Instruments have been in action for a very long time. Obviously, not in the same style as today’s instruments, but still with the same goal, to create music.
In an orchestra, all the instruments are separated in groups. There are four main families (groups). These are the string, the brass, the percussion and the wood-wind families. In the pages to come, we shall discuss them in more detail.
The String Family
The string family is made up of instruments that are plucked or are even drawn with a bow. Some common instruments in the string family are the violin, viola, cello, double bass, guitar, harp and electric bass. In the orchestra, one will always find the violin, viola, cello and the double bass. The first forms of violins were found in Italy, in the sixteenth century. The violins name, at that time, was ‘violas da braccio’, to distinguish it from the cello (violoncello) and the double bass. The violin is used for orchestral, country and folk music. But for country and folk music, the violin is called a fiddle. The viola is used for orchestral music mainly, while the cello and the double bass are used for orchestral and even for jazz music. The harp is usually and accompaniment to other instruments. Sometimes, if the composer of a piece of music wishes to include a harp, the harp will join the orchestra. The guitar is for classical guitar, but mainly, it is used for rock.
The Percussion Family
A percussion instrument is an instrument that is mainly played by being struck or by being scraped. These instruments are considered to be one of the oldest types of instruments. In an orchestra, the percussion section is made up of the timpani, the snare drum, the bass drum, the cymbals, the triangle and the tambourine. The percussi...
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...ments use a slide to change the length of tubing. The main instruments of this family are the trombones. These are mainly used in jazz. The natural brass instruments are played by notes in the instruments harmonic series. The only three instruments that use the natural are the bugle, the horns and the trumpets. The keyed or fingered brass instruments have holes through their body which would be covered by the fingers or by finger operated keys. These include the Cornett, serpent, ophicleide, the keyed bugle and the keyed trumpet. They are more difficult to play than the valved instruments.
The Woodwind Family
To begin with, there are two types of woodwind instruments. The flutes and the reed instruments. The differences is from the way they produce their sound. The flutes produce sound by directing a focused stream of air into the of a hole in a cylindrical tube
Though the formation of our modern-day Concert Band does not date back quite as far as our modern-day Wind Ensemble, the extent of events, groups, composers, and advancements is quite similar. The evolution of the Concert Band dates back to the French Revolution. Large bands, full of unique instruments and amateur musicians, were required to play at festivals and ceremonies. Similar to the evolution of the Wind Ensemble, the Concert Band is derived from military purposes. Instruments, such as the trumpets, horns, and drums, were often used for signaling. In contrast to Wind Ensemble musicians, these Concert Band musicians never played their instruments for military enjoyment. The Concert Band musicians primarily played instruments to signal to the guards and villages. There were a few unique instruments, however, that were desired to play a military tune. These instruments include instruments such as a flute or bagpipe. Throughout the Middle Ages, this difference in military preference led to different job opportunities. For example, a cavalry company required trumpets, horns, and trumpets. On the other hand, foot soldiers would hire flute and bagpipe
Woodwinds (clarinet, oboe, bassoon, etc.) are different from piano in that they require wind (created by the player) to create a tone (using a reed or reeds to create the vibrations needed for sound). In addition to using different techniques to make the reeds vibrate in different ways, the player also changes the tone (creates the notes) by pressing and releasing (using their fingers) keys that are attached along the length of the instrument, or by covering up, then opening, various holes on the instrument.
Before the pianoforte was brought into existence, the keyboard instrument of the orchestra was the harpsichord. The timbre of the harpsichord was much different than that of the pianoforte, this being primarily because of the harpsichord’s strings being plucked, whereas the piano’s strings
The orchestration comprises of a standard set of instruments, including two flutes, two clarinets, two oboes, two bassoons, two trumpets, three trombones, four horns, timpani, bass drum, cymbals and strings. An additional instrument is the tuba (Chung 22). Moreover, it appears that the piano is not the only soloist; rather other instruments such as flutes, clarinets and horns make minor appearances for similar purposes.
Percussion has evolved from a small category to a wide variety of simple and technical instruments. Percussion is a category of musical instruments that is played using the hands or with a handheld stick/beater. Percussion started thousands of years ago when people played rhythms on random objects to please their friends and scare their enemy’s. People over the years discovered different ways to hit the objects.
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 first instrument with strings meant for hitting was the dulcimer. It was trapezoidal in shape and was played with two padded hammers. It is still played today in folk music. The hurdy-gurdy, or the organistrum, was the earliest stringed instrument with a keyboard. It was created in the tenth ce...
Instruments used in band have not always been the way they are today. Each instrument has evolved and changed overtime to become the way we know them today. Several common instruments in band like the clarinet and snare drum have very different histories and ways they came to be. The clarinet is actually considered a newer instrument compared
On the front lines of battle would be a soldier that would be holding a drum or a flute. When this was a common act the instruments would be spread around to different cultures after a battle. This brought on a new way of looking at music. Around the 16th century people started to collect instead of play music.
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.
violas, 8 to 10 cellos, and 6 to 10 string basses. The violinists are divided
After years, instruments started looking more and more like the guitar. The first instrument that started to look like the guitar was around in the 1200s-1300s. It was found in Mediterranean Europe. Sources refer to this as this as the guitarra latina. Two of the earliest forms after the guitarra latina are the lute and the vihuela. The lute is a small instrument that is shaped somewhat like a pair. It had twelve strings and a very short neck. The vihuela is shaped more like a guitar. It is larger and also has twelve strings (Chapman).
The clarinet belongs to the woodwind family and the aerophone category. This is because you blow air through the instrument and it is usually made out of wood. To make sound, you moisten a single reed, usually made out of bamboo. The reed is attached to the mouthpiece which is made of hard rubber or plastic. After having the right embouchure, you blow air through it to make the reed vibrate. To play the clarinet, you must have your left hand over your right. There are, on average, seventeen or eighteen keys and holes to hold on release to make the beautiful sound of a
There are so many different kinds of music, and thanks to the variety of instruments the combinations of sounds that we can make are limitless. Before we look at musical instruments we have to look at music itself. We need to know what it is made of and learn some basic terms.
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,