There are, quite literally, thousands of instruments. Most of those used in the past are no longer with us and new ones are regularly invented. Touch-style electric instruments are among the more recent (e.g., Chapman stick, Warr guitar). Different instruments are found in different parts of the world. The aud, for example, is relatively unknown to persons in the Western Hemishere and Europe. If one includes percussion, the list would be virtually endless, since almost anything can be employed as a percussion instrument.

Strings
There are four principle types of orchestral stringed instruments. They are, in order of size, the violin, viola, cello and double bass. They traditionally have four strings. However, some modern instruments have more than four strings to extend tonal range. The strings of these instruments can either be plucked or played with a bow.

Woodwinds
Woodwinds are played with the breath, and use keys that are depressed to alter airflow through the instrument to create pitch. Woodwinds include the flute, oboe, clarinet and bassoon. All woodwinds, with the exception of the flute, use a reed that vibrates to create sound.

Brass
Brass instruments include the trumpet, French horn, trombone and tuba. Although they are called “brass” instruments, the actual instrument can be made of a variety of different metals. They are played by placing the lips in a mouthpiece and blowing to create lip vibrations.

Percussion
Percussion instruments are struck with a hand or mallet. There are two kinds: tuned and indefinite pitch. Tuned percussion instruments include the timpani, xylophone, glockenspiel and various bells. Indefinite tone instruments include drums, gongs, castanets, cymbals and tambourines.

Keyboard
Keyboard instruments are traditionally of several types. One are the percussives, like the piano and clavichord. Another is a plucked instrument, like the harpsichord, where quills pluck the string when a key is pressed. A third type are instruments that use air to produce sound, like pipe organs. Still another, the synthesized keyboard, is common in popular music.

Guitar
The guitar is often considered its own type of instrument, apart from the orchestral strings. A guitar traditionally has six strings that are lengthened and shortened by pressing them against metal frets to produce different pitches. Although guitars traditionally have six strings, some modern guitars have more for overtones or to extend pitch range.

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There are about 310 Beatles songs. From all albums, Past Masters Vol 1 and 2, Let It Be…Naked, live at the BBC, and 3 from the anthology: “Free as a Bird”, “Real Love”, and “A Beginning”. Some of the songs the Beatles didn’t write, but sing. Also a couple, like “A Beginning” are composed songs by George Martin. The Beatles performed 193 songs not including bootlegs and unofficial material that would be released in future compilations. There fore the total songs including the bootlegs would be 212.
The Beatles recorded and released 214 different songs on original release albums, EP’s and singles, about 20 of which were not written by the Beatles, and about 30 they never released or gave to other artists. The Beatles also recorded many songs that were never released. Some of these turned up on post-Beatles solo albums.
Exact totals are difficult to come by since the rights to publish the songs, the Beatles ‘Book’ is owned by Michael Jackson. Speculation is high that Jackson could soon put the entire Book up for sale.
Many of these songs were recorded more than once, but a little differently and re-released. Some songs were recorded in German in the early days.

In their native United Kingdom during 1962–1970, the rock group The Beatles released 12 studio albums, 13 EPs, and 22 singles. However, the band’s international discography is complicated, due to different versions of their albums sometimes being released in other countries, particularly during their early years on Capitol Records in the United States. The Beatles’ discography was originally released on the vinyl format, with full-length long plays, shorter EPs, and singles. Over the years, the collection has also been released on cassette, 8-track, compact disc, and on a USB flash drive in MP3 and FLAC format.

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