Physics is all around us, yet we always neglect it. We see, hear or sense something happening but we never stop to ask ourselves why. Physics will tell us why. Music plays a role in everyone's life. So much so that it is often overlooked and its technical aspects are not appreciated. Sure, there are times when we listen carefully to the music behind the songs we hear, maybe we focus on the rhythm or the harmonies, but we never think about what is needed to produce the sounds we're hearing. In this article I will explain the physics of musical instruments. I will describe and define sound in psychic terms and then describe how different instruments create their unique sounds. There are many different types of music, and thanks to the variety of instruments, the combinations of sounds we can create are limitless. Before looking at musical instruments we must look at the music itself. We need to know what it is made of and learn some basic terms. In physics, music is essentially a form of energy and is transmitted by a wave. There are two basic types of waves. The first is a transverse wave in which the medium vibrates at right angles up and down causing the wave to shift to the right. A compression wave (or longitudinal wave) moves left and right because the medium vibrates in the same direction. Sound waves take the form of compression waves and are caused by vibrations. Sound waves are distinguished by speed, pitch, volume and quality (timbre) (Lapp, 2003). There are some parts of sound waves that we should be familiar with in order to better understand the physics of music. The crest is the highest point of a wave, while the trough is the lowest point. The wavelength of a wave is the distance between two adjacent... in the center of the paper... the principles of physics make this much more impressive. ReferencesFletcher, N. Martin, D. and Smith, J (2008) Musical Instruments, in AccessScience, ©McGraw-Hill Companies, retrieved November 25, 2011 from http://www.accessscience.com.ezproxy.hacc.eduHenderson, T (2011). Musical instruments: resonance. The physics classroom. Retrieved November 25, 2011, from www.physicsclassroom.com/class/sound/U11L5a.cfmHollis, B. (2011) How Brass Instruments Work. The method behind the music. Retrieved November 25, 2011, from http://method-behind-the-music.com/mechanics/brassLapp, D. (2003). The physics of music and musical instruments. Physics. Retrieved November 25, 2011, from http://staff.tamhigh.org/lapp/book.pdfTillery, B. (2012). Wave motion and sound. Physical Sciences (9th ed., pp. 115-134). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.