Strings · Woodwinds · Brass · Percussion · Click to explore each family · Grades K–5
Musical instruments are grouped into families based on how they produce sound. The four main instrument families in a modern orchestra are strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. A fifth family, keyboards, is sometimes listed separately. Each family creates sound in a different way, giving it a unique tone color or timbre.
String instruments produce sound when their strings vibrate. Players can bow, pluck, or strum the strings. The string family includes violin, viola, cello, double bass, harp, and guitar. Woodwind instruments make sound when air vibrates inside a tube. Despite the name, not all woodwinds are made of wood. This family includes flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone.
Brass instruments produce sound when the player buzzes their lips into a cup-shaped mouthpiece. The brass family includes trumpet, French horn, trombone, and tuba. Percussion instruments make sound when they are struck, shaken, or scraped. They include drums, xylophone, cymbals, triangle, tambourine, and maracas. Percussion instruments can be tuned (like timpani) or untuned (like snare drum).
This interactive tool lets students explore each instrument family, see and hear individual instruments, and learn how they work together in an orchestra. A sorting game challenges students to place instruments into their correct families. Perfect for music education in grades K through 5.
Last reviewed: April 2026