The sounds we produce from a musical instrument depend on three elements:
- The vibrating part of the instrument, which we activate by striking, blowing (including blowing air over vocal chords for speaking or singing), plucking or scraping.
- The amplifying part of the instrument – anything that can make the sound louder or bigger by allowing the vibrations to move around a space and grow such as an amplifier, a sound box (the open chamber of a stringed instrument like a guitar or the pātē drum pictured) or a tube (flutes or horns).
- Any sound-altering devices on the instrument – for example, keys, frets, valves or mutes.
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