What are the four families of orchestra and how are they categorized?
The four families of the orchestra are: Brass, Percussion, Strings
and Woodwinds.
The brass family:
Brass instruments include the trumpet, trombone, tuba, French horn, cornet and bugle. They are made of brass or some other type of metal. Modern brass instruments produce sound through a metal mouthpiece. The mouthpiece is similar on most brass instruments. Sound is produced by placing the lips on the mouthpiece and blowing while vibrating the lips. The larger the mouthpiece, the lower the sound of the instrument.
The percussion family:
Percussion instruments include the drums, cymbals, triangle, tam-tam, bells,glockenspiel and the xylophone. Percussion instruments are made of wood, plastic or metal. Most percussion instruments make there sound after they are hit, others make sounds when they are shacked, rubbed or scratched.
The strings family:
String instruments include the violin, guitar, electric bass, viola, cello, harp, double bass and banjo. The bodies of the string instruments are made of different type of wood and the strings are made of nylon or steel. Stringed instruments make produce their sound from the vibrating strings.
The woodwinds family:
Woodwind instruments include the flute, clarinet, recorder, piccolo, bassoon and oboe. Woodwind instruments are made out of wood, they produce their sound by blowing air into a mouthpiece which then causes a reed, or reeds, to vibrate and this is how it makes the sound.
