Beginners Guide to Music

Instruments

There are many instrument families that hold various sounding instruments. The families of instruments are below with a small description about them.

Piano

The piano is an instrument built with keys that activate a hammer that hits a string. This sound is very classic and well known. It is played with the use of the player's hands requiring coordination between the left and right hand.

Brass

Brass instruments are played by the mouth againt a metallic mouth piece using a buzzing sound of the lips. This buzzing sound is then translated through the instrument to produce sound. There are usually some sort of buttons or levers that modify the sound as it comes out to sound out different notes.

Strings

String instruments are played with bows or fingers. One hand is used to press down the strings on the neck of the instrument as the other uses a bow or plucks or strums the instrument to create the desired melodies.

Woodwinds

Woodwinds are another instrument played using the mouth. This could be through a metallic hole or through the use of reeds which are thin pieces of wood that are used to guide your mouth to making the unique sound through the instrument.

Percussion

Percussion instruments are hit to create sounds. This could be melodic in the form of a marima, for example, which is an instrument layed out just like a piano but uses wood and resonating tubes. Other forms of percussion are tightly pressed covers around a metallic rim that create a specific hitting noise.

Vocals

Vocalists have an instrument as well, their voice! Using your voice to sing complex melodies and have a range of dynamics takes a lot of practice and work to master.