Standard orchestral instruments. Learn all about the orchestra, which instrument belongs to which family (string, woodwind, brass, percussion), instrument ranges and information about transposing instruments. Suitable for candidates preparing for ABRSM Grade 4 music theory. The standard orchestra is a combination of musicians made up of four sections of instruments: string, brass, woodwind, and percussion. When we talk about musical instruments, we often talk about them as being part of a family. That's because, just like in human families, the instruments in a particular family are related to each other. They are often made of the same types of materials, usually look similar to one another, and produce sound in comparable ways. The string family of instruments come in four sizes: the violin, which is the smallest, viola, cello, and the biggest, the double bass, sometimes called the contrabass. The smaller instruments, the violin and viola, make higher-pitched sounds, while the larger cello and double bass produce low rich sounds. They are all similarly shaped, with curvy wooden bodies and wooden necks. The strings stretch over the body and neck and attach to small decorative heads, where they are tuned with small tuning pegs. The woodwind family of instruments includes, from the highest sounding instruments to the lowest, the flute, oboe, clarinet, and bassoon. The instruments in this family all used to be made of wood, which gives them their name. Today, they are made of wood, metal, plastic or some combination. They are all basically narrow cylinders or pipes, with holes, an opening at the bottom end and a mouthpiece at the top. You play them by blowing air through the mouthpiece (that's the "wind" in "woodwind") and opening or closing the holes with your fingers to change the pitch. The brass family is made up of the trumpet, French horn, trombone, and the tuba. Like the woodwind family, brass players use their breath to produce sound. If you think the brass family got its name because the instruments are made of brass, you're right! This family of instruments can play louder than any other in the orchestra and can also be heard from far away. The percussion family is the largest in the orchestra. Percussion instruments include any instrument that makes a sound when it is hit, shaken, or scraped. Some percussion instruments are tuned and can sound different notes, like the xylophone, timpani or piano, and some are untuned with no definite pitch, like the bass drum, cymbals or castanets.