The instruments

Grouped the way an orchestra is: by how the sound is made. Each one has a breakdown of what it is doing physically, drills worth the time, the practical tips nobody writes down — and the songs in the library that suit it.

Keyboard 2

One key per pitch, the whole harmony under two hands — the fastest way to see theory.

CelestaA keyboard that strikes steel plates over wooden resonators — the bell-like sound behind half the film scores you can hum.2 drills PianoEighty-eight keys, ten fingers, and the entire harmony of a song in one pair of hands — which is why every theory diagram on this site is drawn on a keyboard.3 drills

Strings 11

Pitch set by string length: stopped by a finger, sounded by a bow, a pick or a nail.

BanjoA drumhead with strings over it. Loud, percussive, and driven by right-hand rolls rather than strums.2 drills CelloAn octave below the viola, played sitting down with the instrument against your chest — the string instrument closest to the human voice.2 drills Double BassThe bottom of the orchestra and the heartbeat of a jazz rhythm section, tuned in fourths and sounding an octave below what is written.2 drills Electric BassFour fretted strings tuned like the bottom of a guitar, an octave down — the instrument that decides whether a band grooves.3 drills GuitarSix strings, a fistful of shapes, and the whole of popular song — the instrument most people mean when they say they want to play something.4 drills HarpForty-seven strings, one per diatonic pitch, plucked with the fingers — harmony you sweep through rather than reach for.2 drills LyrePitch set by string length: stopped by a finger, sounded by a bow, a pick or a nail.3 drills MandolinFour courses of doubled strings tuned in fifths — a violin's pitches with frets and a pick.2 drills UkuleleFour nylon strings, a short scale, and chords that are one or two fingers each — the fastest route from nothing to accompanying a song.2 drills ViolaA fifth below the violin and reading its own clef — the inner voice, and the one that makes a string section sound like more than a melody and a bass.2 drills ViolinThe top of the string family: no frets, a bow, and complete control over pitch, colour and attack — at the cost of having to find every note yourself.3 drills

Woodwinds 11

A vibrating column of air, shortened and lengthened by opening holes along the tube.

BansuriA vibrating column of air, shortened and lengthened by opening holes along the tube.3 drills BassoonTwo and a half metres of conical bore folded in half, played with a double reed — the bass voice of the woodwinds, and the funniest and saddest of them.2 drills ClarinetA single reed on a cylindrical bore, which makes it overblow at the twelfth instead of the octave — the reason its fingering system looks so strange.2 drillstransposing FluteNo reed at all: you split your own airstream across the edge of a hole, which is why the first note is the hardest thing about it.3 drills MelodicaA keyboard you blow into: free reeds like a harmonica, laid out like a piano, and portable enough to take anywhere.2 drills OboeA double reed on a narrow conical bore. It gives the orchestra its tuning A because its pitch is the most stable thing in the room.2 drills OcarinaA vibrating column of air, shortened and lengthened by opening holes along the tube.3 drills PiccoloHalf a flute, an octave up, and audible over an entire orchestra — which makes every intonation error public.2 drills SaxophoneA single reed on a conical brass body — a woodwind by mechanism, a brass instrument by volume, and the most vocal instrument in a horn section.3 drillstransposing Tin WhistleSix holes, a fipple, and two octaves — the cheapest instrument here and the one with the deepest traditional repertoire.2 drills Western Concert FluteThe standard orchestral flute — the same instrument as the Flute entry, listed separately on the roster.3 drills

Brass 8

Buzzed lips drive the column; valves or a slide add length to reach between harmonics.

Baritone HornBetween the trombone and the euphonium: a cylindrical-bore tenor voice with valves, brighter and lighter than a euphonium.3 drillstransposing CornetA trumpet's pitch in a conical body — mellower, rounder, and the lead voice of the brass band tradition.3 drillstransposing EuphoniumA tenor tuba with a beautiful singing voice — the brass band's cello, and the most under-appreciated melodic instrument in the family.3 drills French HornFour metres of conical tubing coiled into a circle, played high in the harmonic series with a hand in the bell — the most beautiful and least forgiving brass instrument.2 drillstransposing SousaphoneA tuba rebuilt to wrap around the player and fire forward — the marching band's bass line, carried at walking pace.3 drills TromboneThe only brass instrument with continuous pitch: a slide instead of valves, so every note between the notes is available and every note has to be aimed.3 drills TrumpetThree valves, a small mouthpiece, and enough projection to lead any ensemble ever written.3 drillstransposing TubaThe bottom of the brass family and the foundation of the whole ensemble — enormous, conical, and far more agile than it looks.2 drills

Percussion 13

Struck, shaken or scraped — some pitched, most of them carrying the time instead.

Bass DrumStruck, shaken or scraped — some pitched, most of them carrying the time instead.3 drills CastanetsStruck, shaken or scraped — some pitched, most of them carrying the time instead.3 drills ChimesTubular bells: long brass tubes struck at the top cap with a rawhide hammer, and loud enough to be heard through anything.3 drills CymbalsStruck, shaken or scraped — some pitched, most of them carrying the time instead.3 drills DrumsNot one instrument but an assembled kit, played by four limbs at once — the part of the band that decides where the beat actually is.4 drills GongA large struck metal disc with no definite pitch, which takes seconds to reach full volume and much longer to stop.3 drills MaracasStruck, shaken or scraped — some pitched, most of them carrying the time instead.3 drills Snare DrumA drum with wires stretched across the bottom head — the crack that defines the backbeat, and the instrument where all stick technique is learned.2 drills TambourineStruck, shaken or scraped — some pitched, most of them carrying the time instead.3 drills TimpaniThe pitched drums of the orchestra: a foot pedal tunes each one, so the timpanist is retuning while everyone else is playing.2 drills TriangleStruck, shaken or scraped — some pitched, most of them carrying the time instead.3 drills VibraphoneAluminium bars, a damper pedal and a motor that spins discs in the resonators — the one mallet instrument that can sustain, and the jazz harmony instrument of the family.2 drills XylophoneWooden bars over resonators, struck with hard mallets — bright, dry, and cutting, with almost no sustain.2 drills

The roster and the “heard on” links come from 🎻 MUSIC INSTRUMENTS [DB] in Notion. The breakdowns, drills and tips are written into the site. Practice suggestions are derived from the pipeline's measured key, meter and chord data — nothing here claims to know who played on a record.