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3.3.3
Instrument Categories: The Hornbostel-Sachs System

When most musicians think of categories of acoustic musical instruments, three come immediately to mind: strings, winds, and percussion.

That’s pretty close to the formal system developed by Erich von Hornbostel and Curt Sachs, which has served as the classification standard since 1914. Their system divides acoustic instruments into four categories:

  • Idiophones: percussion instruments without a membrane
  • Membranophones: percussion instruments with a membrane
  • Aerophones: wind instruments, including the human voice
  • Chordophones: stringed instruments

An additional category is now generally recognized:

  • Electrophones: instruments that produce sound electronically

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