There are many different ways of approaching musical
instruments. One of the most common is to learn which
family they belong; this is about their classification.
From
Ancient
Chinese theories
to
modern
ethnomusicological studies, lots of models of
classification exist. Nowadays, we are familiar with the
Hornbostel-Sachs System that was published in 1914
by Eric von Hornbostel and Curt Sachs, two
musicologists and scholars.
IDIOPHONES
MEMBRANOPHONES
This system is based on a large combination of criteria
such as the mode of sound production, the playing
techniques and the construction materials.
MIMO Update of Hornbostel-Sachs System
It classifies the instruments into idiophones,
membranophones, chordophones, aerophones and
electrophones. Here, you have an example of this
system:
CHORDOPHONES
AEROPHONES
ELECTROPHONES