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The enormous diversity of musical instruments in the world can be divided into five large categories, each with a technical and more common name:
Wind instruments make sound when the musician's breath excites vibration that is then resonated in a chamber such as a long tube, called an air column. These instruments are further broken down by how the vibration is created, whether by a reed, the buzzing of lips, or the blowing over a sharp edge. These instruments are sometimes further distinguished by their bore (the shape of their tubes) and the material of their construction, both of which can affect their sound. Some of these instruments, such as the saxophone, may exist in several sizes, often distinguished by the terms soprano (smallest/highest), alto, tenor, baritone, and bass (largest/lowest).
String instruments normally include some kind of resonator, that is, a box or board that amplifies the sound. String instruments are further classified by their construction, including the configuration of the resonator and how it is attached to the strings.
The string may be set into motion either by plucking or by bowing the string. Different pitches may be obtained by shortening the string with a finger (as with the violin), by shortening it by pressing down behind a small bar called a "fret" (as with the guitar), or by having one string for each pitch (as with a piano).
Drums are usually categorized by the shape of their resonator. Although there are nearly countless types of drums in the world, only a few are commonly used in symphony orchestras. These include timpani (note the spelling), sometimes called "kettle drums." Timpani have a sense of pitch and can be tuned. The snare drum has no sense of pitch and has small wires called "snares" that rattle against the membrane, giving it its characteristic noisy sound. A bass drum is a large cylindrical drum also without a sense of pitch.
Idiophones, or percussion instruments in which the entire body vibrates, come in many different forms. They include triangles, wood blocks, cymbals, and so on. Many idiophones that have a definite pitch are grouped into a single instrument, such as a xylophone, glockenspiel, vibraphone, or marimba.
An electrophone is any instrument that uses a loudspeaker to make its sound, such as a synthesizer. Electric guitars are amplified chordophones, but are sometimes considered electrophones as well.