Parts
Anatomy of the Acoustic Guitar and What Each Part Does
Top, neck, bridge, nut, tuning machines, and more: see what each part of the acoustic guitar does and how they work together to make and project sound.
Musical Instruments by Family
A guide to getting to know instruments from the inside: how they are built, how they produce sound, and what sets them apart from the others in their family.
Strings
In strings, sound begins with a stretched string that vibrates and is amplified by a resonating body. The vibration can be set off by a bow, fingers, or a pick, and each way of exciting the string shapes the timbre.
Parts
How the Violin Produces Its Distinctive Sound
Bow, string, bridge, sound post, and top plate: follow how string vibration becomes the bright, singing timbre of the violin, explained accessibly.
Identification
The Cello: Structure, Timbre, and Musical Role
Learn how the cello is built, how its strings are tuned (C-G-D-A), what its tone is like, and the part it plays in orchestras, quartets, and solo music.
Identification
The Harp: Strings, Pedals, and Sonic Possibilities
Understand how the concert harp works: 47 strings, seven pedals, tuning discs, glissandos, and how it differs from smaller lever harps.
Identification
The Ukulele and Its Main Variations
Meet the ukulele and its four strings, the soprano, concert, tenor, and baritone sizes, the common tunings, and how each size changes the sound.
Identification
The Mandolin: Origins, Construction, and Sound
Explore the mandolin's Italian origins, its eight strings in pairs tuned like a violin's, the tremolo technique, and round-back versus flat-back designs.
Understand the family: How Bowed String Instruments Work · How Plucked String Instruments Work · The Luthier's Craft: How Stringed Instruments Are Built
Winds
In winds, a column of air vibrates inside a tube. What changes from one instrument to another is how that air is set in motion: a jet against an edge, a reed, or the lips in a mouthpiece.
Identification
The Flute: Embouchure, Range, and Sound Production
Learn how the concert flute makes sound with a stream of air across an edge, what its range is, how the keys work, and why embouchure matters so much.
Identification
The Saxophone: Construction, Reed, and Varieties
Find out how the saxophone is built, why it uses a single reed, what its main varieties are (soprano, alto, tenor, baritone), and where it is played.
Identification
The Trumpet: Valves, Harmonics, and Basic Techniques
See how the trumpet makes notes with the lips, what its three valves do, how the harmonic series works, and which basic techniques matter first.
Understand the family: Woodwind vs. Brass Instruments: What Sets Them Apart
Percussion
In percussion, sound arises when a body, a membrane, or a bar is struck, scraped, or shaken. It is the largest family and the one that speaks most directly to rhythm.
Parts
How the Parts of a Drum Kit Work Together
Bass drum, snare, toms, cymbals, and pedals: see what each part of a drum kit does and how they combine to hold the rhythm of a song together.
Understand the family: How Percussion Instruments Are Classified
Keys
In keyed instruments, a mechanism links the motion of the fingers to the sound source, whether that is a hammer striking strings, a free reed driven by bellows, or an electronic circuit.
Parts
Inside the Piano: How It Works
Keys, action, hammers, strings, bridge, and soundboard: discover what happens inside a piano between a finger's touch and the sound you hear.
Identification
The Accordion: Bellows, Keys, Buttons, and Reeds
Learn how the accordion makes sound with free reeds and bellows, and how piano-key, button, and bass systems differ from one another.
Understand the family: Keyboard Instruments: Mechanisms and Differences
Electronic
In electronic instruments, sound is generated or transformed by circuits and, later, by digital processing, opening up timbres that acoustic instruments cannot produce.
Understand the family: The Evolution of Electronic Musical Instruments