Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Unit 5:
Instrument families
INDEX:
1. Instrument families
2. The orchestra
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Basic vocabulary
Bow: arco
To bow: frotar.
Edge: bisel.
Electrophones: electrófonos.
Embouchure: embocadura.
Feathers: plumas.
Guitar: guitarra.
Hammer: martillo.
Harp: arpa.
Horn: trompa.
Lute: laúd.
To pluck: puntear.
To shake: agitar.
Stick: palo.
To strike: golpear.
To Stretch: extender.
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Trumpet: trompeta.
Trombone: trombón.
To rub: frotar.
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1. Instrument families
There are different ways to classify musical instruments. One way is to group
them as they are in a Western orchestra: strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion.
A string instrument is a
vibrating strings. The body of the instrument then transmits the sound to the
surrounding air. They are usually categorized by the technique used to make the
strings vibrate. The three most common techniques are bowing, plucking, and striking
1.1.1. Bowing
the violin, viola, cello, and the double bass. The bow consists of a stick with many
hairs stretched between its ends that make the string vibrate.
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Violin Viola
Bow
1.1.2. Plucking
some type of plectrum on instruments such as the guitar, harp or lute. This category
includes keyboard instruments such as the harpsichord, which uses feathers (now
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1.1.3. Striking
strike the string with a hammer. By far the most well-known instrument to use this
the player blows air against an edge or a thin piece of wood called a reed. Most of
these instruments were originally made of wood, but some, such as the saxophone
and some flutes, are now commonly made of other materials like metals or plastics.
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families.
Clarinet Oboe
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of the player’s lips into an "embouchure". Modern brass instruments generally come
in one of two families: valved brass instruments that use a set of valves to change the
pitch and slide brass instruments that use a slide to change the length of tubing. The
main brass instruments are the horn, the trumpet, the trombone and the tuba.
Trumpet Horn
Tuba Trombone
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A percussion
When classifying
instruments by function it is
useful to note if a percussion instrument makes a definite pitch or indefinite pitch. For
example, some percussion instruments (such as the marimba and timpani) produce an
obvious fundamental pitch and can therefore play melody and serve harmonic
functions in music. Other instruments (such as drum and crash cymbal) produce
sounds with such complex overtones and a wide range of prominent frequencies that
one can’t distinguish a pitch. Some of the main percussion instruments are the drum,
the timpani, the xylophone, the vibraphone, the marimba or the triangle.
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Finally, the electrophones are instruments that keep their acoustic resonators
but are also amplified and altered electronically, for instance the electric guitar.
2. The orchestra
sections, and possibly a percussion section as well. A smaller orchestra (of about fifty
musicians or fewer) is called a chamber orchestra. A full size orchestra (about 100
gestures. Orchestras, choirs, concert bands and other musical ensembles often have
conductors.
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A brass instrument
A percussion instrument
A woodwind instrument
A string instrument
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String:____________________________________________________________________________________
Woodwind:______________________________________________________________________________
Brass:_____________________________________________________________________________________
Percussion:_______________________________________________________________________________
Exercise 4: Write the instrument family name for each colour, then fill in the blanks:
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Exercise 5: Do you know what this is? What instruments use this
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