An orchestra is a group of various musical instruments joined together to create beautiful music.
They are divided into four groups as follows:
- Percussion – These instruments are either banged, hit, scraped or shaken. Such as the drum, cymbal or triangle to name a few. They add a beat to the piece of music.
- Woodwind – These make a sound when air blown into them causes a vibration. Players can alter the sound by covering holes with their fingers, or by pressing metal “keys” on the instrument. The clarinet and the flute are good examples of a woodwind instrument.
- Brass – These are long tubes that open into a bell shape at one end. The player blows into one end of the tube, called the mouthpiece. On instruments like the trumpet the musician presses down buttons to create varying sounds. The trombone and horn are also part of this section.
- String – These are played by plucking with your fingers or running a bow across the strings. The double bass has the deepest sound whereas a violin is a much higher pitch.
And together these four groups make up an orchestra along with the conductor who directs the musicians with arm and hand movements.