A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. In principle, anything that produces sound, and can somehow be controlled by a musician, can serve as a musical instrument. The expression, however, is reserved generally to items that have a specific musical purpose. The academic study of musical instruments is called organology.
Types of musical instruments
Instruments are often divided by the way in which they generate sound:
Wind instruments generate a sound when a column of air is made to vibrate inside them. The frequency of the wave generated is related to the length of the column of air and the shape of the instrument, while the tone quality of the sound generated is affected by the construction of the instrument and method of tone production. The group is typically subdivided into Brass, like the trumpet, and Woodwind instruments, such as the clarinet, bagpipes and flute.
Amos Lee At The Studio 4A 'Lodge' Sat, 19 Jul 2008 06:00:00 -0400 Before pursuing a career in music, Lee was a Philadelphia schoolteacher. Then he started going to open-mic nights with a car stereo full of classic R&B records. He recently brought his folky, soulful style to NPR headquarters for a solo performance. In Concert, A Moment Of Sudanese Solidarity Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:28:00 -0400 At a time of outright genocide in Darfur, and civil unrest throughout the Sudan, an unprecedented gathering of musicians from across the war-torn country presented a contrasting picture — one of harmony and unity — at the Sudanese Festival of Music and Dance in Chicago. Hillbilly Gypsies: Mountain Mama Music Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:55:00 -0400 Gathered around a large, vintage diaphragm microphone, the native West Virginians in Hillbilly Gypsies perform a mix of traditional and original Appalachian music before a crowd at the International Mother's Day Shrine.
www.tennessean.com - Rss-News-Music Industry news
Radio execs tune in to a budding talent Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:04:00 -0500 She's young, pin-thin, blond and gorgeous. Union says Toby Keith film is slighting musicians Thu, 10 Jul 2008 21:19:00 -0500 The makers of the movie Beer For My Horses — which is being made by a music network, stars Toby Keith and features at least two Country Music Hall of Famers — have not signed the musician union's standard contract that would enable session musicians to receive payment from DVD sales, said the president of the Nashville Association of Musicians. Sony BMG wins appeal of merger veto at top EU court Thu, 10 Jul 2008 21:25:00 -0500 LUXEMBOURG — Sony Corp. and Bertelsmann AG won a ruling at the European Union's highest court to throw out a lower EU tribunal's decision that had temporarily jeopardized the formation of their Sony BMG music label.
Rolling Stone: Features
Quick and Dirty With... Billy Ray Cyrus Wed, 16 Jul 2008 08:56:34 -0700
Host, "Nashville Star" (NBC)
So is Miley still grounded?
[Laughs] In which way? There's two definitions of grounded. One is that your head's on straight. And the other is that you're in trouble.
I mean the second one.
No, she's not grounded. She never ceases to amaze me. She's made a great album. People are gonna look at Miley Cyrus and go, "Wow, I didn't know she could do that."
Going back a few months to that hurricane over the Vanity Fair photo — how did you get through it?
I had to just kind...
Ready for Revolution Tue, 15 Jul 2008 10:14:00 -0700
Linkin Park's Chester Bennington and Chris Cornell talk about prepping for their Projekt Revolution tour and great Lollapalooza moments
On the eve of the launch of the fifth Projekt Revolution — the multi-genre tour founded by Linkin Park in 2002 — Rolling Stone checked in with two of its acts, LP's Chester Bennington and Chris Cornell. The pair of famous frontmen chatted about the greatest rock singers and classic Lollapalooza fests.
How does being around all these different artists on the Projekt Revolution tour inspire you?
Chris Cornell: Being on tour can sometimes be less complicated than being at home...
A Conversation With Barack Obama Tue, 24 Jun 2008 03:30:47 -0700
The Candidate Talks About The Youth Vote, What's On His iPod and His Top Three Priorities As President
• Barack Obama: Audio From the Rolling Stone Cover Story
• Barack Obama: The Stevie Wonder Geek Returns to the Cover of Rolling Stone
• Photo Gallery: Barack Obama, a History in Pictures
Shortly after Barack Obama claimed victory in the fight for the Democratic nomination, I joined him aboard his chartered 757 campaign plane as a member of the press corps. He was flying from Chicago to Appleton, Wisconsin, for a town-hall meeting, one of a...
Ultimate-Guitar.Com [News]
Satyricon: Upcoming Album Update Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:50:54 -0000 Satyricon have issued updates concerning their new album. Taproot: New Single Posted Online Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:36:10 -0000 "Wherever I Stand", the first single from Taproot's new new album "Our Long Road Home", has been posted on the group's MySpace page. Alice Cooper: New Album Available For Streaming Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:52:32 -0000 Alice Cooper's entire new album, "Along Came A Spider", is available for streaming on his MySpace page.
Musical Instrument Reference - From MusicArrangers.com. Resource for teachers and students. Modern musical instruments, transposition, concert pitch and best sounding range.
Meta Description: [ Modern western musical instruments, their transposition, concert pitch and best sounding range with tips in orchestration. ]
Taxonomy of Musical Instruments, by Henry Doktorsi - Chart based on a 1914 scheme by Sachs and von Hornbostel classifies orchestral, folk, and electronic instruments into families. A second chart maps the free-reed family, which includes harmonicas and concertinas, supported by a scholarly history of free-reeds.
Australian Aboriginal Musical Instruments - Descriptions and images of the didjeridu, bullroarer, gum-leaf, and clapsticks.
Meta Description: [ The Didjshop has hundreds of genuine and authentic Australian Aboriginal didjeridoos with individual mp3s and photos of didgeridoos to buy online. This virtual didgeridoo shop also provides a huge range of educational information on didgeridoos, didjeridoos, Australia and Aboriginal culture. ]
Iberian Folk Instruments - Photographs, descriptions, and audio samples of traditional instruments and music-related images from the Iberian Peninsula.
Lithuanian Instrumental Music - Photographs and descriptions of traditional instruments, article on ensembles, glossary, and bibliography.
Mechanical Music Digest - Moderated forum about musical instruments that play themselves. Published daily on the Internet and distributed primarily by e-mail.
MFA: Musical Instruments - Photographs and information about instruments in the extensive collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Musical Automata - Systematic recording project begun in 1980 documenting mechanical music devices from Vienna and Prague, with CDs available for sale beginning in 1999. Headed by Helmut Kowar of Phonogrammarchiv, the audiovisual research archive of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.
Meta Description: [ Musical Automata - The Project on Recording Mechanical Music. In 1980 the Phonogrammarchiv of the Austrian Academy of Sciences started a new project ... ]
Musical Instrument Information - Annotated internet directory, and a help desk for personal assistance with your questions.
Meta Description: [ Information about any musical instrument in the world. Annotated internet resources and an expert help desk for personal assistance with your questions. ]
Musical Instruments - The Metropolitan Museum of Art - The Met presents an international array of musical instruments of historical, technical, and social importance, as well as tonal and visual beauty, from accordions to zithers.
Meta Description: [ The Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection contains more than two million works of art ranging from medieval armor and european paintings to the world renowned Costume Institute. ]
Musiciansnews.com - News for musicians about instruments, artists and competitions.
Mxtabs - Over a thousand tabs (tablatures) for drum, bass and guitar for alternative, metal and rock music. Lessons, articles, links and site reviews, how to read tabs.
Meta Description: [ Over 90,000 guitar tabs in a comprehensive tabs database. Get guitar tabs for all your favorite bands! ]
NIU Musical Instrument Collection - Photographs and audio samples of instruments from around the world, organized alphabetically, geographically, and by type.
Pro-Music-News - News from the music industry and professional recording and P.A. technology and well as keyboards and percussion product news. [English/Deutsch]
Meta Description: [ Pro-Music-News and Pro-Light-News are manually edited, web-only publications . Pro-Music-News is about musical instruments, recording, sound reinforcement and pro audio. Pro-Light-News is the bilingual information source for the lighting and rigging industry. ]
The Classical Free-Reed, Inc. - Offers information about free reed instruments including the accordian, bayan, concertina, harmonica, sheng and reed organ. Includes definitions, descriptions, history, articles, reviews and a performers directory.
Meta Description: [ a nonprofit educational and cultural
organization dedicated to the advancement of the free-reed instruments
(ie., accordion & bayan, concertina & bandoneon, harmonium & reed organ,
harmonica, sheng, khaen, kobing, etc.) in classical music. ]
The Institute Of Musical Instrument Technology - The main professional body covering the music industry. Features publication and membership details.
Meta Description: [ IMIT is the main professional body covering the music industry. Members deal with the repair, maintenance, tuning and design of most types of musicalinstruments. ]
World Musical Instrument Gallery - Descriptions, photographs, and some sound samples of instruments in Randy Raine-Reusch's large collection.
Meta Description: [ A gallery of World Musical instruments ]
musical instruments made this time. There are eight kinds of vegetable musical instruments. Please enjoy various sounds ...