Musical Instruments and Ensembles: A Guide to Classification and Families, Study notes of Music

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Chapter 2

Musical Instruments and Ensembles

Learning Objectives

1. Explain the different ways that instruments can be classified and described.
2. Define aerophone, chordophone, membranophone, idiophone, and electrophone.
3. Comprehend the basic function of the human voice and the differences between voices.
4. Identify and define the major instrumental families of an orchestra.
5. Identify various instruments and voice types in musical compositions.
6. Develop appropriate vocabulary regarding musical instruments necessary for the effective communication about music.
7. Describe various musical ensembles.

How are instruments classified and described?

• (^) What material is it made of?
• (^) How is sound produced?
• (^) How is the instrument viewed by the culture that created it?
• (^) How is the instrument played?
• (^) What kind of sound does it make?
• (^) What is the range of the instrument?
• (^) How is the instrument used?

Ethnomusicology

Classification

Ethnomusicology: from the Greek “ethno” (culture, people), the scientific study of music of oral tradition, encompassing tribal and folk music, and of the art music produced by various world cultures.

• phone: Greek work for “sound”

Ethnomusicology

Classification

Chordophones: instruments that produce sound by a vibrating string (or chord). Chordophones can by played by plucking, striking, strumming, or bowed. Examples: violin, viola, cello, double bass, guitar, mandolin, piano, harpsichord,

- Violin Sonata No. 1, 1 st movement, Johannes Brahms This composition by the Johannes Brahms is performed by piano and violin. Both of those instruments are chordophones. A piano creates sound by striking strings while the violin strings are set to vibration by a bow made of horse hair.

Ethnomusicology

Classification

Membranophones: instruments that produce sound by a stretched membrane, usually made of plastic, animal skin, or fiberglass. Examples: “nearly infinite variety of drums found throughout the world.”

• (^) Fast Chase Groove, Godfrey Mgcina This piece is from an album entitled African Drum Circle and features a wide variety of membranophones.

Ethnomusicology

Classification

Electrophones: Sound produced by electric or electronic means. This is a relatively new category of instruments. Examples: synthesizers, computers, Theremin.

• (^) Liebeslied, Fritz Kreisler This composition is played on an electronic instrument, often used in science fiction movies, called the Theremin.

Families of

Instruments

• (^) In western orchestras, instruments are classified in a similar manner to the ethnomusicology method. The main families of instruments in a western orchestra are strings, winds, brass, and percussion.

Woodwind Family

• Flute

• Clarinet

• Oboe

• Bassoon

Brass Family

• Trumpet

• Trombone

• French Horn

• Tuba

Human Voice

as Instrument

• (^) Human voice was the first instrument used for musical purposes.
• (^) A wind instrument:
  • (^) Lungs supply the air
  • (^) Vocal folds create the vibration
  • (^) Pharygeal, oral, and nasal cavities create resonance and amplification
  • (^) Tongue, teeth, and lips provide articulation of consonants and vowels.

Vocal

Classifications

Female

• (^) Soprano
• (^) Mezzo-Soprano
• (^) Alto Male
• (^) Counter-tenor
• (^) Tenor
• (^) Baritone
• (^) Bass

Vocal Timbre

• (^) Louis Armstrong, What a Wonderful World, Bob Thiele and George Davis Weiss
• (^) Sting, Fields of Gold
• (^) Beyoncé, Halo
• (^) Peking (Chinese) Opera, The Forest on Fire

Ensembles

• (^) Two or more musicians playing or singing together is called an ensemble. “Ensemble” is a French word meaning “together.”
• (^) Ensembles, like instruments, can be classified in many different ways: - (^) Types of instruments - (^) Instrumental / vocal - (^) Size of ensemble