Classification Of Musical Instruments

All people enjoy one or the other kind of music. Music has a soothing effect on the body and the mind. It also has some healing capabilities which medicine and science have been trying to decipher for years. Music can be enjoyed and learned by people of all age groups. A large number of music schools have come up in the recent years which teach interested persons how to play different types of instruments.
Before you set to buy a musical instrument or even learn one, you need to know about the different types of musical instruments that exist.
a) Wind instruments:
Sound is produced in these instruments when a column of air is made to vibrate inside them. These instruments are further divided into brass and woodwind instruments. The length of the column of air and the shape of the instrument play a major role in determining the frequency of the wave generated. Different tones are produced depending on the construction of the instrument and method of tone production.
b) Percussion instruments:
Sound is produced in these instruments by simply striking them. The sound produced in this case may or may not be of high pitch. The cavity of the instrument surrounding the area where it is struck vibrates and sound is produced. The shape and material of the instrument also decide the type of sound produced form this instrument.
c) String instruments:
These instruments produce sound when the string is disturbed from its original position by the application of force. The length of the vibrating string, the mass, tension and the point at which the string is excited determine the frequency of the sound produced. The tone of sound produced by these instruments can vary depending on the shape and resonating cavity construction of each instrument.
d) Electronic instruments:
Sound is produced in these instruments through electronic means by imitating the sounds produced by other instruments. They resemble keyboards in appearance.
e) Brass instruments:
Sound is produced in these instruments when air is blown into a tube with different length or thickness to generate a wide range of sounds.
f) Keyboard instruments:
These instruments can use any of the above methods to generate musical sounds. Each key in the keyboard can produce one sound or the other. Keyboards are famous for producing a combination of different sounds and can also imitate the sound produced by other musical instruments.