1.
Brass instrument
–
A brass instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the players lips. Brass instruments are also called labrosones, literally meaning lip-vibrated instruments, there are several factors involved in producing different pitches on a brass instrument. The view of most scholars is that the brass instrument should be defined by the way the sound is made, as above. Thus one finds brass instruments made of wood, like the alphorn, the cornett, the serpent, as valved instruments are predominant among the brasses today, a more thorough discussion of their workings can be found below. The valves are usually piston valves, but can be rotary valves, slide brass instruments use a slide to change the length of tubing. The main instruments in this category are the family, though valve trombones are occasionally used. The trombone familys ancestor, the sackbut, and the folk instrument bazooka are also in the slide family, there are two other families that have, in general, become functionally obsolete for practical purposes. Instruments of both types, however, are used for period-instrument performances of Baroque or Classical pieces. In more modern compositions, they are used for their intonation or tone color. Natural brass instruments only play notes in the harmonic series. These include the bugle and older variants of the trumpet and horn, the trumpet was a natural brass instrument prior to about 1795, and the horn before about 1820. In the 18th century, makers developed interchangeable crooks of different lengths, natural instruments are still played for period performances and some ceremonial functions, and are occasionally found in more modern scores, such as those by Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss. Keyed or Fingered brass instruments used holes along the body of the instrument and these included the cornett, serpent, ophicleide, keyed bugle and keyed trumpet. They are more difficult to play than valved instruments, Brass instruments may also be characterised by two generalizations about geometry of the bore, that is, the tubing between the mouthpiece and the flaring of the tubing into the bell. Those two generalizations are with regard to the degree of taper or conicity of the bore and the diameter of the bore with respect to its length, cylindrical bore brass instruments are generally perceived as having a brighter, more penetrating tone quality compared to conical bore brass instruments. The trumpet, baritone horn and all trombones are cylindrical bore, in particular, the slide design of the trombone necessitates this. Conical bore brass instruments are those in which tubing of constantly increasing diameter predominates, conical bore instruments are generally perceived as having a more mellow tone quality than the cylindrical bore brass instruments. The British brass band group of instruments fall into this category and this includes the flugelhorn, cornet, tenor horn, horn, euphonium and tuba
Brass instrument
–
A
trumpet, foreground, a
piccolo trumpet behind, and a
flugelhorn in background
2.
Wind instrument
–
The pitch of the vibration is determined by the length of the tube and by manual modifications of the effective length of the vibrating column of air. In the case of wind instruments, sound is produced by blowing through a reed. Using different air columns for different tones, such as in the pan flute and this method is used on nearly all brass instruments. Changing the length of the air column by lengthening and/or shortening the tube using a sliding mechanism. This method is used on the trombone and the slide whistle, changing the frequency of vibration through opening or closing holes in the side of the tube. This can be done by covering the holes with fingers or pressing a key which then closes the hole and this method is used in nearly all woodwind instruments. Making the column of air vibrate at different harmonics without changing the length of the column of air, almost all wind instruments use the last method, often in combination with one of the others, to extend their register. A more accurate way to determine whether an instrument is brass or woodwind is to examine how the player produces sound, in brass instruments, the players lips vibrate, causing the air within the instrument to vibrate. For example, the saxophone is typically made of brass, but is classified as an instrument because it produces sound with a vibrating reed. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, wind instruments are classed as aerophones, sound production in all wind instruments depends on the entry of air into a flow-control valve attached to a resonant chamber. The resonator is typically a long cylindrical or conical tube, open at the far end, a pulse of high pressure from the valve will travel down the tube at the speed of sound. It will be reflected from the end as a return pulse of low pressure. Under suitable conditions, the valve will reflect the pulse back, with increased energy, Reed instruments such as the clarinet or oboe have a flexible reed or reeds at the mouthpiece, forming a pressure-controlled valve. Standing waves inside the tube will be odd multiples of a quarter-wavelength, with a pressure anti-node at the mouthpiece, the reed vibrates at a rate determined by the resonator. For Lip Reed instruments, the controls the tension in their lips so that they vibrate under the influence of the air flow through them. They adjust the vibration so that the lips are most closed, and the air flow is lowest, standing waves inside the tube will be odd multiples of a quarter-wavelength, with a pressure anti-node at the mouthpiece, and a pressure node at the open end. For Air Reed instruments, the thin grazing air sheet flowing across an opening in the pipe interacts with an edge to generate sound. The jet is generated by the player, when blowing through a thin slit, for recorders and flue organ pipes this slit is manufactured by the instrument maker and has a fixed geometry
Wind instrument
–
Erke, wind instrument of Argentina
Wind instrument
–
The bell of a B Flat clarinet
3.
Aerophone
–
Aerophones categorically comprise the largest and most complex group of instruments in the Americas. The first class includes instruments which, when played, do not contain the vibrating air and this class includes free reed instruments, such as the harmonica, but also many instruments unlikely to be called wind instruments at all by most people, such as sirens and whips. The second class includes instruments which contain the air when being played. This class includes almost all instruments generally called wind instruments — including the didgeridoo, brass instruments, additionally, very loud sounds can be made by explosions directed into, or being detonated inside of resonant cavities. Detonations inside the calliope, as well as the pyrophone might thus be considered as class 42 instruments, according to Ardal Powell, flute is a simple instrument found in numerous ancient cultures. There are three legendary and archeologically verifiable birthplace sites of flutes, Egypt, Greece and India, of these, the transverse flute appeared only in ancient India, while the fipple flutes are found in all three. It is likely, states Powell, that the modern Indian bansuri has not changed much since the medieval era. Archaeological studies have found examples of globular flutes in ancient Mexico, Colombia and Peru, the use of shells of Conches as an aerophone have also been found to be prevalent in areas such as Central America and Peru. Examples of aerophone type instruments in China can be dated back to the Neolithic period, fragments of bone flutes can be found at the burial sites of the Jiahu settlements of ancient China, and they represent some of the earliest known examples of playable instruments. The instruments were carved from the wing bone of the red-crowned crane. The flutes were efficient enough to sound in a nearly accurate octave. Examples of flutes made out of bamboo in China date back to 2nd Century BC and these flutes were known as Dizis or simply Di and typically had 6 holes for playing melodies that were framed by scale-modes. Flutes including the famous Bansuri, have been a part of Indian classical music since 1500 BC. A major deity of Hinduism, Krishna, has been associated with the flute, some early flutes were made out of tibias. Free aerophones are instruments where the air is not enclosed by the instrument itself. The air-stream meets a sharp edge, or an edge is moved through the air. Occasionally called percussive aerophones, plosive aerophones are sounded by percussion caused by a single compression, an example of a plosive aerophone is the scraper flute which has tubes with ridged or serrated edges so that they can be scraped with a rod to produce sound. Non-free aerophones are instruments where the air is contained within the instrument
Aerophone
–
Flutes are aerophones
Aerophone
–
Neolithic bone flute
Aerophone
–
A
Carnatic eight-holed bamboo flute
Aerophone
–
An eight-holed classical Indian bamboo flute.
4.
Range (music)
–
In music, the range of a musical instrument is the distance from the lowest to the highest pitch it can play. For a singing voice, the equivalent is vocal range, the range of a musical part is the distance between its lowest and highest note. The terms sounding range, written range, designated range, duration range, a piccolo, for example, typically has a sounding range one octave higher than its written range. The designated range is the set of notes the player should or can achieve while playing, all instruments have a designated range, and all pitched instruments have a playing range. Timbre, dynamics, and duration ranges are interrelated and one may achieve registral range at the expense of timbre, the designated range is thus the range in which a player is expected to have comfortable control of all aspects. The duration range is the difference between the shortest and longest rhythm used, dynamic range is the difference between the quietest and loudest volume of an instrument, part or piece of music. Although woodwind instruments and string instruments have no upper limit to their range. Brass instruments, on the hand, can play beyond their designated ranges. Notes lower than the brass instruments designated range are called pedal tones, the playing range of a brass instrument depends on both the technical limitations of the instrument and the skill of the player. Classical arrangements seldom make woodwind or brass instruments play beyond their designed range, string musicians play the bottom of their ranges very frequently, but the top of a string instruments range is rather fuzzy, and it is unusual for a string player to exceed the designated range. It is quite rare for wind musicians to play the extremes of their instruments, the most common exception is that in many 20th century works, pedal tones are called for in bass trombones. This chart uses standard numberings for octaves where middle C corresponds to C4, in the MIDI language middle C is referred to as MIDI note number 60. The lowest note that an organ can sound is C−1. However, if acoustic combination counts, the lowest note is C−2, *This chart only displays down to C0, though some pipe organs, such as the Boardwalk Hall Auditorium Organ, extend down to C−1. Also, the frequency of the subcontrabass tuba is B♭−1
Range (music)
–
Written range of a
Saxophone.
5.
Musical instrument
–
A musical instrument is an instrument created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument, the history of musical instruments dates to the beginnings of human culture. Early musical instruments may have used for ritual, such as a trumpet to signal success on the hunt. Cultures eventually developed composition and performance of melodies for entertainment, Musical instruments evolved in step with changing applications. The date and origin of the first device considered an instrument is disputed. The oldest object that some refer to as a musical instrument. Some consensus dates early flutes to about 37,000 years ago, many early musical instruments were made from animal skins, bone, wood, and other non-durable materials. Musical instruments developed independently in many populated regions of the world, however, contact among civilizations caused rapid spread and adaptation of most instruments in places far from their origin. By the Middle Ages, instruments from Mesopotamia were in maritime Southeast Asia, development in the Americas occurred at a slower pace, but cultures of North, Central, and South America shared musical instruments. By 1400, musical instrument development slowed in areas and was dominated by the Occident. Musical instrument classification is a discipline in its own right, Instruments can be classified by their effective range, their material composition, their size, etc. However, the most common method, Hornbostel-Sachs, uses the means by which they produce sound. The academic study of instruments is called organology. Once humans moved from making sounds with their bodies—for example, by using objects to create music from sounds. Primitive instruments were designed to emulate natural sounds, and their purpose was ritual rather than entertainment. The concept of melody and the pursuit of musical composition were unknown to early players of musical instruments. A player sounding a flute to signal the start of a hunt does so without thought of the notion of making music. Musical instruments are constructed in an array of styles and shapes
Musical instrument
–
Anne Vallayer-Coster, Attributes of Music, 1770. This
still life painting depicts a variety of French Baroque musical instruments, such as a
natural horn,
transverse flute,
musette,
violin, and
lute.
Musical instrument
–
Found in
Slovenia, the
Divje Babe Flute is considered the world's
oldest known musical instrument
Musical instrument
–
Two
Aztec slit drums, called teponaztli. The characteristic " H " slits can be seen on the top of the drum in the foreground.
Musical instrument
–
Ancient Egyptian tomb painting depicting lute players,
18th Dynasty (c. 1350 BC)
6.
Saxhorn
–
The saxhorn is a family of valved brass instruments that have conical bores and deep cup-shaped mouthpieces. The saxhorn family was developed by Adolphe Sax, who is known for creating the saxophone family. The sound of the saxhorn has a mellow tone quality. The saxhorns form a family of seven brass instruments, designed for band use, they are pitched alternately in E♭ and B♭, like the saxophone group. Historically, much confusion exists as to the nomenclature of the instruments in different languages. The following table lists the members of the family as described in the orchestration texts of Hector Berlioz and Cecil Forsyth, the J. Howard Foote catalog of 1893. The modern instrument names continue to exhibit inconsistency, denoted by a / between the two names in use, in the table Pitch means the concert pitch of notational Middle C on each instrument in scientific pitch notation. This list is not exhaustive of historic nomenclature for the saxhorns, the saxhorn is based on the same three-valve system as most other valved brass instruments. Each member of the family is named after the note produced by the second partial with no valves actuated. Developed during the mid-to-late 1830s, the family was patented in Paris in 1845 by Adolphe Sax. During the 19th century, the debate as to whether the family was truly new. Throughout the mid-1850s, Sax continued to experiment with the instruments valve pattern, the Trojan March of the Berlioz opera Les Troyens features an on-stage band which includes a family of saxhorns. Saxhorns were popularized by the distinguished Distin Quintet, who toured Europe during the mid-19th century and this family of musicians, publishers and instrument manufacturers had a significant impact on the growth of the brass band movement in Britain during the mid- to late-19th century. The saxhorn was the most common instrument in American Civil War bands. The over-the-shoulder variety of the instrument was used, as the bell of the instrument allowed troops marching behind the band to hear the music. Contemporary works featuring this instrument are Désiré Dondeynes Tubissimo for bass tuba or saxhorn and piano, alto horn Baritone horn Flugelhorn Euphonium Sudrophone J. Howard Foote catalog,1893 Berlioz, Hector. 14 Volumes of saxhorn band are available featuring The First Brigade Band, Saxhorn, Euphonium and Tuba site Dodworth Saxhorn Band Gregs Brass History Page First Brigade Band Galpin Society list of extant Adolphe Sax instruments Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Saxhorn
Saxhorn
–
A modern bass saxhorn in B-flat
Saxhorn
–
Saxhorn used by the 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the Civil War. The backward-facing bell version became the most common brass instrument in Civil War bands so that troops marching behind the band could hear the music. From the collection of the Minnesota Historical Society.
Saxhorn
–
Band of 10th Veteran Reserve Corps, Washington, D.C., April, 1865
7.
Alto horn
–
The tenor horn is a brass instrument in the saxhorn family, and is usually pitched in E♭. It has a bore that is conical, like the flugelhorn and baritone horn. It is most commonly used in British brass bands, whereas the French horn tends to take the parts in concert bands. However, the horn has occasionally been used as an alternative to the French horn in concert bands. The tenor horn is a brass instrument which has a predominantly conical bore like the baritone horn and flugelhorn. It uses a deep funnel- or cup-shaped mouthpiece and its valves are typically, though not exclusively, piston valves. In contrast, the solo horn looks like a flugelhorn, with the bell pointing forward. Another older and lesser known variant has the bell facing backward, still another variant has a detachable bell easily rotated to point in the direction of the players choice. The standard bell-up horn comes in two shapes, one with the beginning of the bell looping over the top of the valves. These types are the most frequently encountered in the United States, only the standard upright instrument is seen in UK brass bands. In Europe, Cerveny have been manufacturing tenor horns since 1852 and they currently offer models of the instrument looped like a classic horn and an oval model shaped like a Wagner tuba, all models having rotary valves as opposed to the more common piston valves. Within a British brass band, the horn section usually plays a unique part in the middle of the band. However, it is often featured as a solo instrument. The instruments timbre, with little attack or resonance, as well as the parts it usually plays, makes the difficult to hear individually. Despite this, the horn section contributes greatly to the mellow sound of a brass band. A few of these instruments have become especially popular within the UK, the Besson Sovereign. Today, different makes of tenor horns have a range of bore sizes. Good, well-made instruments should however, regardless of size, retain a light, velvety
Alto horn
–
Alto horn
8.
Baritone horn
–
The baritone horn, or sometimes just called baritone, is a low-pitched brass instrument in the saxhorn family. It is a brass instrument with a bore that is mostly conical, like the flugelhorn and alto horn. It uses a cup mouthpiece like that of its peers. Like the trombone and the euphonium, the horn can be considered either a transposing or non-transposing instrument. In the UK, the horn is frequently found in brass bands. In concert band music, there is often a part marked baritone, a person who plays a baritone horn is a baritone player or baritonist. The baritone, like the trombone and euphonium, is a brass tube. It is predominately of conical bore, like the euphonium, but has a narrow bore than the euphonium. The smaller bore renders its attack more distinct than the attack of the euphonium. The baritone is pitched in concert B♭, meaning that when no valves are actuated, music for the baritone horn can be written in either the bass clef or the treble clef. When written in the bass clef, the horn is a non-transposing instrument. It is often used to play parts written for the similarly pitched tenor trombone or euphonium, the baritone is part of the tenor section of a band. Its second partial with no valves pressed is concert B♭ on the line from the bottom of the bass clef. The eighth partial with no valves pressed is concert B♭ in the center of the treble clef, the baritone sounds with a timbre between the brightness of the trombone and the more mellow tone of the euphonium. The baritone horn usually has a wrap and a smaller bell, and is thus smaller and lighter overall. This practice has not yet stopped, there is a common misconception that three-valve instrument is a baritone and that the four-valve instrument is a euphonium. Euphoniums often have a valve as an alternate fingering for 1&3 split fingering with improved intonation. The fourth valve can also be viewed in the way as an F trigger on trombone
Baritone horn
–
Baritone horn
Baritone horn
–
Four-valve continental baritone horn (center)
Baritone horn
–
Marching baritone horn
9.
Trumpet
–
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
–
B ♭ trumpet
Trumpet
–
Written range:
Trumpet
–
Ceramic trumpet. 300 AD
Larco Museum Collection Lima, Peru.
Trumpet
–
Reproduction
baroque trumpet by Michael Laird
10.
Cornet
–
The cornet /ˈkɔːrnɪt/ is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is an instrument in B♭, though there is also a soprano cornet in E♭. Both are unrelated to the renaissance and early baroque cornett, the cornet was initially derived from the post horn around 1820 in France. Among the first manufacturers of modern cornets was Parisian Jean Asté in 1828, cornets first appeared as separate instrumental parts in 19th century French compositions. This instrument could not have developed without the improvement of piston valves by Silesian oboe player Friedrich Blühmel. These two instrument makers almost simultaneously invented valves, though it is likely that Blühmel was the inventor and they jointly applied for a patent and were granted this for a period of ten years. Later, and most importantly, François Périnet received a patent in 1838 for a valve which is the basis of all modern brass instrument piston valves. Up until the early 20th century, the trumpet and cornet coexisted in musical ensembles, symphonic repertoire often involves separate parts for trumpet and cornet. As several instrument builders made improvements to instruments, they started to look and sound more alike. The modern day cornet is used in bands, concert bands. The name cornet derives from corne, meaning horn, itself from Latin cornu, while not musically related, instruments of the Zink family are named cornetto or cornett in modern English to distinguish them from the valved cornet described here. The 11th edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica referred to serpents as old wooden cornets, the Roman/Etruscan cornu is the lingual ancestor of these. It is a predecessor of the post horn from which the evolved and was used like a bugle to signal orders on the battlefield. The instrument was once referred to as a cornopean, referencing the earliest cornets with the Stölzel valve system. The cornet was invented by adding valves to the post horn in 1814, the valves allowed for melodic playing throughout the register of the cornet. Trumpets were slower to adopt the new technology, so for the next 100 years or more. The trumpet would play fanfare-like passages, while the cornet played more melodic passages, the modern trumpet has valves that allow it to play the same notes and fingerings as the cornet. Cornets and trumpets made in a key play at the same pitch
Cornet
–
A B ♭ cornet
Cornet
–
Connie Jones playing a long-model cornet.
Cornet
–
Cornet that looks like a
French horn
11.
Mellophone
–
The mellophone is a three-valved brass instrument pitched in the key of F or E♭. It has a bore, like that of the euphonium. Tuning is done solely by adjusting the piping, instead of adjusting both piping and hand position as on the French horn, fingerings for the mellophone are the same as fingerings for the trumpet, alto horn, and most valved brass instruments. Owing to its use primarily outside of music, there is little solo literature for the mellophone, other than that used within drum. The present-day mellophone has three valves, operated with the right hand, mellophone fingering is the same as the trumpet and is typically pitched lower, in the key of F or E♭. The overtone series of the F mellophone is an octave above that of the F horn, the tubing length of a mellophone is the same as that of the F-alto single horn or the F-alto branch of a triple horn or double-descant horn. The direction of the bell as well as the amount of tubing make the mellophone look like a large trumpet. The mellophone uses the same mouthpiece as the horn, which is in-between the size of a trombone. This mouthpiece usually has a cup, like that of the flugelhorn. These mouthpieces give the mellophone a dark, round sound, some trumpet players who double on mellophone use a trumpet-style parabolic mouthpiece on the instrument, resulting in a much brighter, more trumpet-like sound. Horn players doubling on mellophone use a smaller, lighter, conical mouthpiece, as used on French horns. Two instruments carry the name mellophone, Traditional mellophones with a rear or sideways facing bell, the marching mellophone, with a forward-facing bell. In general, the mellophone has its origin in the horn design boom of the 19th century. The earliest version was the Koenig horn, based on a design by its eponym Herman Koenig, but manufactured by Antoine Courtois, Courtois had just won the right to manufacture the saxhorn, in a lawsuit against the inventor of the saxophone, Adolphe Sax. This shape was influenced by the post horn. Kohler & Son originally began using the name mellophone for its line of horns based loosely on similar instruments by Distin. These were also post horn-like instruments with valves, but the mouthpieces and bell angle were slowly evolving to allow for more projection, the traditional instrument is visually modeled on the horn, with a round shape and a rear-facing bell. Unlike French horns, it is played with the hand
Mellophone
–
Mellophone
Mellophone
–
University of Massachusetts Lowell Riverhawk Marching Band member playing a mellophone
Mellophone
–
The type of Mellophonium used by
Stan Kenton 's orchestra, which variously used mellophone mouthpieces and a specially designed horn-trumpet hybrid mouthpiece for Stan Kenton's band.
Mellophone
–
A Vincent Bach Mercedes F Marching Mellophone
12.
Musical instruments
–
A musical instrument is an instrument created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument, the history of musical instruments dates to the beginnings of human culture. Early musical instruments may have used for ritual, such as a trumpet to signal success on the hunt. Cultures eventually developed composition and performance of melodies for entertainment, Musical instruments evolved in step with changing applications. The date and origin of the first device considered an instrument is disputed. The oldest object that some refer to as a musical instrument. Some consensus dates early flutes to about 37,000 years ago, many early musical instruments were made from animal skins, bone, wood, and other non-durable materials. Musical instruments developed independently in many populated regions of the world, however, contact among civilizations caused rapid spread and adaptation of most instruments in places far from their origin. By the Middle Ages, instruments from Mesopotamia were in maritime Southeast Asia, development in the Americas occurred at a slower pace, but cultures of North, Central, and South America shared musical instruments. By 1400, musical instrument development slowed in areas and was dominated by the Occident. Musical instrument classification is a discipline in its own right, Instruments can be classified by their effective range, their material composition, their size, etc. However, the most common method, Hornbostel-Sachs, uses the means by which they produce sound. The academic study of instruments is called organology. Once humans moved from making sounds with their bodies—for example, by using objects to create music from sounds. Primitive instruments were designed to emulate natural sounds, and their purpose was ritual rather than entertainment. The concept of melody and the pursuit of musical composition were unknown to early players of musical instruments. A player sounding a flute to signal the start of a hunt does so without thought of the notion of making music. Musical instruments are constructed in an array of styles and shapes
Musical instruments
–
Anne Vallayer-Coster, Attributes of Music, 1770. This
still life painting depicts a variety of French Baroque musical instruments, such as a
natural horn,
transverse flute,
musette,
violin, and
lute.
Musical instruments
–
Found in
Slovenia, the
Divje Babe Flute is considered the world's
oldest known musical instrument
Musical instruments
–
Two
Aztec slit drums, called teponaztli. The characteristic " H " slits can be seen on the top of the drum in the foreground.
Musical instruments
–
Ancient Egyptian tomb painting depicting lute players,
18th Dynasty (c. 1350 BC)
13.
Woodwind instrument
–
Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the more general category of wind instruments. There are two types of woodwind instruments, flutes and reed instruments. What differentiates these instruments from other instruments is the way in which they produce their sound. Examples are a saxophone, a bassoon and a piccolo, flutes produce sound by directing a focused stream of air below the edge of a hole in a cylindrical tube. The flute family can be divided into two sub-families, open flutes and closed flutes, to produce a sound with an open flute, the player is required to blow a stream of air across a sharp edge that then splits the airstream. This split airstream then acts upon the air contained within the flutes hollow causing it to vibrate. Examples of open flutes are the flute, panpipes and shakuhachi. Ancient flutes of this variety were often made from sections of plants such as grasses, reeds. Later, flutes were made of such as tin, copper. Modern concert flutes are made of high-grade metal alloys, usually containing nickel, silver, copper. To produce a sound with a flute, the player is required to blow air into a duct. This duct acts as a channel bringing the air to a sharp edge, as with the open flutes, the air is then split, this causes the column of air within the closed flute to vibrate and produce sound. Examples of this type of include the recorder, ocarina. Reed instruments produce sound by focusing air into a mouthpiece which then causes a reed, or reeds, similar to flutes, Reed pipes are also further divided into two types, single reed and double reed. Single-reed woodwinds produce sound by placing a reed onto the opening of a mouthpiece, when air is forced between the reed and the mouthpiece, the reed causes the air column in the instrument to vibrate and produce its unique sound. Single reed instruments include the clarinet, saxophone, and others such as the chalumeau, double-reed instruments use two precisely cut, small pieces of cane bound together at the base. This form of production has been estimated to have originated in the middle to late Neolithic period. The finished, bound reed is inserted into the instrument and vibrates as air is forced between the two pieces and this family of reed pipes is subdivided further into another two sub-families, exposed double reed, and capped double reed instruments
Woodwind instrument
–
Alto and
tenor saxophone reeds
Woodwind instrument
–
A piper playing the
bagpipes
14.
Piccolo
–
The piccolo /ˈpɪkəloʊ/ is a half-size flute, and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. The modern piccolo has most of the same fingerings as its sibling, the standard transverse flute. This gave rise to the name ottavino, the name by which the instrument is referred to in the scores of Italian composers, piccolos are now manufactured in the key of C or D♭. It was for this D♭ piccolo that John Philip Sousa wrote the solo in the final repeat of the closing section of his march The Stars. In the orchestral setting, the player is often designated as piccolo/flute III. The larger orchestras have designated this position as a position due to the demands of the literature. Piccolos are often orchestrated to double the violins or the flutes, adding sparkle, in concert band settings, the piccolo is almost always used and a piccolo part is almost always available. Historically, the piccolo had no keys, and should not be confused with the fife, the piccolo is used in conjunction with marching drums in traditional formations at the Carnival of Basel, Switzerland. It is a myth that one of the earliest pieces to use the piccolo was Beethovens Symphony No.5 in C Minor, although neither Joseph Haydn nor Mozart used it in their symphonies, some of their contemporaries did, including Hoffmeister, Süssmayr and Michael Haydn. Also, Mozart used the piccolo in his opera Idomeneo, opera orchestras in Paris sometimes included small transverse flutes at the octave as early as 1735 as existing scores by Rameau show. Finely made piccolos are often available with a variety of similar to the flute. Most piccolos have a body with a cylindrical head, which is like the Baroque flute. There are a number of pieces for piccolo alone, by composers as Samuel Adler, Robert Dick, Michael Isaacson, David Loeb, Polly Moller, Vincent Persichetti. Additionally, there is a selection of chamber music that uses the piccolo. One example is the Quintet for Piccolo and String Quartet by Graham Waterhouse, another is Stockhausens Zungenspitzentanz, for piccolo and two euphoniums, with optional percussionist and dancer. Bryn Mawr, Theodore Presser Company,2008, the Symphonic Debutante Piccolo, Was it Really Beethovens Fifth. The Woodwind Fingering Guide, with piccolo fingerings
Piccolo
–
A Yamaha piccolo. The body is made of
ABS resin, and the head is plated with
silver.
Piccolo
–
The piccolo sounds one
octave higher than written. Sounding:
Piccolo
–
A piccolo being played
15.
Flute
–
The flute is a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening, according to the instrument classification of Hornbostel–Sachs, flutes are categorized as edge-blown aerophones. A musician who plays the flute can be referred to as a player, flautist, flutist or, less commonly. Flutes are the earliest extant musical instruments, as paleolithic instruments with hand-bored holes have been found, a number of flutes dating to about 43,000 to 35,000 years ago have been found in the Swabian Jura region of present-day Germany. These flutes demonstrate that a musical tradition existed from the earliest period of modern human presence in Europe. Flutes, including the famous Bansuri, have been a part of Indian classical music since 1500 BC. A major deity of Hinduism, Krishna, has been associated with the flute, the English verb flout has the same linguistic root, and the modern Dutch verb fluiten still shares the two meanings. Attempts to trace the word back to the Latin flare have been pronounced phonologically impossible or inadmissable, the first known use of the word flute was in the 14th century. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, this was in Geoffrey Chaucers The Hous of Fame, today, a musician who plays any instrument in the flute family can be called a flutist, or flautist, or simply a flute player. Flutist dates back to at least 1603, the earliest quote cited by the Oxford English Dictionary, flautist was used in 1860 by Nathaniel Hawthorne in The Marble Faun, after being adopted during the 18th century from Italy, like many musical terms in England since the Italian Renaissance. Other English terms, now obsolete, are fluter and flutenist. The oldest flute ever discovered may be a fragment of the femur of a cave bear. In 2008 another flute dated back to at least 35,000 years ago was discovered in Hohle Fels cave near Ulm, the five-holed flute has a V-shaped mouthpiece and is made from a vulture wing bone. The researchers involved in the officially published their findings in the journal Nature. The flute, one of several found, was found in the Hohle Fels cavern next to the Venus of Hohle Fels, on announcing the discovery, scientists suggested that the finds demonstrate the presence of a well-established musical tradition at the time when modern humans colonized Europe. Scientists have also suggested that the discovery of the flute may help to explain the probable behavioural and cognitive gulf between Neanderthals and early modern human. A three-holed flute,18.7 cm long, made from a mammoth tusk was discovered in 2004, the earliest extant Chinese transverse flute is a chi flute discovered in the Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng at the Suizhou site, Hubei province, China. It dates from 433 BC, of the later Zhou Dynasty and it is fashioned of lacquered bamboo with closed ends and has five stops that are at the flutes side instead of the top
Flute
–
A selection of flutes from around the world
Flute
–
Chinese women playing flutes, from the 12th-century
Song dynasty remake of the Night Revels of Han Xizai, originally by
Gu Hongzhong (10th century)
Flute
–
Panflute players.
Cantigas de Santa Maria, mid-13th century, Spain
Flute
–
Statue of
Krishna playing a flute
16.
Oboe
–
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
–
A modern oboe with a reed
Oboe
–
Classical oboe, copy by Sand Dalton of an original by Johann Friedrich Floth, c. 1805
Oboe
–
The members of the oboe family from top:
heckelphone,
bass oboe,
cor anglais,
oboe d'amore, regular oboe, and
piccolo oboe
Oboe
–
Oboist
Albrecht Mayer preparing reeds for use. Most oboists scrape their own reeds to achieve the desired tone and response
17.
Cor anglais
–
The cor anglais or English horn in North America, is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, the cor anglais is a transposing instrument pitched in F, a perfect fifth lower than the oboe. This means that music for the cor anglais is written a fifth higher than the instrument actually sounds. The fingering and playing technique used for the cor anglais are essentially the same as those of the oboe, the cor anglais normally lacks the lowest B♭ key found on most oboes and so its sounding range stretches from E3 below middle C to C6 two octaves above middle C. The pear-shaped bell of the cor anglais gives it a more covered timbre than the oboe, the cor anglais is perceived to have a more mellow and plaintive tone than the oboe. Its appearance differs from the oboe in that the reed is attached to a bent metal tube called the bocal, or crook. The cor anglais is usually notated in the treble clef, a fifth higher than sounding. Some composers notated it in the bass clef, when the register was persistently used. Alto clef written at sounding pitch is used, even by as late a composer as Sergei Prokofiev. In late-18th- and early-19th-century Italy, where the instrument was played by bassoonists instead of oboists. French operatic composers up to Fromental Halévy notated the instrument at sounding pitch in the mezzo-soprano clef, although the instrument usually descends only to low B♮, continental instruments with an extension to low B♭ have existed since early in the 19th century. Examples of works requiring this note include Arnold Schoenbergs Gurre-Lieder and Gustav Mahlers Das Lied von der Erde, antonín Dvořák, in his Scherzo Capriccioso, even writes for the cor anglais down to low A, though it seems unlikely that such an extension ever existed. Reeds used to play the cor anglais are similar to those used for an oboe, consisting of a piece of cane folded in two. While the cane on a reed is mounted on a small metal tube partially covered in cork, there is no such cork on a cor anglais reed. The cane part of the reed is wider and longer than that of the oboe, unlike American style oboe reeds, cor anglais reeds typically have wire at the base, approximately 5 mm from the top of the string used to attach the cane to the staple. This wire serves to hold the two blades of cane together and stabilize tone and pitch. Perhaps the best-known makers of modern cors anglais are the French firms of F. Lorée, Marigaux and Rigoutat, the British firm of T. W. Howarth, instruments from smaller makers, such as A. Laubin, are also sought after. Fox has recently made some instruments in plastic resin and in maple, the instrument originated in Silesia about 1720, when a bulb bell was fitted to a curved oboe da caccia-type body by the Weigel family of Breslau
Cor anglais
–
Cor anglais or English horn
Cor anglais
–
Opening motive from the 2nd movement (Largo) of
Dvořák 's
Symphony No. 9, From the New World
18.
Clarinet
–
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
–
Bass clarinet
Clarinet
–
Written range (though it is possible to play higher):
Clarinet
–
Sound wave propagation in the soprano clarinet
Clarinet
–
Schüller's quarter-tone clarinet
19.
Saxophone
–
The saxophone is a family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet, the saxophone family was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1840. He patented the saxophone on June 28,1846, in two groups of seven instruments each, each series consisted of instruments of various sizes in alternating transposition. The series pitched in B♭ and E♭, designed for bands, have proved extremely popular. The saxophone is used in music, military bands, marching bands. The saxophone was developed in 1846 by Adolphe Sax, a Belgian instrument maker, flautist, born in Dinant and originally based in Brussels, he moved to Paris in 1842 to establish his musical instrument business. Prior to his work on the saxophone, he had several improvements to the bass clarinet by improving its keywork and acoustics. Sax was also a maker of the ophicleide, a large conical brass instrument in the bass register with keys similar to a woodwind instrument. His experience with two instruments allowed him to develop the skills and technologies needed to make the first saxophones. As an outgrowth of his work improving the bass clarinet, Sax began developing an instrument with the projection of a brass instrument and he wanted it to overblow at the octave, unlike the clarinet, which rises in pitch by a twelfth when overblown. An instrument that overblows at the octave has identical fingering for both registers, Sax created an instrument with a single-reed mouthpiece like a clarinet, conical brass body like an ophicleide, and some acoustic properties of both the horn and the clarinet. Having constructed saxophones in several sizes in the early 1840s, Sax applied for, and received, the patent encompassed 14 versions of the fundamental design, split into two categories of seven instruments each, and ranging from sopranino to contrabass. Although the instruments transposed at either F or C have been considered orchestral, the C soprano saxophone was the only instrument to sound at concert pitch. Saxs patent expired in 1866, thereafter, numerous saxophonists and instrument manufacturers implemented their own improvements to the design, the first substantial modification was by a French manufacturer who extended the bell slightly and added an extra key to extend the range downwards by one semitone to B♭. It is suspected that Sax himself may have attempted this modification and this extension is now commonplace in almost all modern designs, along with other minor changes such as added keys for alternate fingerings. Using alternate fingerings allows a player to play faster and more easily, a player may also use alternate fingerings to bend the pitch. Some of the alternate fingerings are good for trilling, scales, a substantial advancement in saxophone keywork was the development of a method by which the left thumb operates both tone holes with a single octave key, which is now universal on modern saxophones. This enables a chromatic scale to be played two octaves simply by playing the diatonic scale combined with alternately raising and lowering this one digit
Saxophone
–
An alto saxophone in E ♭
Saxophone
–
Adolphe Sax, the inventor of the saxophone
Saxophone
–
A
military band saxophonist holding a
baritone saxophone
Saxophone
–
Straight saxophones, including common fully straight types and unusual variants with slightly curved bell. Clockwise from top left: an
E♭ baritone, a
B♭ tenor, a C soprano, a
B♭ soprano, and a
B♭ soprillo
20.
Bassoon
–
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
–
Two views of a Renard model 220 bassoon
Bassoon
–
Dulcians and
racketts, from the Syntagma musicum by
Michael Praetorius.
Bassoon
–
Heckel system bassoon from 1870
Bassoon
–
Edgar Degas, L'Orchestre de L'Opera, (1868)
21.
Contrabassoon
–
The contrabassoon, also known as the double bassoon or bass bassoon is a larger version of the bassoon, sounding an octave lower. Its technique is similar to its cousin, with a few notable differences. The reed is considerably larger than the bassoons, at 65–75 mm in length as compared to 53–58 mm for most bassoon reeds. The large blades allow ample vibration that produces the low register of the instrument, the contrabassoon reed is similar to an average bassoons in that scraping the reed affects both the intonation and response of the instrument. The fingering of the contrabassoon is slightly different than that of the bassoon, particularly at the register change and in the extreme high range. The instrument is twice as long, curves around on itself twice, additional support is sometimes given by a strap around the players neck. A wider hand position is required, as the primary finger keys are widely spaced. The contrabassoon has a key to expel condensation and a tuning slide for gross pitch adjustments. The instrument comes in a few pieces, some models cannot be disassembled without a screwdriver, sometimes, however, the bell can be detached, and instruments with a low A extension often come in two parts. The contrabassoon is a very deep sounding woodwind instrument that plays in the same register as the tuba. It has a range beginning at B♭0 and extending up three octaves and a major third to D4. Donald Erb and Kalevi Aho write even higher in their concertos for the instrument, the instrument is notated an octave above sounding pitch in bass clef, with tenor or even treble clef called for in high passages. Tonally, it sounds much like the bassoon except for an organ pedal quality in the lowest octave of its range which provides a solid underpinning to the orchestra or concert band. The lowest range, in comparison with the bassoon, can be played quieter than the bassoon can, while prominent in solo and small ensemble situations, the sound can be completely obscured in the volume of the full orchestra or concert band. The contrabassoon was developed, especially in England, in the century, the oldest surviving instrument. It was around that time that the contrabassoon began gaining acceptance in church music, however, until the late 19th century, the instrument typically had a weak tone and poor intonation. For more than a century, between 1880 and 2000, Heckel’s design remained relatively unchanged, chip Owen at the American company, Fox, began manufacturing an instrument in 1971 with some improvements. Generally, during the 20th century changes to the instrument were limited to an upper vent key near the socket, a tuning slide
Contrabassoon
–
Contrabassoon
Contrabassoon
–
Written pitch, sounds one
octave lower Sounding pitch
22.
Bagpipes
–
Bagpipes are a wind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The term bagpipe is equally correct in the singular or plural, though pipers usually refer to the bagpipes as the pipes, a set of bagpipes minimally consists of an air supply, a bag, a chanter, and usually at least one drone. Many bagpipes have more than one drone in various combinations, held in place in stocks—sockets that fasten the various pipes to the bag, the most common method of supplying air to the bag is through blowing into a blowpipe, or blowstick. In some pipes the player must cover the tip of the blowpipe with their tongue while inhaling, an innovation, dating from the 16th or 17th century, is the use of a bellows to supply air. In these pipes, sometimes called cauld wind pipes, air is not heated or moistened by the players breathing, the bag is an airtight reservoir that holds air and regulates its flow via arm pressure, allowing the player to maintain continuous even sound. The player keeps the bag inflated by blowing air into it through a blowpipe or pumping air into it with a bellows, materials used for bags vary widely, but the most common are the skins of local animals such as goats, dogs, sheep, and cows. More recently, bags made of materials including Gore-Tex have become much more common. A drawback of the bag is the potential for fungal spores to colonise the bag because of a reduction in necessary cleaning. An advantage of a bag is that they have a zip which allows the user to fit a more effective moisture trap to the inside of the bag. Bags cut from larger materials are usually saddle-stitched with an extra strip folded over the seam, holes are then cut to accommodate the stocks. The chanter is the pipe, played with two hands. Almost all bagpipes have at least one chanter, some pipes have two chanters, particularly those in North Africa, the Balkans in Southern Europe, and Southwest Asia. A chanter can be bored internally so that the walls are parallel for its full length. The chanter is usually open-ended, so there is no way for the player to stop the pipe from sounding. Thus most bagpipes share a constant, legato sound where there are no rests in the music, primarily because of this inability to stop playing, technical movements are used to break up notes and to create the illusion of articulation and accents. Because of their importance, these embellishments are often highly technical systems specific to each bagpipe, a few bagpipes have closed ends or stop the end on the players leg, so that when the player closes the chanter becomes silent. A practice chanter is a chanter without bag or drones, allowing a player to practice the instrument quietly, the term chanter is derived from the Latin cantare, or to sing, much like the modern French word chanteur. The note from the chanter is produced by a reed installed at its top, the reed may be a single or double reed
Bagpipes
–
Angel playing bagpipes in the
Thistle Chapel, Edinburgh
Bagpipes
–
A detail from the
Cantigas de Santa Maria showing bagpipes with one chanter and a parallel drone (Spain, 13th century).
Bagpipes
–
A detail from a painting by
Hieronymus Bosch showing two bagpipers (15th century).
Bagpipes
–
A Great Highland Bagpipe practice chanter
23.
Recorder (musical instrument)
–
The recorder is a woodwind musical instrument in the group known as internal duct flutes—flutes with a whistle mouthpiece. It is distinguished from other duct flutes by having a thumb-hole for the hand and seven finger-holes. It is the most prominent duct flute in the classical tradition. Recorders are made in different sizes with compasses corresponding to different vocal ranges, the sizes most commonly in use today are the soprano, alto, tenor and bass. Recorders are traditionally constructed from wood and ivory, although the use of plastics is now common, other characteristics of their construction, such as bore profile and fingering systems, have varied over time and between instruments. The recorder is first documented in the Middle Ages, and continued to enjoy popularity in the renaissance and baroque periods. It was revived in the 20th century as part of the historically informed performance movement, today, there are many professional recorder players who demonstrate the instruments full solo range and a large community of amateurs. The sound of the recorder is described as clear and sweet. It is notable for its response and its corresponding ability to produce a wide variety of articulations. This ability, coupled with its open finger holes, allow it to produce a variety of tone colors. Acoustically, its tone is relatively pure and odd harmonics predominate in its sound, the instrument has been known by its modern English name at least since the 14th century. David Lasocki reports the earliest use of recorder in the accounts of the Earl of Derby in 1388. By the 15th century, the name had appeared in English literature, the instrument name recorder derives from the Latin recordārī, by way of Middle French recorder and MFr recordeur, itself derived from MFr recorder. Thus, the recorder cannot have been named after the sound of birds, the name of the instrument is also uniquely English, in Middle French there is no equivalent noun sense of recorder referring to a musical instrument. Partridge indicates that the use of the instrument by jongleurs led to its association with the verb, recorder the minstrels action, the reason we know this instrument as the recorder and not one of the other instruments played by the jongleurs is uncertain. Until about 1695, the recorder and flute overlapped, but from 1673 to the late 1720s in England. Until at least 1765, some still used flute to mean recorder. Until the mid 18th century, musical scores written in Italian refer to the instrument as flauto and this distinction, like the English switch from recorder to flute, has caused confusion among modern editors, writers and performers
Recorder (musical instrument)
–
Various recorders (second from the bottom disassembled into its three parts)
Recorder (musical instrument)
–
Recorder with German fingering. Note that the 4th finger-hole is larger than the 5th.
Recorder (musical instrument)
–
How the fingers and holes are numbered
Recorder (musical instrument)
24.
Garklein recorder
–
The garklein recorder in C, also known as the sopranissimo, is the smallest size of the recorder family. The name garklein is German for quite small, and is sometimes used to describe the sopranino in G. Although some modern German makers use the single-word form Garkleinflötlein, this is historical precedent. Double holes for the two lowest notes are uncommon, the instrument is usually notated in the treble clef two octaves lower than its actual sound. The garklein recorder is only about 16 to 18 cm long and is different from larger recorders in that it is made in one piece due to its size. Praetorius says it is three to four Brunswick inches long. Praetoriuss descriptive expression is the source of the name given by modern makers to their recorders in C6. Today, Monteverdis instrument is generally assumed to be the sopranino in G5, the smallest true recorder described by Praetorius, adding to the confusion, however, he also uses the expression klein flöttlein for the one-handed zuffolo. The earliest-known example of a recorder in C6 is an ivory instrument by a Nuremberg maker identified by the mark M. In comparison to larger recorders, the fingering is relatively difficult because of the very tight hole spacing, woodwind Instruments and Their History, third edition, with a foreword by Sir Adrian Boult. This edition reissued, Mineola, New York, Dover Publications,1991, and reprinted again in 2012. Griscom, Richard W. and David Lasocki, the Recorder, A Research and Information Guide, third edition. Syntagma Musicum II, Parts 1 and 2 of De Organographia by Michael Praetorius, the Galpin Society Journal 41, 142–44. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie, the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. Wolfenbüttel, Elias Holwein, in Verlegung des Autoris, klangfarbe und Instrumentation, Geschichte, Ursachen, Wirkung. Real-Lexikon der Musikinstrumente, zugleich ein Polyglossar für das gesamtr Instrumentengebiet, aspekte zur Geschichte der Blockflöte in c´´´
Garklein recorder
–
A one-piece garklein recorder in plum wood, next to a three-piece soprano recorder in castello or zapatero "boxwood" for comparison.
25.
Soprano recorder
–
The soprano recorder in c2, also known as the descant, is the third-smallest instrument of the modern recorder family and is usually played as the highest voice in four-part ensembles. Since its finger spacing is relatively small, it is used in music education for children first learning to play an instrument. The soprano recorder is an octave above the level of the soprano voice. Its lowest note is c2, the range is c2–d4. Compositions for soprano recorder are usually notated an octave lower than they sound and its timbre is similar to the sound of the flue pipes of an organ, which is why some organ stops sound similar to a recorder. These registers are called then block-flute or forest-flute, in German fingering the note F5 is playable with a simpler fingering than the Baroque techniques forked fingering. However, German fingering has been described as a step backwards, made on the false assumption that the instrument would be easier for schoolchildren. The disadvantage is that other, unavoidable cross-fingerings become more difficult, recorders with a plastic head joint or made completely of plastic are widely used. Soprano recorders are made from woods such as maple, pear, boxwood, rosewood, olive, African blackwood, rosewood. Woodwind Instruments and Their History, third edition, with a foreword by Sir Adrian Boult and this edition reissued, Mineola, New York, Dover Publications, Inc. 1991, and reprinted again in 2012, the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. Wolfenbüttel, Elias Holwein, in Verlegung des Autoris, real-Lexikon der Musikinstrumente, zugleich ein Polyglossar für das gesamte Instrumentengebiet
Soprano recorder
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A three-part soprano recorder in castello or zapatero "boxwood".
26.
Alto recorder
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The alto recorder in F, also known as a treble is a member of the recorder family. Up until the 17th century the instrument was normally in G4 instead of F4. The alto is between the soprano and tenor in size, and is intermediate in pitch. It has the general shape as a soprano, but is approximately 50% larger in all dimensions. A 50% increase in length causes a 50% increase in the wavelength for a given fingering and this lowers the pitch by a perfect fifth, that is from C to F. The F alto is an instrument, though its basic scale is in F, that is, a fifth lower than the soprano recorder. So-called F fingerings are therefore used, as with the bassoon or the low register of the clarinet and its notation is usually at sounding pitch, but sometimes is written an octave lower than it sounds. For adult hands, the recorder is easy to play. Maintenance is the same as for the soprano recorder, recorders are known to have been made in different sizes since at least the 15th century, but a consistent terminology did not exist until the 20th-century revival of the instrument. Appropriate to the highest instrument of the set, it is given a name used for the highest vocal part in music from time, discant. At this time, recorders were made in a single piece and this type of instrument continued to be produced through the 17th century and into the early 18th, though around 1650 it began to be made in three separate parts. It was sometimes called the flauto italiano, particularly after about 1670 when a new type of recorder appeared in France, called flûte douce, what today would be called an alto in F. In contrast to the bright-toned flauto italiano, which was easy to play in the register, the flüte douce was full and resonant in the low register. This new version of recorder was first made in Paris and, shortly later and under French influence, the redesign is traditionally attributed to the Hotteterres, particularly to Jean Hotteterre, though the evidence is rather tenuous. In 1696, Johann Christoph Denner and Johann Schell applied for permission to make the French type of instrument in Nuremberg, in most languages, this was the instrument meant by the word for flute alone, German Flöte, Dutch fluyt, Italian flauto, Spanish flauta. In England, it was usually simply flute, but when necessary to differentiate from the flute or other sizes of recorder. Woodwind Instruments and Their History, third edition, with a foreword by Sir Adrian Boult and this edition reissued, Mineola, New York, Dover Publications, Inc. 1991, and reprinted again in 2012, facsimile reprint, Collezione di trattati e musiche antiche edite in fac-simile
Alto recorder
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A modern three-piece alto recorder in
olive wood, next to a modern three-piece soprano recorder in castello or zapatero "boxwood" for comparison.
27.
Bass recorder
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A bass recorder is a wind instrument in F3 that belongs to the family of recorders. The bass recorder plays an octave lower than the alto or treble recorder, in the recorder family it stands in between the tenor recorder and C great-bass recorder. Due to the length of the instrument, the lowest tone, F, on modern instruments, keys may also be provided for low F♯, G, and G♯, and sometimes for C and C♯ as well. Praetorius calls the instrument a bass, and the instrument an octave lower than the basset a Großbaß. Woodwind Instruments and Their History, third edition, with a foreword by Sir Adrian Boult and this edition reissued, Mineola, New York, Dover Publications, Inc. 1991, and reprinted again in 2012, griscom, Richard W. and David Lasocki. The Recorder, A Research and Information Guide, third edition, syntagma Musicum II, Parts 1 and 2 of De Organographia by Michael Praetorius, David Z. Crookes. The Galpin Society Journal 41, 142–44, the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. Wolfenbüttel, Elias Holwein, in Verlegung des Autoris, real-Lexikon der Musikinstrumente, zugleich ein Polyglossar für das gesamte Instrumentengebiet
Bass recorder
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Recorders from
Michael Praetorius 's
Syntagma Musicum (1619), the fourth and fifth from the left show front and back view of an F bass (basset)
28.
Great bass recorder
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The great bass recorder is a member of the recorder family. The great bass recorder has up to seven keys, which serve to facilitate access to the finger holes, for modern large bass recorders woods like maple or African Bubinga are used. The prefixes great and contra refer to the registers from C to B and from ͵C to ͵B, respectively, in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg are two famous great bass recorders. Both are of the Renaissance type, despite the fact that the instrument of Hieronymus F. Kynseker is provided on the piece with high baroque ornaments. This recorder is part of a set that is made of plum wood. For larger recorders pear wood is used, for reasons of cost. The great bass recorder requires a key for the bottom note, an S-shaped bocal or crook is used to make it somewhat more comfortable to play the instrument. Because the finger holes are not covered with keys, some of the holes are placed in acoustically unfavorable locations to accommodate the hand. The relatively large finger-span distance reduces fluency of playing, as an authentic instrument, the great bass recorder has a short history of about 100 to 120 years. The instrument is described in the Syntagma Musicum of Michael Praetorius. The earliest great bass recorder is probably that in the collection of Venetian Catajo Palace and it is now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. The Kynseker instrument from the Germanisches Nationalmuseum is both the highpoint and the endpoing of development and it is possible that it was already conceived as historicizing. Woodwind Instruments and Their History, third edition, with a foreword by Sir Adrian Boult and this edition reissued, Mineola, New York, Dover Publications, Inc. 1991, and reprinted again in 2012, griscom, Richard W. and David Lasocki. The Recorder, A Research and Information Guide, third edition, the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. Wolfenbüttel, Elias Holwein, in Verlegung des Autoris, real-Lexikon der Musikinstrumente, zugleich ein Polyglossar für das gesamte Instrumentengebiet
Great bass recorder
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Recorders from
Michael Praetorius 's
Syntagma Musicum (1619): great bass in F (contrabass, two views) at the left, quint bass (great bass) in B ♭, bass (basset, two views), etc.
29.
Contrabass recorder
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The contrabass or great bass recorder is a wind instrument in F2 that belongs to the family of recorders. The contrabass recorder plays an octave lower than the bass recorder. Until recently, it was the largest instrument in the family, but since 1975 has been exceeded by the sub-great bass recorder in C2. Due to the length of the instrument, the lowest tone, F, on modern instruments, keys may also be provided for low F♯, G, and G♯, and sometimes for C and C♯ as well. Occasionally, this size of instrument may be equipped with so-called diapason keys, praetorius calls the next-lower instrument a bass, and the instrument an octave lower than the basset a Großbaß, great or large bass. However, the contrabass is sometimes used for the next-larger size. The modern notation for this instrument is usually in the bass clef at sounding pitch, woodwind Instruments and Their History, third edition, with a foreword by Sir Adrian Boult. This edition reissued, Mineola, New York, Dover Publications,1991, and reprinted again in 2012. Griscom, Richard W. and David Lasocki, the Recorder, A Research and Information Guide, third edition. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie, wolfenbüttel, Elias Holwein, in Verlegung des Autoris. Real-Lexikon der Musikinstrumente, zugleich ein Polyglossar für das gesamte Instrumentengebiet
Contrabass recorder
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Recorders from
Michael Praetorius 's
Syntagma Musicum (1619), with front and back views of the contrabass ("great bass") recorder at the left
30.
Brass Instruments
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A brass instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the players lips. Brass instruments are also called labrosones, literally meaning lip-vibrated instruments, there are several factors involved in producing different pitches on a brass instrument. The view of most scholars is that the brass instrument should be defined by the way the sound is made, as above. Thus one finds brass instruments made of wood, like the alphorn, the cornett, the serpent, as valved instruments are predominant among the brasses today, a more thorough discussion of their workings can be found below. The valves are usually piston valves, but can be rotary valves, slide brass instruments use a slide to change the length of tubing. The main instruments in this category are the family, though valve trombones are occasionally used. The trombone familys ancestor, the sackbut, and the folk instrument bazooka are also in the slide family, there are two other families that have, in general, become functionally obsolete for practical purposes. Instruments of both types, however, are used for period-instrument performances of Baroque or Classical pieces. In more modern compositions, they are used for their intonation or tone color. Natural brass instruments only play notes in the harmonic series. These include the bugle and older variants of the trumpet and horn, the trumpet was a natural brass instrument prior to about 1795, and the horn before about 1820. In the 18th century, makers developed interchangeable crooks of different lengths, natural instruments are still played for period performances and some ceremonial functions, and are occasionally found in more modern scores, such as those by Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss. Keyed or Fingered brass instruments used holes along the body of the instrument and these included the cornett, serpent, ophicleide, keyed bugle and keyed trumpet. They are more difficult to play than valved instruments, Brass instruments may also be characterised by two generalizations about geometry of the bore, that is, the tubing between the mouthpiece and the flaring of the tubing into the bell. Those two generalizations are with regard to the degree of taper or conicity of the bore and the diameter of the bore with respect to its length, cylindrical bore brass instruments are generally perceived as having a brighter, more penetrating tone quality compared to conical bore brass instruments. The trumpet, baritone horn and all trombones are cylindrical bore, in particular, the slide design of the trombone necessitates this. Conical bore brass instruments are those in which tubing of constantly increasing diameter predominates, conical bore instruments are generally perceived as having a more mellow tone quality than the cylindrical bore brass instruments. The British brass band group of instruments fall into this category and this includes the flugelhorn, cornet, tenor horn, horn, euphonium and tuba
Brass Instruments
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A
trumpet, foreground, a
piccolo trumpet behind, and a
flugelhorn in background
