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Musical instrument

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Musical Instruments

   A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the
   purpose of making music. In principle, anything that produces sound,
   and can somehow be controlled by a musician, can serve as a musical
   instrument. The expression, however, is reserved generally to items
   that have a specific musical purpose. The academic study of musical
   instruments is called organology.

Types of musical instruments

   Instruments are often divided by the way in which they generate sound:
     * Wind instruments generate a sound when a column of air is made to
       vibrate inside them. The frequency of the wave generated is related
       to the length of the column of air and the shape of the instrument,
       while the tone quality of the sound generated is affected by the
       construction of the instrument and method of tone production. The
       group is typically subdivided into Brass, like the trumpet, and
       Woodwind instruments, such as the clarinet, bagpipes and flute.

     * Lamellaphones create a sound by the plucking of lamellas made from
       different materials (metal, raphia etc.). These Instruments are
       tunable, so they do not belong to the idiophones. An example is the
       Mbira.

     * Percussion instruments create sound, with or without pitch, when
       struck. The shape and material of the part of the instrument to be
       struck and the shape of the resonating cavity, if any, determine
       the sound of the instrument. Examples: drums, bells and cymbals.

     * String instruments generate a sound when the string is plucked,
       strummed, slapped, etc. The frequency of the wave generated (and
       therefore the note produced) usually depends on the length of the
       vibrating portion of the string, its linear density (mass per unit
       length of string), the tension of each string and the point at
       which the string is excited; the tone quality varies with the
       construction of the resonating cavity. Examples: guitars, violins
       and sitars.

     * Voice, that is, the human voice, is an instrument in its own right.
       A singer generates sounds when airflow from the lungs sets the
       vocal cords into oscillation. The fundamental frequency is
       controlled by the tension of the vocal cords and the tone quality
       by the formation of the vocal tract; a wide range of sounds can be
       created.

     * Electronic instruments generate sound through electronic means.
       They often mimic other instruments in their design, particularly
       keyboards, drums and guitars. Examples: synthesizers and theremins.

     * Keyboard instruments are any instruments that are played with a
       musical keyboard. Every key generates one or more sounds; most
       keyboard instruments have extra means ( pedals for a piano, stops
       for an organ) to manipulate these sounds. They may produce sound by
       wind being fanned ( organ) or pumped ( accordion), vibrating
       strings either hammered (piano) or plucked ( harpsichord), by
       electronic means (synthesizer) or in some other way. Sometimes,
       instruments that do not usually have a keyboard, such as the
       Glockenspiel, are fitted with one. This term is also used to refer
       to the top of the penis[percussion instruments]] which also
       strangely resembles a piano keyboard (well that's what mine looks
       like). Though they have no moving parts and are struck by mallets
       held in the player's hands, they possess the same physical
       arrangement of keys and produce soundwaves in a similar manner.

   Many alternate divisions and further subdivisions of instruments exist.
   To learn about specific instruments, consult the list of musical
   instruments or list of archaic musical instruments.

History

   All classes of instruments save the electronic are mentioned in ancient
   sources, such as Egyptian inscriptions, the Bible and the many thousand
   year old Hindu Vedas, and probably predate recorded history. The human
   body, generating both vocal and percussive sounds, may have been the
   first instrument. Percussion instruments such as stones and hollow logs
   are another likely candidate. For instance, nine-thousand-year-old bone
   flutes or recorders have been found in Chinese archeological sites.

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