Traditional classification of musical instruments is based on the instruments of the orchestra.
Classifying musical instruments based on the instruments of the orchestra is the traditional method of instrument classification. The different groups of orchestra instruments are distinguished from each other by the way they produce sound.
Strings
String instruments produce sound with their vibrating strings. Musician cause the strings to vibrate by plucking them, as with the harp, or stroking them with a bow, as with the violin. The main orchestral stringed instruments are the violin, viola, cello, double bass and harp. The violin, viola, cello and double bass are all made of wood and have four strings. From smallest to largest and highest to lowest sound, the order of the instruments is violin, viola, cello and bass. Players hold the violin and viola under the chin to play them, but the cello and the bass must rest on the floor to be played. The bass is so large that the player has to sit on a high stool or stand to play it.
Woodwinds
Woodwinds and brass are both wind instruments. With wind instruments it is a column of air that vibrates to produce sound. The flute, oboe, bassoon and clarinet are the woodwind instruments of the orchestra. Despite the woodwind name, the orchestral flute is made of metal. The player produces a clear, high sound by blowing into the side of the flute. The piccolo is a very small flute with an even higher sound. The oboe produces sound when the player blows in between two reeds, while the clarinet uses one reed. The bassoon, a long hollow tube of wood, is a double-reed instrument like the oboe. It is the largest standard orchestral woodwind, with the lowest sound.
Brass
The orchestral brass instruments, which can also be made of a silvery alloy, are the trumpet, French horn, trombone and tuba. The player "buzzes" his or her lips against the mouthpiece to produce the sound, which the rest of the instrument amplifies and refines. Brass instruments are classified as cylindrical bore instruments, like the trumpet, or conical bore instruments, like the French horn. The metal tube of a conical bore instrument increases in width from the mouthpiece to the other end, producing a sound that is warmer and less bright.
Percussion
The percussion section has the largest range of instruments, which typically produce sound by being struck (hence the name of the group). However, anything not classified as strings, woodwind or brass often goes into the percussion section of a Western orchestra, such as whistles. Common percussion instruments of the orchestra include the timpani, bass and snare drums, as well as cymbals and gongs. Timpani drums are large kettledrums, or drums with a rounded bottom, that can be tuned to different pitches. Orchestras usually have several timpani of different sizes. All orchestral drums are played using hard sticks or softer beaters. Xylophones, marimbas, glockenspiels and tubular bells have bars, blocks or tubes arranged in rows like the keys on a keyboard and can be used to play a melody.
