1.
D minor
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D minor is a minor scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B♭, and C. In the harmonic minor, the C is raised to C♯ and its key signature has one flat. Its relative major is F major, and its parallel major is D major, D minor is one of the two flat-signature keys whose melodic and harmonic scale variations require the addition of a written sharp, the other is G minor. Of Domenico Scarlattis 555 keyboard sonatas,151 are in minor keys, nigel Tufnel, one of the members of the musical spoof megagroup Spinal Tap, speaks of a musical trilogy Im working on in D minor which is the saddest of all keys, I find. People weep instantly when they hear it, and I dont know why, J. S. Bachs entire Art of Fugue is in D minor. According to Alfred Einstein, the history of tuning has led D minor to be associated with counterpoint and chromaticism, Mozarts Requiem is also written primarily in D minor, as is the aria Der Hölle Rache. Of the two concertos that Mozart wrote in a minor key, one of them is in D minor. Sibeliuss Violin Concerto is in D minor, as is Schumanns, the tonality of D minor held special significance for Helene and Alban Berg. Michael Haydn wrote only one symphony in a key, in D minor, Perger 20. The only chamber music compositions in D minor by Ludwig van Beethoven were his stormy Piano Sonata No.17, since D minor is the key of Beethovens Symphony No. 9, Bruckner felt apprehensive about writing his own Ninth Symphony in the same key, as well as Bruckners First Mass, some other post-Beethoven symphonies are in D minor, including the only Symphony written by César Franck and Symphony No.3 by Gustav Mahler. A fair deal of Gabriel Faurés chamber music is written in the key of D minor, including the Piano Trio Op.120, the First Piano Quintet Op.89 and the First Cello Sonata Op.109. Two symphonies that begin in D minor and end in E major are Havergal Brians Gothic Symphony, Bruckners Ninth Symphony, which is often performed without the finale, is another example of a symphony beginning in D minor and ending in E major. Liszts Dante Symphony opens in D minor and ends in B major, similar to a D minor symphony ending in D major, like in Beethovens Symphony No. 9, a D major symphony can have for its allegro first movement a slow introduction in D minor, film composer Hans Zimmer is one of the most prominent users of the key of D minor in modern times. Many of his scores were written in the key, notable examples including Gladiator, The Dark Knight, Pirates of the Caribbean. His frequent use of the key has been noticed by such as Christian Clemmensen of Filmtracks. Charlie Clouser used D Minor for the theme Hello Zepp in the Saw and it was later used in the other movies as the ending theme
D minor
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D minor
2.
Tempo
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In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece or subsection thereof, how fast or slow. Tempo may be separated from articulation, or articulation may be indicated along with tempo, while the ability to hold a steady tempo is a desirable skill, tempo is changeable, and often indicated by a conductor or drummer. While practicing, an electronic or mechanical device, a metronome, may indicate the tempo, in other words, it is the speed at which a passage of music is or should be played. A piece of musics tempo is written at the start of the score. This means that a note value is specified as the beat. The greater the number of beats per minute, the smaller the amount of time between successive beats, and thus faster a piece must be played. For example, a tempo of 60 beats per minute signifies one beat per second, while a tempo of 120 beats per minute is twice as rapid, signifying one beat every 0.5 seconds. Beethoven was one of the first composers to use the metronome, with the advent of modern electronics, bpm became an extremely precise measure. Music sequencers use the bpm system to denote tempo, instead of beats per minute, some 20th-century composers specify the total playing time for a piece, from which the performer can derive tempo. Tempo is as crucial in contemporary music as it is in classical, in electronic dance music, accurate knowledge of a tunes bpm is important to DJs for the purposes of beatmatching. Some musical pieces do not have a mathematical time indication, in classical music it is customary to describe the tempo of a piece by one or more words. Before the metronome, it was difficult to specify the tempo of a composition, yet, after the metronomes invention, musicians continued to use these words, often additionally indicating the mood of the piece. This blurred the distinction between tempo and mood indicators. For example, presto and allegro both indicate a speedy execution, but allegro also connotes joy, presto, on the other hand, simply indicates speed. Additional Italian words also indicate tempo and mood, for example, the agitato in the Allegro agitato of the last movement of George Gershwins piano concerto in F has both a tempo indication and a mood indication. In some cases, the conventions that governed musical composition were so strong that composers didnt need to indicate tempo, for example, the first movement of Bachs Brandenburg Concerto No.3 has no tempo or mood indication whatsoever. To provide movement names, publishers of recordings resort to ad hoc measures, for marking the Brandenburg movement Allegro. In Renaissance music, performers understood most music to flow at a tempo defined by the tactus, the mensural time signature indicated which note value corresponded to the tactus
Tempo
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Electronic metronome, Wittner model
Tempo
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The first two measures of
Mozart 's
Sonata K. 331, which indicates the tempo as "Andante grazioso" (Italian for "at walking pace, graceful") and a modern editormarking: " ♪ = 120". Play (
help ·
info)
3.
Pizzicato
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Pizzicato is a playing technique that involves plucking the strings of a string instrument. The exact technique varies depending on the type of stringed instrument. On bowed string instruments it is a method of playing by plucking the strings with the fingers and this produces a very different sound from bowing, short and percussive rather than sustained. On a keyboard string instrument, such as the piano, pizzicato may be employed as one of the variety of techniques involving direct manipulation of the strings known collectively as string piano. On the guitar, it is a form of plucking. For details of technique, see palm mute. When a string is struck or plucked, as with pizzicato and this complex timbre is called inharmonicity. The inharmonicity of a string depends on its characteristics, such as tension, composition, diameter. The first recognised use of pizzicato in classical music is found in Tobias Humes Captain Humes Poeticall Musicke, wherein he instructs the viola da gamba player to use pizzicato. Another early use is found in Claudio Monteverdis Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda, later, in 1756, Leopold Mozart in his Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule instructs the player to use the index finger of the right hand. This has remained the most usual way to execute a pizzicato, the bow is held in the hand at the same time unless there is enough time to put it down and pick it up again between bowed passages. In jazz and bluegrass, and the few popular music styles which use double bass, in classical double bass playing, pizzicato are often performed with the bow being held in the hand, as such, the string is usually only plucked with a single finger. In contrast, in jazz, bluegrass, and other non-Classical styles, in classical music, however, string instruments are most usually played with the bow, and composers give specific indications to play pizzicato where required. Pieces in classical music that are played entirely pizzicato include, J. S. Bach, johann Strauss II, Neue Pizzicato Polka. 4 Benjamin Britten, the movement of the Simple Symphony Leroy Anderson. He also included pizzicato in the movement of Winter from The Four Seasons. In music notation, a composer will normally indicate the performer should use pizzicato with the abbreviation pizz, a return to bowing is indicated by the Italian term arco. If a string player has to play pizzicato for a period of time
Pizzicato
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Jazz bass walking bass lines are traditionally played with pizzicato. Jazz pizzicato technique, shown above, is different from traditional pizzicato technique.
4.
Western concert flute
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The Western concert flute is a transverse woodwind instrument made of metal or wood. It is the most common variant of the flute, a musician who plays the flute is called a flautist, flutist, flute player, or fluter. This type of flute is used in ensembles including concert bands, military bands, marching bands, orchestras, flute ensembles. Other flutes in this include the piccolo, alto flute. A large repertory of works has been composed for flute, the flute is one of the oldest and most widely used wind instruments. The precursors of the concert flute were keyless wooden transverse flutes. These were later modified to include one and eight keys for chromatic notes. The most common pitch for keyless wooden traverse flutes is six-finger D, keyless traverse flutes continue to be used in folk music and in historically informed performances of Baroque music. Throughout the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries, transverse flutes were very uncommon in Europe, the transverse flute arrived in Europe from Asia, via the Byzantine Empire, where it migrated to Germany and France. These flutes became known as German flutes, to them from others. The flute became used in music, along with the viol. It would not spread to the rest of Europe for nearly a century, the first literary appearance of the transverse flute was made in 1285, by Adenet le Roi in a list of instruments he played. After this, a period of 70 years ensues, where there are few references to the flute, beginning in the 1470s, a military revival in Europe led to a revival in the flute. The Swiss army used flutes for signaling, and this helped the spread to all of Europe. In the late 16th century, flutes began to appear in court and theatre music, following the 16th century court music, flutes began appearing in chamber ensembles. These flutes were used as the tenor voice. However, flutes varied greatly in size and range and this made transposition necessary, which led flutists to use Guidonian hexachords to transpose music more easily. At this stage, the flute was usually made in one section and had a cylindrical bore
Western concert flute
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Flute
Western concert flute
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(B3) C4–C7 (F7)
Western concert flute
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A flute player playing a Western concert flute
Western concert flute
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A modern copy of an 18th-century French traverso, by flute-maker Boaz Berney
5.
Oboe
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Oboes /ˈoʊboʊ/ OH-boh are a family of double reed woodwind musical instruments. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range, oboes are usually made of wood, but there are also oboes made of synthetic materials. A soprano oboe measures roughly 65 cm long, with keys, a conical bore. Sound is produced by blowing into the reed and vibrating a column of air, the distinctive oboe tone is versatile, and has been described as bright. When the term oboe is used alone, it is taken to mean the standard treble instrument rather than other instruments of the family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called a hautbois, hoboy. The spelling of oboe was adopted into English c.1770 from the Italian oboè, a musician who plays the oboe is called an oboist or simply an oboe player. In comparison to other woodwind instruments, the treble oboe is sometimes referred to as having a clear. The Sprightly Companion, a book published by Henry Playford in 1695, describes the oboe as Majestical and Stately. Humorously, the sound of the oboe is described in the play Angels in America as like that of a if the duck were a songbird. The rich timbre of the oboe is derived from its conical bore, as a result, oboes are readily audible over other instruments in large ensembles. The highest note of the oboe is a lower than the nominally highest note of the B♭ clarinet. Since the clarinet has a range of notes, the lowest note of the B♭ clarinet is significantly deeper than the lowest note of the oboe. Music for the oboe is written in concert pitch. Orchestras normally tune to a concert A played by the oboe, according to the League of American Orchestras, this is done because the pitch of the oboe is secure and its penetrating sound makes it ideal for tuning purposes. The pitch of the oboe is affected by the way in which the reed is made. The reed has a significant effect on the sound of the instrument, Variations in cane and other construction materials, the age of the reed, and differences in scrape and length all affect the pitch of the instrument. German and French reeds, for instance, differ in many ways, weather conditions such as temperature and humidity also affect the pitch
Oboe
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A modern oboe with a reed
Oboe
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Classical oboe, copy by Sand Dalton of an original by Johann Friedrich Floth, c. 1805
Oboe
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The members of the oboe family from top:
heckelphone,
bass oboe,
cor anglais,
oboe d'amore, regular oboe, and
piccolo oboe
Oboe
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Oboist
Albrecht Mayer preparing reeds for use. Most oboists scrape their own reeds to achieve the desired tone and response
6.
Clarinet
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The clarinet is a musical-instrument family belonging to the group known as the woodwind instruments. It has a mouthpiece, a straight cylindrical tube with an almost cylindrical bore. A person who plays a clarinet is called a clarinetist, the word clarinet may have entered the English language via the French clarinette, or from Provençal clarin, oboe. It would seem however that its roots are to be found amongst some of the various names for trumpets used around the renaissance. Clarion, clarin and the Italian clarino are all derived from the medieval term claro which referred to a form of trumpet. This is probably the origin of the Italian clarinetto, itself a diminutive of clarino, according to Johann Gottfried Walther, writing in 1732, the reason for the name is that it sounded from far off not unlike a trumpet. The English form clarinet is found as early as 1733, while the similarity in sound between the earliest clarinets and the trumpet may hold a clue to its name, other factors may have been involved. The trumpet parts that required this speciality were known by the term clarino, Johann Christoph Denner is generally believed to have invented the clarinet in Germany around the year 1700 by adding a register key to the earlier chalumeau. Over time, additional keywork and airtight pads were added to improve the tone and these days the most popular clarinet is the B♭ clarinet. However, the clarinet in A, just a lower, is commonly used in orchestral music. Since the middle of the 19th century the clarinet has become an essential addition to the orchestra. The clarinet family ranges from the BBB♭ octo-contrabass to the A♭ piccolo clarinet, the clarinet has proved to be an exceptionally flexible instrument, equally at home in the classical repertoire as in concert bands, military bands, marching bands, klezmer, and jazz. The cylindrical bore is primarily responsible for the clarinets distinctive timbre, the tone quality can vary greatly with the musician, the music, the instrument, the mouthpiece, and the reed. The most prominent were the German/Viennese traditions and the French school, the latter was centered on the clarinetists of the Conservatoire de Paris. The proliferation of recorded music has made examples of different styles of clarinet playing available, the modern clarinetist has a diverse palette of acceptable tone qualities to choose from. The A clarinet and B♭ clarinet have nearly the same bore, orchestral players using the A and B♭ instruments in the same concert could use the same mouthpiece for both. The A and the B♭ instruments have nearly identical tonal quality, the tone of the E♭ clarinet is brighter than that of the lower clarinets and can be heard even through loud orchestral or concert band textures. The bass clarinet has a deep, mellow sound, while the alto clarinet is similar in tone to the bass
Clarinet
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Bass clarinet
Clarinet
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Written range (though it is possible to play higher):
Clarinet
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Sound wave propagation in the soprano clarinet
Clarinet
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Schüller's quarter-tone clarinet
7.
Bassoon
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The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor clefs, and occasionally the treble. Appearing in its form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band. The bassoon is an instrument known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, variety of character. Listeners often compare its warm, dark, reedy timbre to that of a baritone voice. Someone who plays the bassoon is called a bassoonist, the word bassoon comes from French basson and from Italian bassone. However, the Italian name for the instrument is fagotto. B♭1–C5 The range of the bassoon begins at B♭1 and extends upward over three octaves, roughly to the G above the treble staff, higher notes are possible but difficult to produce, and rarely called for, orchestral and concert band parts rarely go higher than C5 or D5. Even Stravinskys famously difficult opening solo in The Rite of Spring only ascends to D5, a1 is possible with a special extension to the instrument—see Extended techniques below. The bassoon disassembles into six pieces, including the reed. Bassoons are double reed instruments like the oboe and the English horn, a modern beginners bassoon is generally made of maple, with medium-hardness types such as sycamore maple and sugar maple preferred. Both bore and tone holes are precision-machined, and each instrument is finished by hand for proper tuning and this ensures coverage by the fingers of the average adult hand. Wooden instruments are lined with hard rubber along the interior of the wing and boot joints to prevent damage from moisture, the end of the bell is usually fitted with a ring, either of metal, plastic or ivory. The joints between sections consist of a tenon fitting into a socket, the tenons are wrapped in either cork or string as a seal against air leaks. The bocal connects the reed to the rest of the instrument and is inserted into a socket at the top of the wing joint, bocals come in many different lengths and styles, depending on the desired tuning and playing characteristics. Folded upon itself, the bassoon stands 1.34 m tall, there are also short-reach bassoons made for the benefit of young or petite players. The origins of the dulcian are obscure, but by the century it was available in as many as eight different sizes. Otherwise, dulcian technique was rather primitive, with eight finger holes, the dulcian came to be known as fagotto in Italy. However, the etymology that equates fagotto with bundle of sticks is somewhat misleading
Bassoon
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Two views of a Renard model 220 bassoon
Bassoon
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Dulcians and
racketts, from the Syntagma musicum by
Michael Praetorius.
Bassoon
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Heckel system bassoon from 1870
Bassoon
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Edgar Degas, L'Orchestre de L'Opera, (1868)
8.
French horn
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The French horn is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B♭ is the horn most often used by players in professional orchestras, a musician who plays any kind of horn is generally referred to as a horn player. Most horns have lever-operated rotary valves, but some, especially older horns, use piston valves, the backward-facing orientation of the bell relates to the perceived desirability to create a subdued sound, in concert situations, in contrast to the more piercing quality of the trumpet. A horn without valves is known as a horn, changing pitch along the natural harmonics of the instrument. Pitch may also be controlled by the position of the hand in the bell, the pitch of any note can easily be raised or lowered by adjusting the hand position in the bell. Three valves control the flow of air in the single horn, the more common double horn has a fourth valve, usually operated by the thumb, which routes the air to one set of tubing tuned to F or another tuned to B♭. Triple horns with five valves are made, tuned in F, B♭. Also common are descant doubles, which typically provide B♭ and alto F branches and this configuration provides a high-range horn while avoiding the additional complexity and weight of a triple. A crucial element in playing the horn deals with the mouthpiece, when playing higher notes, the majority of players exert a small degree of additional pressure on the lips using the mouthpiece. It is the goal of all serious brass musicians to develop their technique such that additional mouthpiece pressure is avoided altogether, or at the very least, the name French horn is found only in English, first coming into use in the late 17th century. At that time, French makers were preeminent in the manufacture of hunting horns, as a result, these instruments were often called, even in English, by their French names, trompe de chasse or cor de chasse. The International Horn Society has recommended since 1971 that the instrument be simply called the horn, there is also a more specific use of French horn to describe a particular horn type, differentiated from the German horn and Vienna horn. In this sense, French horn refers to an instrument with three Périnet valves. It retains the narrow bell-throat and mouthpipe crooks of the orchestral hand horn of the late 18th century, and most often has an ascending third valve. This is a whole-tone valve arranged so that with the valve in the up position the valve loop is engaged, the horn is the third-highest-sounding instrument in the brass family, below the trumpet and the cornet. Horns are mostly tuned in B♭ or F, or a combination of both, in some traditions, novice players use a single horn in F, while others prefer the B♭ horn. The F horn is used more commonly than the B♭ horn, sound is produced by vibrating the players lips into the mouthpiece of the instrument. Different partials in the series can be played by adjusting the air pressure and lip tension
French horn
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A hunting horn on the insignia of the Danish "Huntsmen Corps" (Jægerkorpset)
French horn
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Vienna horn
French horn
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The
valves of a
Conn 6D double horn. The 3 lever keys (above the large valves) can be depressed toward the large outer tube. The thumb key (near the left-most valve) moves inward toward the 3 finger keys.
French horn
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A natural horn has no valves, but can be tuned to a different key by inserting different tubing, as during a rest period.
9.
Trumpet
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A trumpet is a musical instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group contains the instruments with the highest register in the brass family, trumpets are used in art music styles, for instance in orchestras, concert bands, and jazz ensembles, as well as in popular music. They are played by blowing air through almost-closed lips, producing a sound that starts a standing wave vibration in the air column inside the instrument. Since the late 15th century they have primarily been constructed of brass tubing, there are many distinct types of trumpet, with the most common being pitched in B♭, having a tubing length of about 1.48 m. Early trumpets did not provide means to change the length of tubing, most trumpets have valves of the piston type, while some have the rotary type. The use of rotary-valved trumpets is more common in orchestral settings, each valve, when engaged, increases the length of tubing, lowering the pitch of the instrument. A musician who plays the trumpet is called a trumpet player or trumpeter, the earliest trumpets date back to 1500 BC and earlier. The bronze and silver trumpets from Tutankhamuns grave in Egypt, bronze lurs from Scandinavia, trumpets from the Oxus civilization of Central Asia have decorated swellings in the middle, yet are made out of one sheet of metal, which is considered a technical wonder. The Shofar, made from a ram horn and the Hatzotzeroth and they were played in Solomons Temple around 3000 years ago. They were said to be used to blow down the walls of Jericho and they are still used on certain religious days. The Salpinx was a straight trumpet 62 inches long, made of bone or bronze, Salpinx contests were a part of the original Olympic Games. The Moche people of ancient Peru depicted trumpets in their art going back to AD300, the earliest trumpets were signaling instruments used for military or religious purposes, rather than music in the modern sense, and the modern bugle continues this signaling tradition. Improvements to instrument design and metal making in the late Middle Ages, the natural trumpets of this era consisted of a single coiled tube without valves and therefore could only produce the notes of a single overtone series. Changing keys required the player to change crooks of the instrument, the development of the upper, clarino register by specialist trumpeters—notably Cesare Bendinelli—would lend itself well to the Baroque era, also known as the Golden Age of the natural trumpet. During this period, a vast body of music was written for virtuoso trumpeters, the art was revived in the mid-20th century and natural trumpet playing is again a thriving art around the world. The melody-dominated homophony of the classical and romantic periods relegated the trumpet to a role by most major composers owing to the limitations of the natural trumpet. Berlioz wrote in 1844, Notwithstanding the real loftiness and distinguished nature of its quality of tone, there are few instruments that have been more degraded. The attempt to give the trumpet more chromatic freedom in its range saw the development of the keyed trumpet, the symphonies of Mozart, Beethoven, and as late as Brahms, were still played on natural trumpets
Trumpet
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B ♭ trumpet
Trumpet
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Written range:
Trumpet
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Ceramic trumpet. 300 AD
Larco Museum Collection Lima, Peru.
Trumpet
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Reproduction
baroque trumpet by Michael Laird
10.
Trombone
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The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the players vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate, nearly all trombones have a telescoping slide mechanism that varies the length of the instrument to change the pitch. Many modern trombone models also utilize a rotary valve as a means to lower pitch of the instrument, variants such as the valve trombone and superbone have three valves like those on the trumpet. The word trombone derives from Italian tromba and -one, so the name means large trumpet, the trombone has a predominantly cylindrical bore like its valved counterpart the baritone and in contrast to its conical valved counterparts, the euphonium and the horn. The most frequently encountered trombones are the trombone and bass trombone. The most common variant, the tenor, is an instrument pitched in B♭, an octave below the B♭ trumpet. A person who plays the trombone is called a trombonist or trombone player, the trombone is a predominantly cylindrical tube bent into an elongated S shape. Rather than being completely cylindrical from end to end, the tube is a series of tapers with the smallest at the mouthpiece receiver. The design of these affects the intonation of the instrument. As with other instruments, sound is produced by blowing air through pursed lips producing a vibration that creates a standing wave in the instrument. The detachable cup-shaped mouthpiece is similar to that of the baritone horn and it has the venturi, a small constriction of the air column that adds resistance greatly affecting the tone of the instrument, and is inserted into the mouthpiece receiver in the slide section. The slide section consists of a leadpipe, the inner and outer tubes. Modern stays are soldered, while sackbuts were made with loose, the slide, the most distinctive feature of the trombone, allows the player to extend the length of the air column, lowering the pitch. To prevent friction from slowing the action of the slide, additional sleeves were developed during the Renaissance, and this part of the slide must be lubricated frequently. Additional tubing connects the slide to the bell of the instrument through a neckpipe, for example, second position A is not in exactly the same place on the slide as second position E. Many types of trombone also include one or more rotary valves used to increase the length of the instrument by directing the air flow through additional tubing. This allows the instrument to reach notes that are not possible without the valve as well as play other notes in alternate positions. Like the trumpet, the trombone is considered a cylindrical bore instrument since it has sections of tubing, principally in the slide section
Trombone
–
A tenor trombone
Trombone
–
A disassembled trombone. From left to right: mouthpiece, outer slide, bell section, inner slide.
Trombone
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A tenor trombone mouthpiece
Trombone
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The trombone section of the Eau Claire Municipal Band is featured at a Fourth of July celebration in Owen Park.
11.
Timpani
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Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper and they are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet. Timpani evolved from military drums to become a staple of the orchestra by the last third of the 18th century. Today, they are used in many types of ensembles, including concert bands, marching bands, orchestras. Timpani is an Italian plural, the singular of which is timpano and they are also often incorrectly termed timpanis. A musician who plays the timpani is a timpanist, alternative spellings with y in place of either or both is—tympani, tympany, or timpany—are occasionally encountered in older English texts. Although the word timpani has been adopted in the English language. The German word for timpani is Pauken, the French and Spanish is timbales, the Ashanti pair of talking drums are known as atumpan. The tympanum is defined in the Etymologiae of St. Isidore of Seville, est enim pars media symphoniae in similitudinem cribri. Tympanum autem dictum quod medium est, unde, et margaritum medium tympanum dicitur, et ipsum ut symphonia ad virgulam percutitur. The tympanum is skin or hide stretched over a wooden vessel which extends out. It is said by the symphonias to resemble a sieve, but has also likened to half a pearl. It is struck with a wand, beating time for the symphonia, the reference comparing the tympanum to half a pearl is borrowed from Pliny the Elder. The basic timpani drum consists of a drumhead stretched across the opening of a bowl made of copper or, in less expensive models, fiberglass. In the Sachs–Hornbostel classification, the timpani are thus considered membranophones, the heads tension can be adjusted by loosening or tightening the rods. Most timpani have six to eight tension rods, the shape of the bowl contributes to the quality of the drum. For example, hemispheric bowls produce brighter tones while parabolic bowls produce darker tones, another factor that affects the timbre of the drum is the quality of the bowls surface. Copper bowls may have a smooth, machined surface or a surface with many small dents hammered into it
Timpani
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A timpanist at work
Timpani
Timpani
–
Walter Light pedal and chain timpani set up in three different combinations.
Timpani
–
A pedal on a Dresden timpano – the clutch (seen here on the left) must be disengaged to change the pitch of the drum.
12.
String section
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The string section is the largest body of a single instrument category in the standard Classical orchestra. It normally consists of the first violins, the violins, the violas, the cellos. The first and second play the same types of instruments. The first violins are generally given the melody or higher-pitch musical lines, the second violins may play a harmony part, a countermelody or an accompaniment passage. In discussions of the instrumentation of a work, the phrase the strings or. An orchestra consisting solely of a section is called a string orchestra. Smaller string sections are used in jazz, pop and rock music arrangements, the most common seating arrangement in the 2000s is with first violins, second violins, violas and cello sections arrayed clockwise around the conductor, with basses behind the cellos on the right. The principal string players sit at the front of their section, closest to the conductor and on the row of performers which is closest to the audience. If space or numbers are limited, cellos and basses can be put in the middle, violins and violas on the left and winds to the right, this is the usual arrangement in orchestra pits. The seating may also be specified by the composer, as in Béla Bartóks Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, in some cases, due to space constraints or other issues, a different layout may be used. The inside player typically turns the pages of the part, while the player continues playing. In cases where a turn occurs during an essential musical part. There are more variations of set-up with the bass section, depending on the size of the section. There are not usually as many basses as cellos, so they are either in one row, or for a larger section, in some orchestras, some or all of the string sections may be placed on wooden risers, which are platforms that elevate the performers. The size of a section may be expressed with a formula of the type 10-10-8-10-6, designating the number of first violins, second violins, violas, cellos. The numbers can vary widely, Wagner in Die Walküre specifies 16-16-12-12-8, in general, music from the Baroque music era and the Classical music period used smaller string sections. During the contemporary era, some composers requested smaller string sections. In some regional orchestras, amateur orchestras and youth orchestras, the sections may be relatively small
String section
–
The
Chicago Symphony Orchestra performing with a jazz group. The string sections are at the front of the orchestra, arrayed in a semicircle around the
conductor's podium.
13.
International Music Score Library Project
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Since its launch on February 16,2006, over 370,000 scores and 42,000 recordings for over 110,000 works by over 14,000 composers have been uploaded. The project uses MediaWiki software to provide contributors with a familiar interface, since June 6,2010, IMSLP has also included public domain and licensed recordings in its scope, to allow for study by ear. The site was launched on February 16,2006, the library consists mainly of scans of old musical editions out of copyright. In addition, it admits scores by composers who wish to share their music with the world by releasing it under a Creative Commons license. One of the projects of IMSLP was the sorting and uploading of the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach in the Bach-Gesellschaft Ausgabe. Besides providing a repository, IMSLP offers possibilities as a musicological encyclopaedia, since multiple. Also, pages on publishers provide valuable information, and the pages themselves often contain a large quantity of information. IMSLP is recommended as a tool by MIT, which also uses it extensively for providing scores for its OpenCourseWare courses. In 2007–2015, IMSLP / Petrucci Music Library used logo based on a score, the score image in the background was taken from the beginning of the very first printed book of music, the Harmonice Musices Odhecaton. It was published in Venice, Italy in 1501 by Ottaviano Petrucci, in 2016, IMSLP changed its logo to a clean wordmark, featuring its two project names – IMSLP and Petrucci Music Library. In 2009, IMSLP won the MERLOT Classics award for Music and it was named one of the Top 100 Web Sites of 2009 by PC Magazine. On October 19,2007, the IMSLP closed following legal demands from Universal Edition of Vienna, at first I thought this letter would be similar in content to the first Cease and Desist letter I received in August. I cannot apologize enough to all IMSLP contributors, who have done so much for IMSLP in the last two years, in response, director Michael S. Hart of Project Gutenberg offered support to keep the project online. This offer was declined by Feldmahler, who voiced concern about having the project hosted in the United States, on November 2,2007, Michael Geist, a prominent Canadian copyright academic, wrote an article for the BBC discussing the specifics and the wider implications of this case. IMSLP went back online on June 30,2008, although the server is located in Canada, files which are not public domain in the US were until July 2010 flagged, for Technical Block or Temporary Block, and could not be viewed. The FAQ posted in their forum stated, Unfortunately, these temporary blocks will be until further notice – possibly all the way until the expiration of term in the USA. After an initial phase, flagged items have disappeared thanks to the introduction of regional servers operated by unaffiliated organizations. On 21 April 2011, the Music Publishers Association issued a DMCA takedown notice against the IMSLP, Go Daddy, the domain name registrar for the IMSLP, removed the domain name imslp. org, leaving it inaccessible
International Music Score Library Project
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IMSLP Petrucci Music Library
14.
Concerto
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A concerto is a musical composition, whose characteristics have changed over time. In the 17th century, sacred works for voices and orchestra were typically called concertos, J. S. Bach was thus reflecting a long-standing tradition when he used the title concerto for many of the works that we know as cantatas. But in recent centuries, up to the present, a concerto is a piece composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra or concert band. The popularity of the concerto grosso form declined after the Baroque period, the solo concerto, however, has remained a vital musical force from its inception to this day. Examples of this form of concerto include Giovanni Gabrielis In Ecclesiis or Heinrich Schützs Saul, Saul, was verfolgst du mich. The concerto began to take its shape in the late Baroque period. Corellis concertino group was two violins and a cello, in J. S. Bachs Fifth Brandenburg Concerto, for example, the concertino is a flute, a violin, and a harpsichord, the harpsichord sometimes plays with the ripieno. Later the concerto approached its modern form in which the concertino usually reduces to a solo instrument playing with/against an orchestra. The concerto was intended as a typical of the Italian style of the time. The baroque concerto was mainly for an instrument or a wind instrument. Bach also wrote a concerto for two violins and orchestra, during the baroque period, before the invention of the piano, keyboard concertos were comparatively rare, with the exception of the organ and some harpsichord concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach. Cello concertos have been written since the Baroque era if not earlier, among the works from that period, those by Antonio Vivaldi and Giuseppe Tartini are still part of the standard repertoire today. The concerti of the sons of Johann Sebastian Bach, such as CPE Bach, are perhaps the best links between those of the Baroque period and those of the Classical era. It is conventional to state that the first movements of concerti from the Classical period onwards follow the structure of sonata form, final movements are often in rondo form, as in J. S. Mozart wrote five violin concertos, all in 1775 and they show a number of influences, notably Italian and Austrian. Several passages have leanings towards folk music, as manifested in Austrian serenades, mozart also wrote the highly regarded Sinfonia Concertante for violin, viola, and orchestra. Beethoven wrote only one violin concerto, under-appreciated until revealed as a masterpiece in a performance by violin virtuoso Joseph Joachim, Haydn wrote at least two cello concertos which are the most important works in that genre of the classical era. Bachs three cello concertos and Boccherinis are also noteworthy, Bachs keyboard concertos contain some brilliant soloistic writing
Concerto
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Frederick the Great playing a
flute concerto in
Sanssouci,
C. P. E. Bach at the piano,
Johann Joachim Quantz is leaning on the wall to the right; by
Adolph Menzel, 1852
