GUITARS

G u I T a R s

The guitars is a plucked stringed instruments. There are two types of guitar acoustic and electric. Acoustic guitars have hollow bodies and six or twelve strings. Plucking the strings produces vibrations that are amplified by their hollow bodies. Electric guitars usually have solid bodies and six strings. Pick ups placed under the strings convert their vibration into electric signals that are magnified by an amplifier, and sent to a loud speaker where they are converted into sounds. Electric bass guitars are very similar in structure to electric guitars and produce sound in the same way, but have four strings and play bass notes.

KEYBOARD INSTRUMENTS

K e Y B o A r D     I n s T r U M e N T s

Keyboard instruments are instruments that are sounded by means of a keyboard. The organ and piano are two of the principal members of the keyboard family. The organ consists of pipes which are operated by one or more manuals (keyboards) and a pedal board. the pipes are are lined up in rows (known as ranks or registers ) on top of a wind chest. The sound of the organ is made when air is admitted into a pipe by pressing a key or pedal. The piano consists of wire strings stretched over a metal frame, and a keyboard and pedals that operate hammers and dampers. The piano frame is either vertical-as in the upright piano. When a key is at rest, a damper lies against the string to stop it vibrating. When a key is pressed down, the damper moves away from the string as the hammer strikes it, causing the string to vibrate and sound a note.

WooDWiNd INsTRuMEntS

WOODWIND INSTRUMENTS

WOODWIND INSTRUMENTS ARE wind instruments that are generally made of wood, although some are made of metal or plastic. The sound of a woodwind instrument is produced  by the vibration of air in hollow tube. The air is made to vibrate by blowing  across a blow hole-as in the flute and piccolo or by blowing through a single reed as in the clarinet and saxophone or a double reed-as in the bassoon, cor anglais, and oboe. The pitch of a  woodwind instrument can be changed by opening or closing holes cut into the tube of the instrument.

                                                                     

              

STRINGED INSTRUMENTS AND ITS WORKING

Stringed instruments produce sound by by the vibration of stretched strings. This may be done by drawing a across the strings , as in the violin ;or by plucking the strings , as in the harp and guitar. The  four modern members of the bowed stringed family are the violin , viola , cello (violoncello) and double bass. Each consist of a hollow , wooden body , a long neck and four strings . The bow is a wooden stick with horse hair stretched across its length . The vibrations made by drawing the bow across the strings are transmitted to the hollow body, and this itself vibrates, amplifying and enriching the sound produced . The harp consist of a set of strings of different lengths stretched across a wooden frame. The strings are plucked by the player,s thumbs and fingers - except the little finger of each hand - which produces vibrations that are amplified by the harp,s soundboard. The pitch of the note produced by any stringed instrument depends on the length, weight, tension of the string used. A shorter , lighter or tighter string gives a higher note.

PERCUSSION INSTRUMENTS

Percussion instruments are large group of instruments that produce sound by being struck , shaken , scraped, or clashed together. Most percussion instruments - such as the tam-tam (gong) , cymbals , and maracas - do not have a definite pitch and are used for rhythm and impact , and the distinctive timbre ( colour) of their sound. Other percussion instruments such as the xylophone , vibraphone , and tubular bells - are tuned to a definite pitch that can play melody , harmony , and rhythms . The xylophone and vibraphone each have two  rows of bars that are arranged in a similar way to the black and white keys of a piano. Metal tubes are suspended below the bars to amplify the sound. The vibraphone has electrically operated fans that rotate in the tubes and produce a vibrato (wavering pitch) effect.