Instrument facts for kids

An instrument is a word with a few different meanings. It can be a special tool used for a job, or it can be something that makes music. Think of a hammer, which is a tool, or a guitar, which is a musical instrument. Both are called instruments!

What is an Instrument?

The word "instrument" comes from a Latin word meaning "tool" or "device." Because of this, it can describe many different things. Often, it refers to something designed to help us perform a task. It can also mean a device that creates sound for music.

Instruments as Tools

When we talk about an instrument as a tool, we mean something that helps us do a job. These tools are often made for very specific tasks. For example, a surgeon uses special instruments for operations. A scientist might use instruments like microscopes or telescopes to study the world.

Tools can be simple, like a wrench for tightening bolts. Or they can be very complex, like the instruments inside a spaceship. The main idea is that they help us achieve a goal or measure something accurately.

Musical Instruments: Making Sounds!

A musical instrument is an object made or changed to produce musical sounds. People have been making music with instruments for thousands of years! Each type of instrument makes sound in a different way. This creates all the amazing sounds we hear in songs and orchestras.

Musical instruments are usually grouped by how they make sound. The main groups are wind, percussion, string, and keyboard instruments.

Wind Instruments

Wind instruments make sound when air vibrates inside them. You blow into them, and the air inside starts to shake. This shaking air creates the sound waves we hear.

There are two main types of wind instruments:

• Woodwind instruments often have a reed (a small piece of wood or plastic) that vibrates, or they have holes that you cover and uncover. Examples include the flute, clarinet, saxophone, and oboe.
• Brass instruments are usually made of metal and have a cup-shaped mouthpiece. You buzz your lips into the mouthpiece to make the air vibrate. Examples include the trumpet, trombone, French horn, and tuba.

Percussion Instruments

Percussion instruments make sound when you hit, shake, or scrape them. They are often used to keep the rhythm in music. The sound comes from the instrument vibrating after being struck.

Percussion instruments can be made from many different materials. Some common examples are:

• Drums (like the snare drum or bass drum), which you hit with sticks or your hands.
• Cymbals, which you crash together or hit with a stick.
• Xylophones and marimbas, which have bars you hit with mallets.
• Tambourines, which you shake or hit.

String Instruments

String instruments make sound from vibrating strings. When you pluck, bow, or strum the strings, they shake very quickly. This vibration creates the sound. The length, thickness, and tightness of the strings change the pitch of the sound.

Common string instruments include:

• Guitar, which you pluck or strum with your fingers or a pick.
• Violin, viola, cello, and double bass, which are played by drawing a bow across the strings.
• Harp, where you pluck many strings with your fingers.
• Piano, which uses hammers to strike strings inside (though it's also a keyboard instrument).

Keyboard Instruments

Keyboard instruments are played by pressing keys on a keyboard. Each key is connected to a mechanism that produces a sound. This mechanism can be different for each instrument.

Some popular keyboard instruments are:

• Piano, where pressing a key makes a hammer strike a string.
• Organ, which uses air blown through pipes to make sound when keys are pressed.
• Synthesizer, an electronic instrument that creates sounds using electrical signals.
• Harpsichord, an older instrument where pressing a key plucks a string.