Musical Instruments, OCA-TRA

Not everyone is gifted with an exceptional singing voice. That's where instruments come in! The principal types of musical instruments are percussion, stringed, keyboard, wind, and electronic instruments. Musical instruments have been used since the earliest times, and modern technology has in many cases simplified or improved the construction of instruments, while mechanization has made possible the mass production of instruments of all kinds. It remains true, however, that the production of an instrument of the highest quality still demands the highest degree of individual skill.
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Musical Instruments Encyclopedia Articles By Title

ocarina
ocarina, globular flute, a late 19th-century musical development of traditional Italian carnival whistles of earthenware,......
ondes martenot
ondes martenot, (French: “musical waves”), electronic musical instrument demonstrated in 1928 in France by the......
ophicleide
ophicleide, brass wind musical instrument with a cup-shaped mouthpiece and padded keys, the bass version of the......
orchestrina di camera
orchestrina di camera, any of a group of small keyboard instruments related to the harmonium, invented and made......
organ
organ, in music, a keyboard instrument, operated by the player’s hands and feet, in which pressurized air produces......
oud
oud, stringed musical instrument prominent in medieval and modern Islamic music. It is the parent of the European......
paixiao
paixiao, Chinese bamboo panpipe, generally a series of bamboo tubes secured together by rows of bamboo strips,......
panpipe
panpipe, wind instrument consisting of cane pipes of different lengths tied in a row or in a bundle held together......
Partch, Harry
Harry Partch was a visionary and eclectic composer and instrument builder, largely self-taught, whose compositions......
pedal harp
pedal harp, musical instrument in which pedals control a mechanism raising the pitch of given strings by a semitone......
piano
piano, a keyboard musical instrument having wire strings that sound when struck by felt-covered hammers operated......
piccolo
piccolo, highest-pitched woodwind instrument of orchestras and military bands. It is a small transverse (horizontally......
pipa
pipa, short-necked Chinese lute prominent in Chinese opera orchestras and as a solo instrument. It has a shallow,......
pipe
pipe, in music, specifically, the three-holed flute played with a tabor drum (see pipe and tabor); generically,......
pipe and tabor
pipe and tabor, three-holed fipple, or whistle, flute played along with a small snare drum. The player holds the......
player piano
player piano, a piano that mechanically plays music recorded by means, usually, of perforations on a paper roll......
Pleyel, Ignace Joseph
Ignace Joseph Pleyel was an Austro-French composer, music publisher, and piano builder. Trained in music while......
pluriarc
pluriarc, west African stringed musical instrument having a deep boxlike body from which project between two and......
portative organ
portative organ, small musical instrument played from the 12th through the 16th century, popular for secular music.......
positive organ
positive organ, (from Latin ponere: “to place”), in Western music, small organ used in liturgical and, at times,......
post horn
post horn, brass musical instrument of cylindrical bore, used by guards of mail coaches in the 18th and early 19th......
Praetorius, Michael
Michael Praetorius was a German music theorist and composer whose Syntagma musicum (1614–20) is a principal source......
Preston, Billy
Billy Preston was an American musician who was the consummate sideman as a keyboard player, recording and touring......
Prince
Prince was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, producer, dancer, and performer on keyboards, drums, and......
psaltery
psaltery, (from Greek psaltērion: “harp”), musical instrument having plucked strings of gut, horsehair, or metal......
p’iri
p’iri, Korean double-reed musical instrument, a type of cylindrical oboe. The large mouthpiece and the body are......
qin
qin, fretless Chinese board zither with seven strings. Traditionally the body of the qin was of a length that represented......
qing
qing, stone or jade chime used as a percussion instrument in ancient Chinese music. Sound was produced by hitting......
rabāb
rabāb, Arab fiddle, the earliest known bowed instrument and the parent of the medieval European rebec. It was first......
rackett
rackett, (from German Rank, “bend”), in music, double-reed wind instrument of the 16th and 17th centuries. It consisted......
rattle
rattle, percussion instrument consisting of resonant objects strung together and set in a sliding frame or enclosed......
rebec
rebec, bowed, stringed musical instrument of European medieval and early Renaissance music. It was originally called......
recorder
recorder, in music, wind instrument of the fipple, or whistle, flute class, closely related to the flageolet. Most......
reed instrument
reed instrument, in music, any of several wind instruments (aerophones) that sound when the player’s breath or......
reed organ
reed organ, any keyboard instrument sounded by vibration of metal reeds under wind pressure. “Reed organ” commonly......
regal
regal, a small, easily portable pipe organ usually having only a single set, or rank, of reed pipes. The beating......
Reich, Steve
Steve Reich is an American composer who was one of the leading exponents of Minimalism, a style based on repetitions......
Rich, Buddy
Buddy Rich was an American jazz drum virtuoso who accompanied major big bands before forming his own popular big......
rotta
rotta, medieval European stringed musical instrument. The name is frequently applied to the boxlike lyres with......
Ruckers, Hans, The Elder
Hans Ruckers, the Elder was the most famous of all harpsichord makers and founder of a dynasty of Flemish instrument......
Sachs, Curt
Curt Sachs was an eminent German musicologist, teacher, and authority on musical instruments. In his youth Sachs......
sackbut
sackbut, (from Old French saqueboute: “pull-push”), early trombone, invented in the 15th century, probably in Burgundy.......
samisen
samisen, long-necked fretless Japanese lute. The instrument has a small square body with a catskin front and back,......
santoor
santoor, stringed instrument of the hammered dulcimer, or struck zither, family that is found in various forms......
sanxian
sanxian, any of a group of long-necked, fretless Chinese lutes. The instrument’s rounded rectangular resonator......
sarangi
sarangi, short-necked fiddle used throughout South Asia, particularly for folk and classical Hindustani music.......
sarinda
sarinda, folk fiddle of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and northern India. The deep wood shell has a skin belly up to its......
sarod
sarod, stringed musical instrument of the lute family that is common to the Hindustani music tradition of northern......
Sax, Adolphe
Adolphe Sax was a Belgian-French maker of musical instruments and the inventor of the saxophone. Sax was the son......
saxhorn
saxhorn, any of a family of brass wind instruments patented by the Belgian instrument-maker Antoine-Joseph Sax,......
saxophone
saxophone, any of a family of single-reed wind instruments ranging from soprano to bass and characterized by a......
Schnitger, Arp
Arp Schnitger was one of the most skilled organ builders of the Baroque era, whose fine instruments inspired composers......
Schnittke, Alfred
Alfred Schnittke was a postmodernist Russian composer who created serious, dark-toned musical works characterized......
scraper
scraper, in music, percussion instrument consisting of a serrated surface that is rasped with a stick. Known since......
serpent
serpent, in music, a bass wind instrument sounded by the vibration of the lips against a cup mouthpiece. It was......
shakuhachi
shakuhachi, a Japanese end-blown bamboo flute that was originally derived from the Chinese xiao in the 8th century.......
shawm
shawm, (from Latin calamus, “reed”; Old French: chalemie), double-reed wind instrument of Middle Eastern origin,......
shehnai
shehnai, double-reed conical oboe of North India. The shehnai is made of wood, except for a flaring metal bell......
sheng
sheng, Chinese free reed wind instrument consisting of usually 17 bamboo pipes set in a small wind-chest into which......
Silbermann, Gottfried
Gottfried Silbermann was an outstanding German builder of keyboard instruments and member of an important family......
siren
siren, noisemaking device producing a piercing sound of definite pitch. Used as a warning signal, it was invented......
sistrum
sistrum, percussion instrument, a rattle consisting of a wood, metal, or clay frame set loosely with crossbars......
sitar
sitar, stringed instrument of the lute family that is popular in northern India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Typically......
slide guitar
slide guitar, a technique and style of guitar playing, whereby a hard object, typically a steel tube, a steel bar,......
slit drum
slit drum, percussion instrument formed by hollowing a tree trunk through a lengthwise slit and sounded by the......
Smith, Bernard
Bernard Smith was a German-born master organ builder in Restoration England. Smith was an apprentice of the German......
snare drum
snare drum, military and orchestral percussion instrument having several gut, nylon, wire, or wire-covered silk......
sordone
sordone, rare double-reed wind instrument of the 16th and 17th centuries, an early precursor of the bassoon. It......
soundboard
soundboard, a thin plate of wood or a stretched membrane lying directly under the strings of a stringed musical......
Sousa, John Philip
John Philip Sousa was an American bandmaster and composer of military marches. The son of an immigrant Portuguese......
spinet
spinet, small form of the harpsichord, generally wing-shaped, with a single set of strings placed at an oblique......
square piano
square piano, musical instrument that was popular for domestic music-making from the time of its invention in the......
steel drum
steel drum, tuned gong made from the unstoppered end and part of the wall of a metal shipping drum. The end surface......
steel guitar
steel guitar, any of several stringed instruments that are distinguished by being played traditionally on the lap,......
Stein, Johann Andreas
Johann Andreas Stein was a German piano builder, and also a maker of organs and harpsichords, who was the first......
Steinway, Henry Engelhard
Henry Engelhard Steinway was a German-born American piano builder and founder of a leading piano manufacturing......
stone chimes
stone chimes, a set of struck sonorous stones. Such instruments have been found—and in some cases, are still used—in......
stop
stop, in music, on the organ, mechanism controlling the entry of air from the pressurized wind chest into a rank......
Stradivari, Antonio
Antonio Stradivari was an Italian violin maker who brought the craft of violin-making to its highest pitch of perfection.......
stringed instrument
stringed instrument, any musical instrument that produces sound by the vibration of stretched strings, which may......
Stubblefield, Clyde
Clyde Stubblefield was an American drummer who was renowned for a 20-second hard-driving embellished drum solo......
suona
suona, Chinese double-reed woodwind instrument, the most commonly used double-reed instrument. Similar to the shawm,......
tabl
tabl, any of a group of two-headed cylindrical drums used in Islamic music along the Mediterranean coast. They......
tabla
tabla, pair of small drums fundamental (since the 18th century) to Hindustani music of northern India, Pakistan,......
taegŭm
taegŭm, large transverse bamboo flute with a distinctive sound, widely used in Korean music. The taegǔm is about......
taiko
taiko, any of various Japanese forms of barrel-shaped drums with lashed or tacked heads, usually played with sticks......
tambourine
tambourine, small frame drum (one whose shell is too narrow to resonate the sound) having one or two skins nailed......
tambura
tambura, long-necked fretless Indian lute. It has a hollow neck, measures about 40–60 inches (102–153 cm) in length,......
Tannenberg, David
David Tannenberg was a German-born American organ builder. Tannenberg came to the United States in 1740 with a......
tar
tar, (Iranian: “string”), long-necked lute descended from the tanbur of Sāsānian Iran and known in a variety of......
telharmonium
telharmonium, earliest musical instrument to generate sound electrically. It was invented in the United States......
tenor drum
tenor drum, cylindrical drum larger and deeper toned than the closely related snare drum and lacking snares. It......
tenor horn
tenor horn, brass wind instrument derived from the cornet and the valved bugle, or flügelhorn. A saxhorn of tenor......
theorbo
theorbo, large bass lute, or archlute, used from the 16th to the 18th century for song accompaniments and for basso......
theremin
theremin, electronic musical instrument invented in 1920 in the Soviet Union by Leon Theremin (also called Lev......
timpani
timpani, orchestral kettledrums. The name has been applied to large kettledrums since at least the 17th century.......
tracker action
tracker action, in music, on the organ, mechanical system that transmits the organist’s action in depressing a......
transposing musical instrument
transposing musical instrument, instrument that produces a higher or lower pitch than indicated in music written......
trautonium
trautonium, electronic musical instrument whose tone is generated by oscillating radio tubes that produce an electronic......

Musical Instruments Encyclopedia Articles By Title