Before the modern classification by Sachs and Hornbostel, instruments were grouped into what broad category?

Before the modern classification by Sachs and Hornbostel, instruments were grouped into what broad category?

• A. Families
• B. Regions
• C. Materials
• D. Genres

Answer: (A)

Grouping instruments into families captures the way people think about how sound is produced. Instruments in the same family share a common mechanism for making sound—strings, vibrating air, or vibrating membranes and bodies—so they’re placed together as a family. Before the Sachs–Hornbostel system, this broad, functional way of organizing was the usual approach: you’d classify instruments by the basic method of sound production rather than by where they come from, what they’re made of, or the music they play. That’s why the answer is grouping into families. Regions or materials or genres would describe other aspects (where it’s from, what it’s made of, or the musical style), but they don’t reflect the shared production principle that defines an instrument family.

Grouping instruments into families captures the way people think about how sound is produced. Instruments in the same family share a common mechanism for making sound—strings, vibrating air, or vibrating membranes and bodies—so they’re placed together as a family. Before the Sachs–Hornbostel system, this broad, functional way of organizing was the usual approach: you’d classify instruments by the basic method of sound production rather than by where they come from, what they’re made of, or the music they play. That’s why the answer is grouping into families. Regions or materials or genres would describe other aspects (where it’s from, what it’s made of, or the musical style), but they don’t reflect the shared production principle that defines an instrument family.