Musical Instruments and Their Place in Our Schools
At some Primary Schools they offer lessons for their students to learn an instrument. The instruments available are often varied and range from woodwind to strings. The students are able to borrow the school instruments during their lessons and are able to take them home to practice. When the student is confident enough and wants to continue with their lessons then their parent often take them to an instrument shop and buys them their very own instrument. The school instrument is then returned allowing another child the opportunity to learn and love music. There are different types of instruments available:
Woodwind – These instruments are played by the use of fingers covering strategic holes in certain sequences that form the notes. The student will blow into the top of the instrument where the reed will vibrate to create the sound, some of these instruments have one reed, where as others have two. Woodwind instruments are the clarinet, the saxophone, the oboe, the bassoon, the flute and the recorder. The recorder is often the first instrument that a child will experience with class lesson to see which children display a talent for music and which want to learn other instruments.
Brass – These instruments are made of brass which gives then their name and are also blown into to produce the sound. There are three valves that are pressed to create the notes. Another branch of Brass instruments are used with a slide which is moved to certain positions to create the notes. Brass instruments include the trombone, the trumpet, the horn, the tuba, the cornet, the flugelhorn, sousaphone, mellophone and the bugle. The valves are pressed at half steps to create the notes and combinations of different notes can be played at the same time.
String – The string family of instruments are played with a bow that slides across the strings and the fingers are placed in certain combinations at the top of the instrument on the strings themselves to create the notes played. The instrument can also be plucked with the fingers to create the notes. String instruments include the violin, the viola, the cello, the double bass the guitar and the harp. The guitar and the harp are the only instruments in this family that are played with the fingers only and not a bow.
Percussion - Percussion instruments have five different types of sound production. Each instrument within these five categories share the same sound production: Idiophone – Bells, singing bowls, cymbals, celesta, bock a da bock, hi hat, marimba, slit drum, triangle, xylophone, wood block, vibraslap, cabasa and guiro. All of these instruments play music when they are struck; the sounds are produced through the entire body of them via vibration. Membranophone – Conga, bongos, tom tom, snare drum, bass drum and djembe. All of these instruments play music when the skin of the membrane is struck with a stick. Chordophone – Piano, Harpsichord, Onavillu and hammered dulcimer. Aerophone – Whips, siren and pistols. Electrophone – Computers and theremin.
