Mon Prof Augmenté
Four Families of the Orchestra
Age 13 · Music
A symphony orchestra groups its instruments into strings, woodwind, brass and percussion. Each family makes sound in its own way, which gives it a different timbre, or tone colour.
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Age 13: open this week
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In the picture
- Strings: a bowed or plucked string vibrates and the wooden body amplifies it
- Woodwind: air blown across an opening or over a reed vibrates inside the tube
- Brass: the player’s buzzing lips make the air vibrate in a metal tube that ends in a bell
- Percussion: a struck, shaken or scraped object vibrates, such as a drum skin or a metal bar
Examples
- A violin and a flute can play the same note, yet you can easily tell them apart by their tone colour.
- In a film soundtrack, trumpets often sound heroic while a soft clarinet sounds gentle.
Key takeaways
- Timbre is the tone colour that lets us tell instruments apart, even on the same note.
- The four families differ by what vibrates: strings, air in a tube, lips on a metal tube, or a struck surface.
Quiz: Four Families of the Orchestra (Age 13)
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A violin and a flute play the same note, yet they sound different. What do we call this difference in tone colour?
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In which family does the player’s buzzing lips make the air vibrate inside a metal tube?
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What is the main thing that vibrates to make the sound in a drum or a metal bar struck with a stick?
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