Orchestras began tuning to the oboe, in part, because its sound was more penetrating in a performance setting than gut strings. There were also fewer oboes than violins, and in the earliest orchestras ...

Watch how the violin and string instruments make varieties of sound and music. Professor Richard Church, conductor of the University of Wisconsin Symphony Orchestra, introduces the violin and other ...

CATEURA, Paraguay — The sounds of a classical guitar come from two big jelly cans. Used X-rays serve as the skins of a thumping drum set. A battered aluminum salad bowl and strings tuned with forks ...

Learn about the brass family of instruments — their sounds, mouthpieces and harmonics. Professor Richard Church, conductor of the University of Wisconsin Symphony Orchestra, hosts this exploration of ...