Which category includes instruments with a skin stretched across a frame?

Which category includes instruments with a skin stretched across a frame?

• A. Idiophones
• B. Membranophones
• C. Chordophones
• D. Aerophones

Answer: (B)

In this category, sound comes from a stretched membrane vibrating when it is struck. That membrane—typically a drum skin—is stretched over a frame to create a taut surface that can vibrate and set air into motion, producing the musical tone. This membrane-driven vibration is the defining feature, so instruments like drums fall into this group. By contrast, idiophones produce sound from the instrument’s own material vibrating, chordophones from vibrating strings, and aerophones from vibrating air. So the category described by a skin stretched across a frame is membranophones.

In this category, sound comes from a stretched membrane vibrating when it is struck. That membrane—typically a drum skin—is stretched over a frame to create a taut surface that can vibrate and set air into motion, producing the musical tone. This membrane-driven vibration is the defining feature, so instruments like drums fall into this group. By contrast, idiophones produce sound from the instrument’s own material vibrating, chordophones from vibrating strings, and aerophones from vibrating air. So the category described by a skin stretched across a frame is membranophones.