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Bagpipes existed today in many forms in many locations around the world. The basic instrument is the same in most places around the world, a bag with a chanter with one or more drones. Some are mouth blown while others used bellow attachment to supply the air both systems allowed several tones to be played at once. -
Traditionally the bagpipes were made from animal pelts, such as the goats, dogs, sheep and cows all have all been used as material for the bag of the bagpipes. -
The bassoon is the lowest and largest of the woodwinds. The bassoon sound has a large variety, depending on if low, medium or high notes are played. -
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of music instruments Around 1700, the cello in northern Europe became very popular manly due to Italian players. it is believed that the Celli were made as early as the mid-1500’s. The first known maker was Andrea Amati. -
Invented around 1690, the clarinet is a single-reed woodwind instrument with a cylindrical tube. The history of the clarinet continued to develop as two-keyed clarinets underwent a variety of improvements By about 1750, the clarinet body had taken the basic shape we see today -
During the twentieth century, the piano became very popular, and various alternative keyboard instruments were developed to try to imitate the sound of the piano whilst making it more practical to transport. This evolved through the electronic organ, the Fender Rhodes and WurliTzer electric pianos and into the 1980s when electronic keyboards became popular, finally culminating in digital pianos. -
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The concept of the drum is probably as old as man. The idea of banging on something to make noise is second nature to us all. Ancient drums have been discovered in almost every part of the world. The oldest recorded drum is from 6000 BC. -
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Electronic organs (often called ‘digital organs’) use electrical circuits and loudspeakers to imitate the sound of organs with pipes. Both classical and theatre-type (‘Wurlitzer’) instruments are made. The makers or their importers/agents usually offer a repair service. -
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The French horn is a member of the Brass family they are constructed of brass it is played by blowing air through closed lips to produce a buzzing sound; this produces a standing wave which is amplified through the instrument
The horn is roughly 3.7meters in length and normally tuned to F
Other members of this family are the trumpet, cornet, trombone and tuba -
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The modern acoustic guitars we play today fall into two styles, acoustic generally with a larger body and narrower neck having a mix of steel and bronze strings, giving a bright dynamic tone and often used to play rock pop blues and jazz styles, and the classical guitar having a smaller body size together with a wider fingerboard and fitted with nylon strings giving a more mellow sound, likely to be used for classical and Spanish guitar styles. -
Although other designs were produced in the 1930s though not generally available, it was Rickenbacker USA in 1933 that first produced a viable electric guitar, made of aluminium and nicknamed “The Frying Pan”. The idea was further developed by one Les Paul in the early 40s using a 4x4 post attached to a guitar neck with home made pickups. -
Various types of harps are found in Africa, Europe, North, and South America, and in Asia. In antiquity, harps and the closely related lyres were very prominent in nearly all cultures -
The harpsichord is a keyboard instrument which unlike the piano has strings that are plucked by a plectra within a jack rather than struck by a hammer (felt covered). -
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The average church organ has two keyboards called manuals comprising 56, 58 or 61 notes, and a pedal board of 30 notes. Each manual will have about 6 to 8 stops and the pedals 1 or 2. The largest organ had 7 manuals the lowest 2 of 7 octave compass and the remainder 5 octaves the pedals had 32 notes. -
The organ covers the greatest frequency range of any instrument. On the largest from 9Hz to 5000Hz and an instrument this size would comprise many thousands of pipes ranging in speaking length from 64 feet to 1/4 inch. The average church organ covers 32Hz to 4200Hz, 16feet to 3/8 inch and comprises several hundred pipes. -
Is a Box shaped instrument the sound is produced by bellows and free reeds and features a piano like keyboard sometimes accordions are referred to as squeezeboxes there are many variations to the sound it produces the expression is produced by the bellows and not the keys -
The best accordions are handmade and all accordions to some extent are hand assembled they require tuning by a professional tuner the process is similar to that of reed organs. -
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The Harmonium is a free-reed instrument, played by foot-operated bellows which blow air through the reeds. Some instruments have more than one voice, the additional row or rows of reeds being covered or exposed by operation of stops.The American reed organ is similar in principle, except that the system sucks. -
Saxophone repairs can be minor such as regulating the action and cleaning to more major work, replacing the corks, felts and pads, recorking the crook, resoldering, finding and rectifying leaks and the removal of dents or realigning the bell after an accident. -
Timpani are drums which consist of a basin shaped shell of copper or brass, mounted on legs, over which is stretched a cover of calfskin or synthetic material. The tension of the skin can be adjusted by screws enabling fine tuning over a limited compass. -
A member of the Brass family like all brass instruments the sound is produced by the player’s vibrating lips creating a vibrating column of air. The trombone has a telescopic slide which is lengthened and shortened to change the pitch it works on the same principle as the trumpet in fact valve trombones are available. The trombones is pitched 1 octave below the trumpet and one octave above the tuba, in an orchestra it would not necessarily by a transposing instrument but a brass band would require the instrument to be pitched in B flat -
The Trumpet is a member of the Brass Family and is one of the oldest recorded instruments, they are constructed of brass it is played by blowing air through closed lips to produce a buzzing sound, this produces a standing wave which is amplified through the instrument and in the modern trumpet altered by use of valves which change the length of the tubing most trumpets are transposing instruments most commonly in B flat the tubing is approximately 134cm in total.
Other members of this family include the trombone, the cornet and the French horn. -
Is a member of the brass family and the bass instrument, smaller tubas are called euphoniums and also baritones are used in Brass bands -
The Viola Is a member of the string family similar to a violin but bigger, the viola unlike the violin does not have a standard full size.
The notes are spread further apart than the violin because it is generally larger and has thicker strings it produces a deeper sound than the Violin -
The Violin Is a stringed instrument, the modern violin dates back to the 16th century
The violin has evolved with changes in the 18th Century Violins come in a variety of sizes from 1/16th to full size -
Is a member of the percussion family, it was invented in Africa and Asia in the 9th Century the original would have been constructed with wooden bars seated on Gourds and struck by sticks. In the 1920s its cousin the vibraphone, which has tone production, produced by electricity was introduced.
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INSTITUTE OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENT TECHNOLOGY
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