20 Musical Instruments Names in English with Properties
Here in this lesson we will learn the names of different musical instruments. It is very important to have this knowledge. As a ESL Student , if you are able to learn the names of musical instruments, it will be much easier for you to start conversations about them or make comparisons with other things. You can say ‘The drum is bigger than the piano’ .
Now let’s start our lesson.
Guitar
A guitar is a stringed instrument which has six strings and is played with fingers or a pick. Guitar is a very common instrument. Most of the players attach a pick up to their guitar which makes it very easy to amplify its sound and play it through speakers. There are many great guitarist in the world but one of the most famous is Jimi Hendrix.
Sitar
A sitar is a stringed instrument which is made of wood and has a long neck with many strings. It was invented in India. The sound of the sitar is created by plucking its strings. There are also some other instruments called as santoor and surbahar .
Piano
A piano is a keyboard musical instrument which produces sound when you press its keys.The piano has black and white keys which are used to produce different notes. It is one of the most popular musical instruments in the world .
Violin
A violin is a type of string instrument with four strings .It was invented in Italy and it belongs to the violin family. The right hand holds the bow and the left hand holds the string. The sound of a violin is high pitched, sweet and clear because the size of its strings are small .
Trombone
A trombone is similar to a trumpet but it has different shape and it produces low sounds. It has three valves which are used for making different sounds. Most of the trombones have a slide which helps to produce different sounds.
Drums
A drum is a musical instrument which makes sound when you hit it with your hands or sticks. There are many types of drums .Every type has its own unique tone. The best thing about the drums is you can play several rhythms with them at the same time.
Harmonica
A harmonica is a small musical instrument which produces sound when it gets air through its holes. It has many different shapes and sizes. You can play different melodies with the help of harmonica.
Saxophone
A saxophone is a musical instrument which produces sound when you blow air through it. It was invented in the 19th century by Adolph Sax who made it of brass and wood.
Drums
Drums are the oldest instrument in the world .They were used for religious purposes by priests in ancient times. In some places, drums are still used for religious purposes. Drums are made of metal, wood and plastic .They produce a loud sound when you hit them with your hands or sticks.
Ukulele
A ukulele is a small musical instrument with four strings. It was invented in Hawaii and it is very popular in Japan, China and Korea. The sound of a Ukulele resembles the piano .
Trumpet
A trumpet is a type of musical instrument which produces sound when you blow air through it. There are five different types of trumpets in the world. It is a very popular musical instrument and is used in orchestras.
Clarinet
Clarinet is a woodwind musical instrument with many holes on it. It was invented in the 18th century by a man called Claude-Sebastian Bach. It is a very popular musical instrument and can produce different sounds.
Cello Guitar
A guitar is one of the most popular instruments in the world .It has six strings and it produces high pitched sound when you pluck them. There are many types of guitars such as classical, acoustic and electric.
Accordion
An accordion is a musical instrument with bellows. It was invented in the early 19th century in Vienna, Austria. The sound of an accordion changes according to the way you play it .
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument which produces high pitched sound when you blow air through it. It was invented in the early 18th century by a man named Jacob Denner. It is one of the most popular instruments and an oboe solo can be heard in films such as Harry Potter, Titanic and Lord of the Rings.
Trumpet
Trumpet is a musical instrument which produces sound when you blow air through it. It was invented around 1500 B.C in Egypt and was made of metal. It is a very popular musical instrument and is used in orchestras.
Flute
A flute is a tube-like aerophone with a whistle mouthpiece .It produces sound when you blow air through it. The sound produced by the flute resembles the sound of birds. It is a very popular musical instrument and can be heard in films such as Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean.
Saxophone
Saxophone is a musical instrument which produces sound when you blow air through it. It was invented by Adolph Sax who made it of brass and wood. The shape of the saxophone resembles an oboe and it is closely related to the clarinet.
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument with three valves which produce different sounds when you press them. It was invented in the early 19th century by Benjamin Franklins and George Washington’s grandfather. Most of the trombones have a slide which helps to produce different sounds.
Viola
The Viola is a stringed musical instrument which produces sound when you press it. It was invented in Italy in the 16th century and has five strings. The most popular type of viola is called viola da gamba or ‘leg viola’.
Bass Guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed musical instrument which produces sound when you pluck the strings. It was invented in the early 19th century by an unknown inventor .It has four strings and it is usually played with a pick. The sound of the bass guitar resembles that of an electric guitar.
Harmonica
Harmonica is a wind instrument and it produces sound when you blow air through it. It was invented in the early 19th century by an American man called Benjamin Franklin. It has one reed and twenty-one to thirty-six holes on it.
Horn
A horn is a musical instrument which produces different sounds when you blow air through it. It was invented in the mid-18th century by a man called Anton Joseph Hampel. It has two parts which are made of different sizes and shapes.
Tuba
A tuba is a musical instrument with three valves which produce different sounds when you press them. It was invented by Jean Baptiste Vuillaume in 1835. The sound of the tuba resembles that of the euphonium and the baritone horn.
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