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No matter who you are, no matter what you've done, no matter where you come from, there are three absolute truths about music!
So, what is music anyway? Merriam-Webster defines it as "the science or
art of ordering tones or sounds in succession, in combination, and in temporal
relationships to produce a composition having unity and continuity." Kind
of long winded, huh? Basically, it's just sounds arranged in tonal and
rhythmic patterns. Lose the tones and the rhythm and all you have is...
well,... noise!
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General Reference »
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Music Dictionary Music Theory »
Note Frequencies Historical Instruments »
Al's Tenor Horns Other Resources » |
Ultimately, we make sounds by creating vibrations (sound waves) which move through a medium like air. Sound can't move through a vacuum. Simply put,... no vibrating air, no music! Currently, musical instrument taxonomy, or how musical instruments are classified, is based on how they make sounds. Once an instrument is classified, it may further be broken down into groups and then into families. Today, we use the Hornbostel-Sachs system, first published in 1914 and revised in 1961, to classify music instruments. There are five main classifications for musical instruments. Like most things though, when people try to pigeon hole everything into perfect little niches, it gets a little fuzzy around the edges... and so it is with instruments. More on this a little later. Aerophones use air that vibrates (or resonates) in a tube to make sounds. Aerophones are the wind instruments and are broken into two main groups. Brass instruments are our first group and are lip vibrated aerophones. Trumpets, trombones and tubas are in this group. The second group of aerophones are the reedpipe instruments or woodwinds. Either name is appropriate; these instruments have always used vibrating reeds to make sound, but further, most of the instruments discussed here, except saxophones, evolved from instruments that either were originally, or still are, made of wood. Reedpipes are divided into four main families. Single reeds are the first family, and include saxophones and clarinets. Double reeds are the second family and include instruments like oboes, bagpipes, and bassoons. Edge instruments are our third family. Flutes, piccolos, and panpipes are in this group. Finally, there are the free reed instruments and they include harmonicas, accordions, concertinas, church organs, and so on. Chordophones are instruments that use vibrating strings to produce sound. The strings are forced to vibrate when they're either plucked, struck or bowed. Chordophones are also broken into three main groups. Struck string instruments are the first group. They make sounds by striking the strings and include instruments like pianos, clavichords, harpsichords, and the like. Plucked (or strummed) are the second group of chordophones. Plucked chordophones make sounds when the strings are either plucked or strummed as with harps, lutes, or guitars. Bowed instruments are the final group of chordophones. Bowed chordophones make sounds when the friction of a bow rubbing across the strings cause the strings to vibrate. Examples of these would be violins or cellos. Membranophones get their name because sounds are caused by striking a membrane with something like sticks, hands, or mallets. Membranophones are broken into two main groups. Tonal Drums are instruments like timpani and Roto-toms that are able to be tuned to achieve distinct pitches. Non-tonal drums are the second group. Although these drums can be "tuned," they are considered to produce no distinct tone. Drums in this group are snare drums, bass drums, etc. Now, drums have been around for 4000 years, give or take a few days, and drummers have always been quite content with calling them drums. But, somewhere along the lines of history, someone walked up to a drummer and said "My, what a lovely membranophone you have." and somehow, it stuck. Idiophones are instruments where either the body of the instrument, or something inside it vibrates to make sounds. Idiophones are also broken into two main groups. Tonal idiophones are instruments like marimbas, xylophones, and steel drums. Non-tonal idiophones are the other group. Although these instruments can be "tuned" by varying their physical dimensions while they are being made, they cannot be tuned beyond their point of manufacture. Examples of instruments in this group would be cymbals, maracas, claves, or cowbells. Membranophones and idiophones are usually lumped together to form the percussion section. Even though the percussion section usually isn't the biggest section in the band, they are usually responsible for the biggest variation of instruments. Electrophones are the final class of instruments and they produce sounds through the magic of electronics. Examples of electrophones are electric pianos or synthesizers. Electrophones are only listed here for completeness, but are beyond the scope of this document. If you need or want more information on electrophones, you can start by going to Wikipedia or Virginia Tech pages on the subject. |
All of this seems pretty simple... "so, where does it get fuzzy" you ask? Well, take a piano for instance. It has strings, but the strings are struck with felt lined hammers controlled by the piano keys. Is it a chordophone because of the strings or is it a percussion instrument because the strings are hit? After all, we can strike the wood blocks on a marimba and produce a chord, but it has no strings. How about a pipe organ? It makes sound by pushing air through tuned pipes. But, which pipe makes a sound is controlled by a keyboard. Is it a chordophone because of the keyboard or is it a aerophone because of the air pipes?
Here's another one to ponder. What about singers? Air resonates in a cavity (the mouth). Are they aerophones? Vocal sounds are produced because the larynx (a stringy membrane) vibrates when air moves past it. Does that make singers chordophones? Of course, the sound is internal to the instrument itself. Are singers idiophones? Finally, the skin is just a membrane; if you hit the membrane (the singer) with a mallet while they're singing, they sure would sing differently. Does that make them membranophones?
Organologists (people who study musical instruments) are considering changing the rules from how the sound is made to how the instrument is played. Hope they figure it out...
Credit where it's due... A special thanks to Ed Schwartz (Director, Virginia Tech New Media Center) and Professor Richard Cole (Virginia Tech Dept. of Music) for their insight, direction and encouragement. I couldn't have done many portions of the music part of this site without your help. Thanks guys.
