind – 31/2 octaves. The notes are usually written on the treble staff. It is a transposed instrument which is usually in F, and its music has to be written five notes higher than it actually sounds (e. g. note C has to be written as G).

Trumpet v v v It has the highest pitch and plays a leading role in the brass family. It has a noble and powerful tone, but can also have a sorrowful tone when muted. It is usually pitched in Bb A, but modern composers sometimes write a non-transposing part for trumpets in C.

Trombone v v v It is the only brass instrument without valves. Its pitch is changed by moving its slide. Like the trumpet, it has a noble, powerful tone, but at a lower register. It can also play soft tunes. It can produce an amusing effect(glissando)when its slide is controlled skilfully.

Tuba v v It has the lowest range in the brass family. Its tone is low and rather coarse. It is tuned an octave lower than the trombone. It originally had three valves, but now it usually has four vales.

Percussion Instruments

Percussion Instruments with Definite Pitch

Chimes v They are long metal tubes hung in a wooden frame and struck by hammers. They sound very much like church bells.

Celesta v It consists of metal bars. The tone is soft.

Timpani v v It is the most important instrument in the percussion family. It consists of a metal bowl with a plastic skin stretched over the top. It can be tuned to different notes by adjusting the six screws set around the head of the drum to make the skin tighter or looser. For modern drums, the adjustment is made by operating the pedals. It is the only kind of drum with a definite pitch.

Xylophone v v v It consists of a series of hardwood bars arranged in the order of a piano keyboard. The compass is 31/2 octaves. The bars are struck with a hammer to produce sound. The sound is hard and brilliant. The pitch is determined by the length and the weight of the bar, the higher the pitch.

Glockenspiel v It is small to the xylophone except that its bars are made of metal.

Snare drum v It consists of two drum heads tightly stretched over a metal shell. The lower skin has strings of gut (snares) stretched across which produce a rattling sound.

Percussion Instruments with Indefinite Pitch

Bass drum v It is an important instrument in a military band, It has a low and grave tone.

Cymbals v They consist of two thin brass plates which produce a strong and drastic sound when clashed.

Tambourine v The player can hit the drum head or shake the metal plates around it.

Gong v It is around metal disc which gives a roaring sound when struck with a stick.

Triangle v It is a steel bar bent into a triangle with one corner open and produce a tinkling sound when struck with a beater.

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