User:Michael Struble/sandbox

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=Disorganized Essay Example=

I've always been interested in music, and learning about different musical instruments. When I was a kid I played clarinet in the school band, and the clarinet has been around for a long time, longer than the saxophone for instance. But clarinets aren't as old as drums. Maybe the drum was the first musical instrument. But I was never particularly interested in drumming. I don't have a good sense of rhythm. Other kinds of instruments have also interested me, and eventually I found out that instruments are grouped in families, like there is the string family, which is instruments that have strings that are bowed or plucked. One example is the violin. There have been many famous violin players, and also the violin has spread all around the world. I didn't play violin when I was in school, though, because I played clarinet.

Clarinet is a reed instrument, which is an instrument that has a reed you blow through to make the sound. Instead of a string vibrating, the reed vibrates. Which is different from percussion, where you hit the instrument, like how you hit a drum with a stick. One funny example is the piano. You'd think it was a string instrument, because it has strings in it, but it's a percussion instrument because the strings are hit with little hammers. Also, xylophones are percussion instruments.

One of the weirdest instruments I know of is called the "glass harmonica." It was invented by George Washington. It's a bunch of glasses that make a singing sound. I don't know what ochestra family that would fit under. You don't strike it, you don't play it with a bow, and there's no reeds. I wonder where a singer would go, too. I think there's one more family of instruments. There are four, and we have talked about three in this essay.

=Disorganized Essay Example=

Music has some very interesting aspects to it. For instance learning about different musical instruments. Many of you might have played an instrument in grade/high school, like the clarinet. The clarinet has been around for a long time, longer than the saxophone for instance. The drum is one of the oldest if not the oldest musical instruments. An interesting fact about instruments, is that they are grouped into families. Lets talk about three important ones: the string, reed, and percussion families.

The string family consists of instruments that have strings and that are bowed or plucked. One example is the violin.

The Clarinet is a reed instrument, which is an instrument that has a reed to blow through and make the sound. Instead of a string vibrating, the reed vibrates. This is different from our third family, percussion, where you hit the instrument. The drum is a percussion instrument because one hits it with a drumstick to make music. Another interesting example of a percussion instrument is the piano. It is often mistaken for a string instrument, because it has strings in it, but it is a percussion instrument because the strings are hit with little hammers. Xylophones are also examples of percussion instruments.

One of the most obscure instruments of all is called the "glass harmonica." It was invented by George Washington. It's a row of glass bowls, that produce a singing sound. What orchestra family would that fit under? You don't strike it, you don't play it with a bow, and there are no reeds. Are singers classified under an orchestra family? There are certainly more than three families of instruments; further research is encouraged.