Foundations
How Instruments Make Sound
From a trembling string to a buzzing lip, every instrument turns motion into music through one of five routes, and its body decides how that sound is heard.
Articles
Longer explanations that connect the entries: the physics of sound, the logic of classification and the practical realities of materials, care and tuning.
Foundations
Instrument Families and How They Are Classified
Orchestral families and the Hornbostel–Sachs system answer different questions about the same instruments, and this library borrows from both to organise its collection.
Foundations
Range, Register and Timbre Explained
Range says how high and low an instrument can go, register and tessitura say where it is comfortable, and timbre explains why the same note never sounds identical twice.
Foundations
Woods, Metals and Skins: Materials in Musical Instruments
Spruce, ebony, brass, gut, steel and animal skin each solve a different acoustic or mechanical problem, and the choice among them is increasingly shaped by law and supply.
Care & Practice
Humidity, Temperature and Instrument Care
Most damage to instruments comes from slow, ordinary causes: swings in moisture, heat, tension and handling, which are easier to prevent than to repair.
Foundations
Tuning and Temperament: A Short Guide
Pitch is agreed rather than fixed, and every scale involves compromise, from the A that an orchestra tunes to, to the frets on a guitar.