A World of Sounds

Contents• 1. Sounds

• 2. Wind Instruments

• 3. String Instruments

• 4. Percussion Instruments

• 5. How we hear sounds.

• 6. Brass Instruments

• 7. The violin

• 8. Shake, rattle and roll.

End Show

Sounds• Sounds are created by something

vibrating (moving very fast). The vibrations set up sound waves in the surrounding air.

• Sounds move like waves in water but much faster.

• Sound waves are detected by the air in the ears.

• Instruments make sounds: Wind instruments String instruments Percussion Instruments

Wind Instruments

• The player’s breath makes the sound in a wind instrument.

• The breath flows through or across

a hole or an edge or causes a reed to vibrate.

String Instruments• String instruments use tightly

stretched string or wire to make a sound.

• The player

plucks

hammers

or strokes the string to make a sound.

Percussion Instruments• Percussion is the name given to

instruments that create sound by being

scraped

shaken

hit or struck

How we hear sounds• Sound waves reach the

outer ear and makes the ear drum vibrate.

• This makes 3 little bones move inside the inner ear.

• The fluid in the snail-shaped organ moves.

• Tiny hair cells inside also detect the movements.

• Signals are sent to the brain by the auditory nerve.

Brass Instruments• This is a trumpet.• A trumpet is a valved,

wind instrument.• All notes in the

trumpet’s range can be played using a combination of three valves.

• Pressing on the valves changes the length of tubing that the air flows through.

• The shorter the tube, the higher the note.

The violin• The violin is a string

instrument.• A bow is used to slide

back and forth across the strings.

• The player changes the pitch of the strings by holding his fingers against the strings.

• The player can also pluck at the strings.

Shake, rattle and roll• These are all untuned

percussion instruments.

• The pitch cannot be altered.

• A percussion player has to learn to play all kinds of instruments.

• Evelyn Glennie is a famous percussionist. She ‘feels’ the sounds as she is deaf.