The Instruments of the Orchestra

The Instrument Families  Instruments are organized into Families  These families are categories that group similar instruments together  Instruments can be grouped by how they look, what they are made of, how they make sound, or what they sound like.

The Families of an Orchestra  The String Family  The Woodwind Family  The Brass Family  The Percussion Family

The String Family  The string family is made up of instruments that use strings to produce sound  These are the most numerous instruments in the orchestra  There are four string instruments: The Violin, the Viola, the Cello, and the String Bass  Occasionally, special other instruments like a harp or guitar are included

The Violin

Parts of a Violin (Tuners, Fretboard)

Violin  The violin is the smallest instrument of the violin family  It is a very expressive instrument, with a wide range of notes and dynamics  It can also utilize several special effects  Depending on the style of music, it is also known as a fiddle

Violin continued  The violin often functions as both a solo instrument and a section instrument  Solo: instrument plays by itself  Section: when a group of similar instruments play together. Not the same as a family

Different styles of the Violin  Classical: Baroque, Romantic, 20 th century, or anything composed as a “serious” piece. Requires the most virtuosity  Rock and Pop: Often Electric. Rare  Folk, Country, and Bluegrass: Often musicians learn to play by ear, without reading music. Excellent but often musically illiterate musicians with a lot of skill

Special Effects  A violin can be played with a bow, or plucked  Changes in the speed of bowing, or bouncing the bow produces different sounds  Harmonics  Percussion: play with wood of the bow, or hit the strings or wood with your hands