plucked with the fingers or rubbed with
a bow, which is a curved stick with
horsehair stretched between the ends.
Unlike a harp, these instruments have
only four or five strings each. The sound
is changed by using the fingers to press
down on the strings at different points
of the neck. In effect, this temporarily
shortens the part of the string that
makes the sound. The wooden body of
the instrument makes the sound louder.
Guitars, banjos, and sitars also belong to
the lute family. They are played by
plucking the strings with either the fingers
or a small piece of plastic or metal
called a pick. The electric guitar uses an
electronic device called an amplifier to
make the sound louder.
Wind Instruments
In wind instruments the sound is created
by a stream of air that flows
through or around the body of the
instrument. In most cases the air comes
from the player’s mouth. In modern
Western orchestras wind instruments are
divided into brass instruments (made of
brass or other metal) and woodwinds
(made of wood or metal). Brass instruments
include the trombone, trumpet,
horn, and tuba.
Many of the woodwinds produce sound
when air causes a thin blade of cane or
metal, called a reed, to vibrate. The
clarinet and saxophone each have one
reed, while the oboe and bassoon use
two reeds each. The flute and piccolo are
woodwinds that have no reeds. In woodwinds
the player can produce different
sounds by pressing on keys or finger
holes. This changes the way the air
vibrates as it flows through the body of
the instrument.
People throughout the world play different
types of flutes, including the whistle
flute, panpipes, and recorder. A bagpipe,
another form of wind instrument, has
two or more pipes with reeds. Air is
Stringed instruments include the violin, the guitar, the cello, the
double bass, and the harp.
216 Musical Instrument BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
forced from a bag through the pipes,
causing the reeds to vibrate. One of the
pipes has finger holes used to play particular
notes.
Keyboard Instruments
To play a keyboard instrument, a musician
presses down on keys. The keys
control a mechanism that produces
sound. Strings make the sound in both
the piano and harpsichord. The strings
of a piano are struck with hammers,
while the strings of a harpsichord are
plucked. In the pipe organ compressed
air is pumped through pipes to make the
sounds. Similarly, in the accordion the
musician pushes on a pleated box called
a bellows. This pushes air past reeds to
make the sound. The electronic organ
Keyboard instruments include the piano
and the pipe organ.
Wind instruments include the woodwinds, such as the flute, the clarinet, the oboe, and the
bassoon. Wind instruments also include brass instruments, such as the trumpet, the horn,
the trombone, and the tuba. The saxophone is considered a woodwind, but it may be
made of brass.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Musical Instrument 217
and the synthesizer make many different
kinds of electronic sounds.
#More to explore
Music • Orchestra
Muskogee
#see Creek.
Musk-ox
The musk-ox is a large, shaggy mammal
of the Arctic. It is not really an ox at all.
Rather, it is related to sheep and goats.
The scientific name of the musk-ox is
Ovibos moschatus.
The musk-ox roams the tundra (treeless
plains) of Alaska, Canada, and Greenland.
It usually travels in herds of 20 to
30 animals. It feeds on grass and other
plants.
The musk-ox looks like a small bison. It
has a large head, a short neck, and short,
stout legs. Males, called bulls, can be 7.5
feet (2.3 meters) long and weigh 900
pounds (410 kilograms). Females, called
cows, are smaller.
The fur of the musk-ox is dark brown
and very long. It hangs so low that it
almost sweeps the ground. Under the
outer fur is a thick layer of wool. Eskimos
(Inuit) use musk-ox fur to make a
fine cloth.
Older musk-ox bulls have horns that can
be 2 feet (60 centimeters) long. Cows
and young musk-oxen have smaller
horns. A musk-ox uses its horns as
weapons if it feels threatened.
Bulls give off a strong smell during mating
season. The animal was named for
this smell, which is called musk.
#More to explore
Bison • Goat • Sheep
Muskrat
The muskrat is a rodent that looks like
a small beaver. Muskrats build homes
near lakes, ponds, rivers, and marshes.
The scientific name of the muskrat is
Ondatra zibethicus.
The muskrat is native to North America.
In the early 1900s, however, people
brought muskrats to northern Europe
and Asia. Muskrats quickly made themselves
at home in these regions.
The muskrat has brownish red fur that
is thick and warm. Its body is about 13
inches (33 centimeters) long. The backs
of its feet are partially webbed. The
muskrat uses them like paddles when
The musk-ox is not really an ox (a type of
cattle). It was named for its smell, called
musk.
218 Muskogee BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
swimming. The animal got its name
because it produces a strong odor that
smells like musk.
Muskrats are most active during the
evening and nighttime. They usually eat
water plants.
Muskrats live in family groups. Their
home may be a burrow, or hole, in a
