A Musical Instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. Early Musical Instruments may have used for ritual: such as a Trumpet to signal success on the hunt or a Drum in a Religious ceremony.

Musical instruments are constructed in a broad array of styles and shapes using many different materials. Early Musical Instruments were made from "Found Objects" such as Shells and plant parts. The Study of Musical Instruments is what we called Organology that study the Instruments' History, Instruments used in different Cultures, Technical aspects of how Instruments produce sound and Musical Instrument Classification.

Different Types and Classifications of Musical Instruments

Wind Instruments
Winds Instruments requires a person to blow into the Instrument in order to produced the desired sound. They work on the principle of sound Waves, Frequencies, Harmonics, Resonance and Acoustics. When you blow into the Instruments the pitch of the sound note produced, varies depending on the Length of the internal air column in which the sound waves vibrate.

• Flute                                                                • Pianica
   • English Horn                                                        • Shakuhachi
• Bag Pipe                                                          • Accordion
  • Piccolo                                                                • Harmonica
• Oboe                                                              • Clarinet
   • Saxophone                                                         • Bassoon
• Shehnai

Percussion Instruments
Percussion Instruments require a person to strike or beat the Instruments surface in order to generate vibrations, which then produce the desired sound note. Depending on the type of surface, one can use ones hands, sticks or other similar objects for striking the Instrument surface.

• Drum                                                              • Djembe
• Xylophone                                                      • Cymbals
• Marimba                                                         • Tambourine
• Congo                                                            •  Duff
• Nagara                                                           •  Bells
• Triangle                                                          •  Tabla

Brass Instruments
All those shiny Trumpets and Trombones that feature so prominently in Jazz and Blue’s Music are classic examples of Brass Instruments. Brass Instruments are name so, not because all of them are made from Brass but due to the Nature and Texture of the Sound that they produce.

• Trumpet                                                                  • Bazooka
• Tuba                                                                       • French Horn
• Trombone                                                               • Cimbasso
• Alto Horn                                                                • Conch
• Bugle                                                                      • Flat Trumpet

String Instruments
All of Guitar, Violins and Pianos fall under the Category of String Instruments. String Instruments works on the basis of sound wave vibrations that are created with the help of Strings. The pitch of the sound note produced depends on the length of the air column as well as the type and thickness of the string involved.


• Guitar                                                                    • Violin
• Cello                                                                     • Mandolin
• Sarod                                                                    • Viola
• Piano                                                                     • Sitar
• Double Bass                                                          • Banjo
• Santoor                                                                 • Harp

Electronic Instruments
These are some of the newer Musical Instruments that have been produced in recent years with the advent of Technology. Most of them are designed to Reproduce the sounds of Existing Musical Instruments in a simple and user friendly way.


• Piano Keywords                                                       • Omnichord
• Synthesizers                                                              • Rhythm Machines
• Mellotron                                                                  • Theremin
• Octopads                                                                  • Samplers
• Synclavier                                                                 • Eigenharp



Western Instruments are also often classified by their Musical range in comparison with other Instruments in the same family. These terms are named after Singing Voice Classifications:

• Soprano Instruments -- Flute, Clarinet, Recorder, Violin, Trumpet, Oboe, Soprano Saxophone
• Alto Instruments -- Alto Flute, Viola, Horn, Alto Saxophone
• Tenor Instruments -- English Horn, Trombone, Tenor Saxophone
• Baritone Instruments -- Cello, Baritone Horn, Bass Clarinet, Bassoon, Baritone Saxophone
• Bass Instruments -- Double Bass, Tuba, Bass Saxophone