Percussion instruments are played by striking (e.g. …...drums), bass drum, snare drum, cymbal and...

Percussion instruments are played by striking (e.g. drums), shaking

(e.g. maracas) or scraping

(e.g. guiro). They can be tuned, like

a xylophone, or untuned, like claves.

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In an orchestra, there are four families

of instruments; strings, woodwind,

brass and percussion. The conductor stands at the front and guides the

orchestra as they play.

The strings section of an orchestra includes; violin, viola, cello, double

bass and harp. They make their

sound either by pulling a bow across

a string, or plucking it.


Trumpets, trombones, french

horns and tubas are found in the

brass section of an orchestra.

Their sound is made by the vibration of the lips of the player

against the mouthpiece.

Woodwind instruments make

their sound by the player blowing across a reed or the

edge of a mouthpiece. In the

orchestra, you will find flutes,

oboes, clarinets and bassoons.


Percussion instruments

found in an orchestra

include timpani (kettle drums), bass drum, snare

drum, cymbal and triangle.

Although horns are made out of brass today, animal horns have

been used since ancient times.

At first they were used to signal

across long distances.


The loudest instrument on earth is

the Boardwalk Hall Auditorium

Organ, which can be found in

the Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA. It is also the

largest pipe organ in the world.

On a keyboard instrument, the white

keys are the natural

notes, and the black keys

are the sharps and flats.


Bagpipes weren't invented in

Scotland! It is believed that

bagpipes were used in Ancient Rome and the Middle

East thousands of years ago.

Didgeridoo players can breathe in

through their nose while blowing air out of their mouths. This is so

they do not have to take a rest for

a breath, and the notes can go on

for a long time.


The word ukulele means

"jumping flea" in Hawaiian.

This is because of the very fast finger movements

needed to play it.

The longest drum roll ever recorded

lasted an incredible 12 hours, 5 minutes and 7 seconds. It was

performed by Jayson Brinkler in

Dartford, Kent United Kingdom on the

16th of May 2015.


Over 70 pieces of wood are used to

make a violin. Each violin bow contains

between 150 and 200 hairs, which can be man-made or natural.

A piano is considered a

percussion instrument

because a note is played

when a hammer hits a string.


A traditional sitar is made from

wood, with some bone or horn, as

well as a dried gourd. The gourd

forms the resonating chamber, allowing the sound waves to bounce around inside

and making a more intense sound.

Keyboard instruments make their sounds in different

ways. In a piano, a hammer hits a string but in a harpsichord,

the strings are plucked. Air is

pushed through pipes to make

the sound in a church organ.


A Sousaphone is a special kind of

tuba that wraps around the player,

allowing it to be used in a marching band. It is named after march

composer John Philip Sousa.

The pipes of many brass instruments are bent because otherwise the

instrument would be too long to play.

The pipes in a tuba are about seven

metres long!


Like many instruments, the

recorder comes in different

sizes. The most commonly

played is the descant, but the other sizes include treble,

tenor and bass versions.

Percussion instruments are played by striking (e.g. …...drums), bass drum, snare drum, cymbal and...

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