# Musical Instruments **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 5, 2002, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-instruments/140585 "2002-12-05T01:17:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-instruments/140585/1 "2002-12-05T01:17:03Z")
What are the groups of musical instruments? Are the terms “reed instruments” and “woodwind instruments” interchangeable? Or, is woodwind broader than reed? For example, what is a wood flute considered? And, is a metal flute a brass instrument? Please help me clarify! - Jinx ---
**Author:** ![Earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/90db22/32.png) [@Earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthling)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-instruments/140585/2 "2002-12-05T01:36:16Z")
[Orchestral instruments](http://www.kdfc.com/classical/instruments.shtml) Generally, the classifications are strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, and voice. Reeds are a subcategory of woodwinds, which further branch into single- and double-reeds. Saxophones are single-reeds, though their bodies are made of brass. In orchestras, the piano is a percussion instrument, though it has strings. (Actually, this is news to me – I didn’t realize there is no separate “keyboards” category. So where does that place the organ?) ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-instruments/140585/3 "2002-12-05T02:21:38Z")
Separately. Instrumentation for orchestral pieces usually runs flutes-oboes-clarinets-bassoons (woodwinds); horns-trumpets-trombones-tubas (brass); violins-2nd violins-violas-cellos-basses (strings); then specifies the odd percussion/harp/keyboards involved. Subcategories (piccolos, Eb clarinets, contrabassoons, etc.) are listed after the instrumental categories. Modern, metal flutes are still considered woodwinds. ---
**Author:** ![Kyomara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8edcca/32.png) [@Kyomara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyomara)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-instruments/140585/4 "2002-12-05T08:23:19Z")
Then you get into the tricky ones, like pianos. Are they percussion (the strings are struck by hammers, the keys are struck by the fingers) or string instruments? Best not to think about it too hard. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-instruments/140585/5 "2002-12-05T12:43:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kyomara \* > \*\*Then you get into the tricky ones, like pianos. Are they percussion (the strings are struck by hammers, the keys are struck by the fingers) or string instruments? > > Best not to think about it too hard. \*\* Didn’t **Earthling** answer that one? You don’t tend to hear harpsichords in orchestras any more, but they would presumably be string rather than percussion. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-instruments/140585/6 "2002-12-05T14:51:49Z")
Keyboards are listed among the percussion because the keyboards are laid out in the same fashion as xylophones and bells; if you can play one, you can play the other (hah). There’s also bagpipes, which are a subclass of double-reeds. ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-instruments/140585/7 "2002-12-05T17:55:12Z")
Ok, can you give me other examples of double-reeds? Is a clarinet single-reed? What about the oboe? -Jinx ---
**Author:** ![Earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/90db22/32.png) [@Earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthling)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-instruments/140585/8 "2002-12-05T18:05:02Z")
Oboe, basson, contra-basson, and English horn are examples of double reeds. Clarinets are single reeds. French horns are brass instruments. These are ponted out in the original link that I gave. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-instruments/140585/9 "2002-12-05T18:06:10Z")
Clarinet is single-reed, oboe is double-reed (as is its cousin the _cor anglais_, or English horn). ---
**Author:** ![Splanky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b2d939/32.png) [@Splanky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Splanky)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-instruments/140585/10 "2002-12-05T20:07:24Z")
Ah, the English Horn- Not English, nor a horn. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-instruments/140585/11 "2002-12-05T20:29:55Z")
…not to be confused with the French Horn, which is German. ---
**Author:** ![Jpeg\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/4bbf92/32.png) [@Jpeg\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jpeg_Jones)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musical-instruments/140585/12 "2002-12-05T23:23:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ukulele Ike \* > \*\*Instrumentation for orchestral pieces usually runs flutes-oboes-clarinets-bassoons (woodwinds); horns-trumpets-trombones-tubas (brass); violins-2nd violins-violas-cellos-basses (strings); then specifies the odd percussion/harp/keyboards involved. > > Subcategories (piccolos, Eb clarinets, contrabassoons, etc.) are listed after the instrumental categories.\*\* Close, but not quite right. Keyboards (except continuo) appear _above_ strings in an orchestral score. Also, to clarify: Auxiliary instruments, such as piccolo or Eb clarinet are scored _together with their “parent” instruments_. This stuff is [pretty easy to search for](http://www.schirmer.com/catalogs/inst_abbrev.html#sc), people.