HISTORY AND ORIGINATORS OF KEYBOARD
BAROQUE PERIOD
Harpsichord (Italian cembalo; French clavecin), stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are plucked to produce sound. It was developed in Europe in the 14th or 15th century and was widely used from the 16th to the early 19th century, when it was superseded by the piano. In the 20th century the harpsichord was revived for performance of music of the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, as well as for new compositions. The incisive sound quality of the plucked metal strings adds clarity to melodic lines. The harpsichord is particularly effective in performing contrapuntal music—that is, music that consists of two or more melodies played at the same time, such as that of the German composer Johann Sebastian Bach. Construction and Mechanism The harpsichord usually has a wing-shaped body, or case, like a grand piano; however, its proportions are narrower and longer, and the case and its inner bracing are normally lighter. Harpsichords have also been built in other shapes. These include the virginal, or virginals, a small oblong instrument; the spinet, a small polygonal harpsichord; and the less common clavicytherium, an upright harpsichord. From the 16th to 19th century the terms spinet and virginal were often used interchangeably, and in England during that era any harpsichord was called a virginal. Harpsichords of any shape have the same plucking mechanism. For each string a small piece of material, or plectrum, is set in a thin slip of wood, or “jack,” which rests internally on the far end of the key. When the front of the key is depressed, the far end rises, and the plectrum plucks the string. The jack is pivoted so that, when the key returns to rest position, the plectrum slides by without striking the string. Since the volume and tone of the sound produced by the plucking mechanism remain constant regardless of the forcefulness of the keystroke, various methods have been developed to alter the harpsichord's sound. Many harpsichords have two strings for each key, with a row of jacks for each set of strings. Stops, or registers, allow the player to move unwanted sets of jacks slightly out of reach of the strings, thus making possible different volumes and combinations of tone colors. One set of strings may sound an octave above normal pitch. Some 18th-century German harpsichords had a set of strings so...
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...18th-century instruments, often incorporating the best of the 19th-century innovations. Electronic Organs Electronic and electric organs, developed in the 20th century, are not organs in the strict sense, for they do not produce sound by air vibrating in a pipe; rather, they are instruments in their own right. One kind, invented in 1935 by an American, Laurens Hammond, utilizes electrical circuits and amplifiers to produce and enlarge the sound. Another kind uses electronic devices such as vacuum tubes. Although such instruments are often designed to imitate the tone qualities of pipe organs, they are frequently criticized for a pinched or artificial-seeming sound. Electronic organs were widely used in the rock bands of the 1960s and after. In such bands, which use extensive electrical sound amplification and manipulation, the distinctive qualities of electronic-organ sound are exploited for their own sake. Reed Organs Keyboard instruments in which the wind supply is directed toward free metal reeds like those of a harmonica or accordion are called reed organs. They include the melodeon, developed in the United States about 1825, and the harmonium, developed in Germany about 1810.
Batrolomeo Cristofori brings the piano into the musical arena around 1709 in Florence, Italy. One of Cristoforis previous instruments, the harpsichord, actually brought about the idea of the piano. Cristofori wanted to develop a more dynamic instrument, because the harpsichord had such a small dynamic range. His answer to that problem was the ‘gravicembali col piano e forte,’ which meant harpsichord with soft and loud. This long name was shortened to pianoforte, and then eventually forte was dropped, and now these modern instruments are known as pianos. As the keeper of instruments in Prince Ferdinand’s court in Florence, Cristofori reinvented the harpsichord into the piano. The actual date that he created the piano is unknown, but
Next we come to a point in time where a great leap had to be made. Musicians had made positive steps forward in the way of pitch and time but of only one or two notes at a time. What was needed was an in instrument that gave players control of many pitches simultaneously. The mechanism ...
As a musician one of the most frequent questions that I receive is, “What instrument do you play?” When I answer, the look on the persons face is a face of confusion. “What’s a euphonium?” they ask. This occurs not only to me, but to every euphoniumist who is ever asked this very question. Although the word euphonium is foreign to most people, the instrument is not. The euphonium, with its beautiful rich tone is the chief tenor soloist in the military and concert band. The euphonium is a conical-bore, baritone voiced brass instrument that derives its name from the Greek word euphonos. When separated, eu means well or good, and phonos means of good sound. Therefore euphonos means well sounding. In this paper I will discuss the history of the euphonium and its use in the world of music today.
1709, Cristofori had demonstrated harpsichords built with hammer mechanisms that were capable of producing piano and forte effects. A few of these instruments even made their way into Germany the following years. Bach however, did not come into physical contact with such instruments until around 1740-a considerable length of time after the earliest pianofortes were being made. Gottfried Silbermann made the instrument that Bach came into contact with, and he was enthusiastic to receive Bach’s acclaim. Bach’s response however, was of initial disappointment: “…he spoke enthusiastically of the instrument’s tone and possibilities, but criticized its heavy touch and
<td width="50%">Baroque OrchestrasClassical OrchestrasString section and basso continuo central to the orchestra. Other instruments are occasional additions.Standard group of four sections: strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion. Different instruments treated individually.Fairly small; generally 10- 40 players.Larger than baroque; great variation to the numbers of players.Flexible use of timbres, e.g. Timpani and trumpets used generally just for festive music.Standardised sections. Most sections used regularly.Tone colour is distinctly secondary to other musical elements.Greater variety of tone colour and more rapid changes of colour. Timbre is unimportant and therefore a piece written for harpsichord could easily be rearranged for a string section.Each section of the classical orchestra has a special role. And each instrument is used distinctively.Wind instruments mainly used as solo instruments or as part of the basso continuo.The wind section had become a separate unit capable of contrast and distinct colour.The harpsichord generally plays an ostinato under the orchestra. Piano not invented.The piano introduces a third colour-tone to be contrasted with the orchestra
There are more than fifty different types of percussion instruments, possibly starting with the antique cymbals and maybe ending with the xylophone. There are many different classes of percussion instruments. For example there is Latin percussion instruments, Classic percussion instruments, and Modern percussion instruments. Most percussion instruments are played by shaking, using hands or using a mallet or stick and have stretched membranes. Percussion instruments also have been used to emphasize rhythm and to heighten climaxes.(1) The drums are part of the percussion instruments and is one of the world’s oldest instruments. An instrument, that is the only orchestral drums of definite pitch, is the timpani, which is also called the kettledrums.(4)
The Use of Electronic Technology in 20th and 21st Century Music In this essay, I have examined the use of electronic technology within 20th and 21st Century music. This has involved analysis of the development and continuing refinement of the computer in today’s music industry, as well as the theory of the synthesiser and the various pioneers of electronic technology, including Dr. Robert Moog and Les Paul. Also within the essay, I have discussed the increasing use of computers in the recording studio. The computer has become an indispensable tool in ensuring that both recording and playback sound quality is kept at the maximum possible level. Many positive ideas have come from the continued onslaught of computerisation.
The major classes of musical instruments used in the High and Late Renaissance include plucked strings, bowed strings, brass, double reeds, other winds, keyboards, and percussions (McGee, 1985). Lutes, drums, and trumpets were often used, but the instruments that were especially popular during the Renaissance include the bass viol, treble viol, viola, violin, tenor sackbut, cornetto, bass sackbut, curtal, tenor shawm, bass recorder, and harpsichord (McGee, 1985).
What impact have typewriters had on today’s office technology? Who was impacted by the invention of the typewriter and how did typewriters help? If you want to know the answer to those questions, you're reading the right paper. Typewriters are very important devices that gave a lot of people choices. Typewriters changed the world of computer technology and office technology to what the people have today, and this impacted tons of people. Typewriters gave many people jobs and opportunities to express their thoughts in writing. The typewriter made lives easier for many people because, in the years before the typewriter, people had to write everything by hand, and that was not an
The electric guitar has changed our music since it was first introduced in the 1930’s. In the late 1930’s, the electric guitar was used for jazz then merged into a big band format. During the 1950’s and 1960’s, the electric guitar was one of the most important instruments in pop music. Nowadays electric guitars are used for Jazz and pop, and other genres like rock, heavy metal, blues, and country. This instrument has made a huge impact on our music since its invention in 1931. No one knows who invented the first electric guitar, but Adolph Rickenbacker was one of the most likely inventors of the electric guitar.
If you ask people to name one of the most important technologies of the twentieth century, one of the answers would most certainly be the computer. A computer, however, is not a technology all to itself. Many other technologies went into the modern home computers of today, including the mouse. Douglas C. Engelbart, a worker at the SRI (Stanford Research Institute), invented the mouse in 1964. However, the process of the invention of the mouse was not instantaneous and without effect on the realm of computing and society. In this paper I will be examining the problems that had to be overcome and the technologies that had to be invented for the mouse to become a reality. It also analyzes the impacts it has had on society and the computer industry.
Participants’ mean errors for the drag-and-drop and the keyboard were 7.06% (SD: 6.42%) and 1.81% (SD: 1.60%), respectively. This represents a 64.2% reduction in errors with the keyboard. There was a convincing statistical evidence for an effect of the input method on errors (t(15) = 3.5564, p<.01). Figure 5 summarizes the TLX questionnaire results.
Music has shaped the lives of people throughout history. Even in its earliest forms, music has included use of instruments. One of the oldest musical instruments known is a variation of the flute; the original flute is thought to date back nearly 67,000 years ago. Tonight we are going to move throughout the eras with a history of instrumental music. This concert will begin with the Renaissance Era and continue through time until we have reached modern instrumental music.
Many people do not often realize what the most revolutionizing and most important instrument is. In fact, this instrument can be found in every style of music in some way, shape or form. The one instrument that fits this criteria is the drum. According to the Harvard Dictionary of Music, a drum is a generic name for instruments that consists of skin stretched over a frame or vessel and struck with either hands or sticks. Drums are membranous. In other words, a drum has something inside of it, or a "membrane," that gives it its sound (Apel 247). There are many different types of drums, and each drum has its own place in different styles of music. For example, a tympani drum, also referred to as a kettle drum, is mainly found in classical styles of music,
I personally have always enjoyed the different and unique sounds of the instruments that the musicians in rock & roll bands could make using the synthesizer, their electric guitars, th...