Keyboards

The keyboard section of an orchestra includes the piano, organ, harpsichord and celeste.

These instruments are all played by pressing fingers down on a set of keys. Each keyboard instrument creates its own unique sound.

Each piano key is attached to a tiny hammer which strikes the strings inside the instrument’s belly to make a sound. A harpsichord makes its sound by plucking. The organ makes a sound by mechanically blowing air down a metal tube. A celeste has a series of metal bars inside. When these bars are struck by tiny hammers, they make a beautiful bell sound.