Instruments

Grouped by family, in roughly the order they'd be introduced - each family overview links out to its individual instruments, and every instrument links back.

The orchestra is built from four families. The strings are its backbone and its largest section; the woodwinds bring a range of contrasting colors; the brass add power and fanfare; and the percussion provide rhythm and dramatic punctuation. Keyboards such as the piano, organ, and harpsichord have their own pages too.

To see how it all fits together, start with the interactive orchestra seating chart, then meet the person standing in front of it all, the conductor. For hearing the instruments one by one, Britten's The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra and Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf are perfect companions.

• The String Family

  Violin, viola, cello, and double bass - bowed strings, the backbone of the orchestra.

• ViolinStrings

  The smallest and highest-pitched of the bowed strings - and the orchestra's principal melodic voice.

• ViolaStrings

  The violin's slightly larger, lower-voiced sibling.

• CelloStrings

  A warm, tenor-to-bass voice, played upright and braced against the floor.

• Double BassStrings

  The largest and lowest-pitched of the bowed strings.

• Viola da GambaStrings

  The "leg viol" - a fretted, bowed instrument with a gentle, singing voice.

• HarpStrings

  A plucked string instrument tuned by foot pedals, not fingering.

• Classical GuitarStrings

  Six nylon strings, plucked by the fingers - the intimate voice of Spain and beyond.

• LuteStrings

  The pear-shaped plucked instrument that was the guitar of the Renaissance.

• CimbalomStrings

  The Hungarian hammered dulcimer - shimmering strings struck with tiny beaters.

• The Woodwind Family

  Flute, oboe, clarinet, and bassoon - reed and air, four very different voices.

• FluteWoodwinds

  A reedless woodwind, played by splitting a stream of air across an edge.

• RecorderWoodwinds

  Much more than a school instrument - the flute of the Renaissance and Baroque.

• PiccoloWoodwinds

  A half-size flute, and the highest voice in the orchestra.

• OboeWoodwinds

  A double-reed woodwind with a penetrating, nasal tone - and the orchestra's tuning note.

• English HornWoodwinds

  The oboe's lower, mellower sibling - neither English nor a horn.

• ClarinetWoodwinds

  A single-reed woodwind with an unusually wide range and smooth, rounded tone.

• Bass ClarinetWoodwinds

  The clarinet's deep, velvety big brother - an octave lower and full of mystery.

• BassoonWoodwinds

  A double-reed woodwind pitched an octave and more below the oboe.

• ContrabassoonWoodwinds

  The lowest voice of the woodwinds - a bassoon an octave deeper.

• SaxophoneWoodwinds

  A brass instrument that's really a woodwind - and a star of jazz and the concert hall.

• The Brass Family

  Trumpet, French horn, trombone, and tuba - buzzing lips, metal tubing, and the orchestra's loudest section.

• TrumpetBrass

  The highest, brightest voice in the brass section, historically tied to fanfare and signal.

• French HornBrass

  The brass family's mellowest voice, and its bridge to the woodwinds.

• TromboneBrass

  The only common orchestral instrument that changes pitch with a sliding tube instead of valves.

• TubaBrass

  The largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument, and the newest member of the standard orchestra.

• The Percussion Family

  Timpani, snare, cymbals, and more - everything struck, shaken, or scraped.

• TimpaniPercussion

  Large copper kettledrums that can be tuned to specific pitches.

• GlockenspielPercussion

  Steel bars and hard mallets - the bright, bell-like sparkle of the orchestra.

• XylophonePercussion

  Wooden bars, hard mallets, and a dry, bright, rattling sound.

• MarimbaPercussion

  The xylophone's big, warm-voiced cousin - with roots in Africa and Central America.

• VibraphonePercussion

  Metal bars and spinning fans - the shimmering, dreamy voice of jazz and modern music.

• Tubular BellsPercussion

  Hanging metal tubes that bring the sound of church bells into the concert hall.

• CelestaPercussion

  A keyboard that rings like tiny bells - the sound of the Sugar Plum Fairy.

• PianoKeyboard

  Struck strings and a full harmonic range, in a single instrument played by one person.

• Organ (Pipe Organ)Keyboard

  A keyboard instrument that pushes air through pipes instead of striking strings.

• Ondes MartenotKeyboard

  An early electronic instrument with an eerie, singing voice - a favorite of Messiaen.

• HarpsichordKeyboard

  The piano's plucked-string ancestor, and the Baroque era's essential keyboard.

• How an Orchestra Is Arranged

  Why every section sits exactly where it does.

• The Role of the Conductor

  One person, no instrument, shaping how an entire orchestra plays together.