At various times, and in various different cultures, various schemes of musical instrument classification have been used. A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ...

The most commonly used system in use in the west today divides instruments into string instruments, wind instruments and percussion instruments. However other ones have been devised, and some cultures also use different schemes. A string instrument (or stringed instrument) is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. ... A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator (usually a tube), in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into (or over) a mouthpiece set at the end of the resonator. ... “Percussion” redirects here. ...

The oldest known scheme of classifying instruments is Chinese and dates from the 4th century BC. It groups instruments according to what they are made out of. All instruments made out of stone are in one group, all those made out of wood in another, those made out of silk are in a third, and so on. The 4th century BC started the first day of 400 BC and ended the last day of 301 BC. It is considered part of the Classical era, epoch, or historical period. ... For other uses, see Rock (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Wood (disambiguation). ... For other uses of this word, see Silk (disambiguation). ...

More usually, instruments are classified according to how the sound is initially produced (regardless of post-processing, i.e. an electric guitar is still a string-instrument regardless of what analog or digital/computational post-processing effects pedals may be used with it).

Strings, percussion, and wind

The system used in the west today, dividing instruments into wind, strings, and percussion, is of Greek origin. The scheme was later expanded by Martin Agricola, who distinguished plucked string instruments, such as guitars, from bowed string instruments, such as violins. Classical musicians today do not always maintain this division (although plucked strings are grouped separately from bowed strings in sheet music), but there is a distinction made between wind instruments with a reed (woodwind instruments) and wind instruments where the air is set in motion directly by the lips (brass instruments). Martin Agricola (January 6, 1486 – June 10, 1556) was a German composer of Renaissance music and a music theorist. ... For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation). ... The violin is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. ... Classical music is a broad, somewhat imprecise term, referring to music produced in, or rooted in the traditions of, European art, ecclesiastical and concert music, encompassing a broad period from roughly 1000 to the present day. ... Sheet music is written representation of music. ... A woodwind instrument is a wind instrument in which sound is produced by blowing against an edge or by a vibrating a thin piece of wood known as a reed, and in which the pitch governed by the resonant frequencies of an enclosed air column. ... Image of a trumpet, foreground, a piccolo trumpet behind, and a flugelhorn in background. ...

There are, however, problems with this system. Some rarely seen and non-western instruments do not fit very neatly into it. The serpent, for example, an old instrument rarely seen nowadays, ought to be classified as a brass instrument, as a column of air is set in motion by the lips. However, it looks more like a woodwind instrument, and is closer to one in many ways, having finger-holes to control pitch, rather than valves. There are also problems with classifying certain keyboard instruments. For example, the piano has strings, but they are struck by hammers, so it is not clear whether it should be classified as a string instrument, or a percussion instrument. For this reason, keyboard instruments are often regarded as inhabiting a category of their own, including all instruments played by a keyboard, whether they have struck strings (like the piano), plucked strings (like the harpsichord) or no strings at all (like the celesta). It might be said that with these extra categories, the classical system of instrument classification focuses less on the fundamental way in which instruments produce sound, and more on the technique required to play them. Serpent is a word of Latin origin (serpens, serpentis) that is normally substituted for snake in a specifically mythic context, in order to distinguish such creatures from the field of biology. ... Piano, a well-known instance of keyboard instruments A keyboard instrument is any musical instrument played using a musical keyboard. ... A short grand piano, with the top up. ... Harpsichord in the Flemish style A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. ... French type, four-octave Celesta The Celesta (IPA ) is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. ...

Mahillon and Hornbostel Sachs systems

An ancient system of Indian origin, dating from at least the 1st century BC, divides instruments into four main classification groups: instruments where the sound is produced by vibrating strings; instruments where the sound is produced by vibrating columns of air; percussion instruments made of wood or metal; and percussion instruments with skin heads, or drums. Victor-Charles Mahillon later adopted a system very similar to this. He was the curator of the musical instrument collection of the conservatoire in Brussels, and for the 1888 catalogue of the collection divided instruments into four groups: strings, winds, drums, and other percussion. This scheme was later taken up by Erich von Hornbostel and Curt Sachs who published an extensive new scheme for classication in Zeitschrift für Ethnologie in 1914. Their scheme is widely used today, and is most often known as the Sachs-Hornbostel system (or the Hornbostel-Sachs system). (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium) The 1st century BC started on January 1, 100 BC and ended on December 31, 1 BC. An alternative name for this century is the last century BC. The AD/BC notation does not use a year zero. ... Bass drum made from wood, rope, and cowskin A drum is a musical instrument in the percussion group that can be large, technically classified as a membranophone. ... Victor-Charles Mahillon (born March 10, 1841 in Brussels; died June 17, 1924 in St. ... For other places with the same name, see Brussels (disambiguation). ... For the toll-free telephone number see Toll-free telephone number Year 1888 (MDCCCLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Friday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Erich Moritz von Hornbostel (February 25, 1877 - November 28, 1935) was an Austrian ethnomusicologist and scholar of music. ... Curt Sachs (June 29, 1881 - February 5, 1959) was a German musicologist. ... Year 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Hornbostel-Sachs (or Sachs-Hornbostel) is a system of musical instrument classification divised by Erich Moritz von Hornbostel and Curt Sachs, and first published in the Zeitschrift für Musik in 1914. ...

The original Sachs-Hornbostel system classified instruments into four main groups: Hornbostel-Sachs (or Sachs-Hornbostel) is a system of musical instrument classification divised by Erich Moritz von Hornbostel and Curt Sachs, and first published in the Zeitschrift für Musik in 1914. ...

1. idiophones, such as the xylophone, which produce sound by vibrating themselves;
2. membranophones, such as drums or kazoos, which produce sound by a vibrating membrane;
3. chordophones, such as the piano or cello, which produce sound by vibrating strings;
4. aerophones, such as the pipe organ or oboe, which produce sound by vibrating columns of air.

Later Sachs added a fifth category, electrophones, such as theremins, which produce sound by electronic means (reference: The History of Musical Instruments, C. Sachs, Norton, New York, 1940). Within each category are many subgroups. The system has been criticised and revised over the years, but remains widely used by ethnomusicologists and organologists. An idiophone is any musical instrument which creates sound primarily by way of the instrument vibrating itself, without the use of strings or membranes. ... Kulintang a Kayo, a Philippine xylophone The xylophone (from the Greek meaning wooden sound) is a musical instrument in the percussion family which probably originated in Indonesia. ... A membranophone is any musical instrument which produces sound primarily by way of a vibrating stretched membrane. ... Bass drum made from wood, rope, and cowskin A drum is a musical instrument in the percussion group that can be large, technically classified as a membranophone. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A chordophone is any musical instrument which produces sound primarily by way of a vibrating string or strings stretched between two points. ... The violoncello, usually abbreviated to cello, or cello (the c is pronounced as in the ch of check), is a bowed stringed instrument, a member of the violin family. ... An aerophone is any musical instrument which produces sound primarily by causing a body of air to vibrate, without the use of strings or membranes, and without the vibration of the instrument itself adding considerably to the sound. ... The baroque organ in Roskilde Cathedral, Copenhagen The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by admitting pressurized air (referred to as wind) through a series of pipes. ... The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. ... An electrophone is any musical instrument which produces sound primarily by electrical means. ... ‹ The template below is being considered for deletion. ... Ethnomusicology (from the Greek ethnos = nation and mousike = music), formerly comparative musicology, is the study of music in its cultural context, cultural musicology. ... Center For Arabic Culture (CAC) == http://www. ...

Metal idiophones are frequently called metallophones. See also Lamellophone. Generally speaking, a metallophone is any musical instrument consisting of tuned metal bars which are struck to make sound, usually with a mallet. ... Lamellophone (also spelled Lamellaphone) describes any of a family of musical instruments. ...

Andre Schaeffner's 2-class Solid versus Gas system

Strings and percussion are more similar to one-another than either is to wind instruments. Indeed, the existence and ubiquity of the piano call into question the boundary between strings and percussion: both produce sound by matter in its solid state, whereas wind instruments produce sound by matter in its gaseous state. A short grand piano, with the top up. ...

Similarly, idiophones, membranophones, and chordophones also produce sound by matter in its solid state, whereas wind instruments produce sound by matter in its gaseous state.

In 1932, Andre Schaeffner developed a new classification scheme that was "exhaustive, potentially covering all real and conceivable instruments" (cite Kartomi, page 176, "On Concepts and Classifications of Musical Instruments", by Margaret J. Kartomi, University of Chicago Press, Chicago Studies in Ethnomusicology (CSE), 1990).

Schaeffner's system has only two top-level categories which he denoted by Roman numerals:

• I: instruments that make sound from vibrating solids:
  • I.A: no tension;
  • I.B: linguaphones (fixed at only one end);
  • I.C: chordophones (strings, i.e. fixed at both ends);
• II: instruments that make sound from vibrating air.

Physics-based classification scheme

Image File history File links Size of this preview: 776 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (3267 × 2524 pixel, file size: 3. ...

The recent invention of a number of instruments that make sound from vibrating water has prompted the recent introduction of a physics-based organology in which the top-level category is the state-of-matter of that which initially produces the sound in the instrument.

This system includes the possibility of instruments that make sound in all three states-of-matter (solid, liquid, and gas), with a fourth category for instruments that make sound from high-energy states such as plasma.

As with Schaeffner's system, the first three-categories of the Hornbostel Sachs system thus fall under the first category of the physical organology system, but it has been proposed that chordophones should come first, since they are 1-dimensional solids, then membranophones second, since they are two-dimensional solids, which is a reversal of the order in the Hornbostel Sachs system (reference: "Natural Interfaces for Musical Expression and a physics-based organology", by S. Mann, in Proceedings of the New Interfaces for Musical Expression, June 6, 2007, New York, New York).

This physical organology is as follows:

• 1 Gaiaphones (Earth/Solid), instruments in which the initial sound-production medium is by matter in its solid-state, e.g. the piano.
  • 1.1 Chordophones: sound produced by solids that are essentially 1-dimensional (having a cross-section much smaller than their length, i.e. strings), e.g. violin, guitar, electric guitar, electric bass, etc.;
  • 1.2 Membranophones: sound produced by solids that are essentially 2-dimensional (much thinner than their surface area) membranes, e.g. drums;
  • 1.3 Idiophones: sound produced by bulk 3-dimensional solid matter, e.g. xylophone, metallophone, etc.;
• 2 Hydraulophones (Water/Liquid): sound produced by matter in its liquid state
  • 2.0 Waterflutes (reedless hydraulophones);
  • 2.1 Single-reed hydraulophones (typically having 1 reed for each finger hole);
  • 2.2 Double-reed hydraulophones (typically having 2 reeds for each finger hole);
  • 2.3 Polyreed hydraulophones (typically having 3 or more reeds for each finger hole);
• 3 Aerophones (Air/Gas): sound produced by matter in its gaseous state, e.g. woodwind instruments and "brass" instruments;
• 4 Ionophones (Fire/Plasma): sound produced by matter in a high-energy state such as plasma, e.g. plasmaphone, etc.;
• 5 Quintephones (Quintessence/Idea): sound produced informatically, by electrical, optical, mechanical, or other computational/algorithmic means.

Note that instruments in the fourth category, while often using electricity, are not electrophones, because they generate sound acoustically, not electronically. The initial sound-production means of an ionophone is typically an electric spark or other discharge phenomena that generates plasma. Some such instruments, like the plasmaphone, use one or more plasma balls as the user-interface, but the sound originally comes from matter in its plasma state, not electronically, regardless of whether the matter producing the sound may have been excited into the plasma state electronically.

In physical organology the fifth category is broadened to include other forms of algorithmic/computation, such as mechanical or optical computing, so that it is not limited to electrical computation or electric circuits that generate the initial sound. Quintessence is the fifth Classical Greek Element after Earth, Water, Air, and Fire. Plato and Aristotle both referred to Quintessence/Idea as the fifth element ("Quint" meaning "Fifth").

Instruments by range

Western instruments are also often classified by their musical range in comparison with other instruments in the same family. These terms are named after singing voice classifications:

• Soprano instruments: flute, clarinet, recorder, violin, trumpet
• Alto instruments: oboe, alto flute, viola, horn
• Tenor instruments: English horn, trombone
• Bass instruments: bassoon, double bass, bass clarinet, tuba

Some instruments fall into more than one category: for example, the cello may be considered either tenor or bass, depending on how its music fits into the ensemble, and the trombone may be alto, tenor, or bass and the French horn, bass, baritone, tenor, or alto, depending on which range it is played. This article is about the singing voice part. ... ♠ This article is about the family of musical instruments. ... Two soprano clarinets: a B♭ clarinet (left, with capped mouthpiece) and an A clarinet (right, with no mouthpiece). ... Various recorders The recorder is a woodwind musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes — whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle and ocarina. ... The violin is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. ... The trumpet is a musical instrument in the brass family. ... This article is about the voice-type. ... The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. ... The alto flute is a type of Western concert flute, a musical instrument in the woodwind family. ... The viola (French, alto; German Bratsche) is a bowed string instrument. ... The horn (popularly known also as the French horn) is a brass instrument decended from the natural horn that consists of tubing wrapped into a coiled form. ... This article is about Tenor vocalists in music. ... The cor anglais, or English horn, is a double reed woodwind musical instrument in the woodwind family. ... The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. ... Bass (IPA: [], rhyming with face), when used as an adjective, describes tones of low frequency or range. ... The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers and occasionally even higher. ... Side and front views of a modern double bass with a French bow. ... The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. ... For other uses, see Tuba (disambiguation). ...

Many instruments have their range as part of their name: soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, baritone horn, alto flute, bass flute, alto recorder, bass guitar, etc. Additional adjectives describe instruments above the soprano range or below the bass, for example: sopranino saxophone, contrabass clarinet. The soprano saxophone is a variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax. ... The baritone saxophone, often called bari sax (to avoid confusion with the baritone horn, which is often referred to simply as baritone), is one of the larger and lower pitched members of the saxophone family. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A bass flute The bass flute is the bass member of the flute family. ... Various recorders The recorder is a woodwind musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes — whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle and ocarina. ... The electric bass guitar (or electric bass) is a bass string instrument played with the fingers by plucking, slapping, popping or using a pick. ... The term contrabass (derived from the Italian contrabbasso) refers to very low musical instruments; generally those pitched one octave below instruments of the bass register. ... An E-flat sopranino saxophone (right). ... The contrabass clarinet is the largest common member of the clarinet family. ...

When used in the name of an instrument, these terms are relative, describing the instrument's range in comparison to other instruments of its family and not in comparison to the human voice range or instruments of other families. For example, a bass flute's range is from C₃ to F♯₆, while a bass clarinet plays about one octave lower.

Other classifications

Various groups of instruments are known after a common, though often not exclusive, type or sphere of use, such as a trumpet, signifying its octave.

See also

• Signal instrument