Instruments

Guitar

The guitar is a popular musical instrument that makes sound by the playing of its six strings with the sound being projected either acoustically or through electrical amplification (for an acoustic guitar or an electric guitar, respectively). It is typically played by strumming or plucking the strings with the right hand while fretting the strings with the left hand. Some well known guitarists include George Benson, Jimmy Hendrix, and Raul Midon.

Violin

The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola, the cello and the double bass. The violinist produces sound by drawing a bow across one or more strings by plucking the strings or by a variety of other techniques. The violin is played by musicians in a wide variety of musical genres, including Baroque music, classical, jazz, folk music, rock and roll, and soft rock. The violin has come to be played in many non-Western music cultures all over the world.

Voice

Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality andrhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music such as arias, recitatives and songs. These can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments. Singing is often done in a group of other musicians, such as in achoir of singers with different voice ranges, or in an ensemble with instrumentalists, such as a rock group or baroque ensemble. Whitney Houston, Ella Fitzgerald and Andrea Bocelli are considered to be some of the greatest singers.

Piano

The pianoforte, commonly abbreviated to piano, is a musical instrument played using a keyboard. It is widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment and for composing andrehearsal. Although the piano is not portable and often expensive, its versatility and ubiquity have made it one of the world's most familiar musical instruments.

Saxophone

The saxophone belongs in the family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone has proved very popular in military band music, and is commonly used in jazz and classical music. There is substantial repertoire of concert music in the classical idiom for the members of the saxophone family.