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Essays on the history of the clarinet
Essays on the history of the clarinet
Essays on the history of the clarinet
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This paper will explore the early instrument known as the chalumeau and the various types of instruments that have evolved from it. The chalumeau group of instruments were folk instruments that were played with a single reed and the chalumeau itself is most commonly known as the predecessor to the modern-day clarinet. The instrument has only eight tone-holes on its cylindrical bore. There are many other single reed instruments that resemble the chalumeau and were in existence during the same time period. I will be discussing the history of the chalumeau and its repertoire, similar instruments of the time, and the evolution from the chalumeau to the modern day clarinet. My sources will include scholarly articles from online databases, such as Oxford Music Online, as well as books written on the topic. Such sources include The Baroque Clarinet by Albert R. Rice and Some Light on the Chalumeau by Edgar Hunt. Through this paper, I hope to shed more light on not only the group of instruments in the chalumeau family, but also the people who helped to adapt and modify the chalumeau itself, and the specifics of those modifications to create what we now see as the modern day clarinet. The instrument we know as the chalumeau, sometimes referred to as the baroque clarinet, is a single reed instrument with seven holes for the fingers as well as a thumb hole on the opposite side of the instrument (Lawson). It is often described as a long pipe with a cylindrical bore similar to that of the recorder. The chalumeau came into being after many attempts to increase the amount of sound produced by the recorders of the age. Because the chalumeau had a high and low range but lacked a middle range, two more keys were later added to the instrument that a... ... middle of paper ... ...aboration, both creators of the Boehm system split off and continued to modify and improve the clarinet. Sources Albert R. The Baroque Clarinet. Oxford [England: Clarendon, 1992. Print. Colin Lawson. "Chalumeau." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press.Web. 15 Oct. 2013. Janet K. Page, et al. "Clarinet." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press.Web. 15 Oct. 2013. Karp, Cary. "The Early History of the Clarinet and Chalumeau." JSTOR. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Oct. 2013. Lawson, Colin. "The Chalumeau: Independent Voice or Poor Relation?" JSTOR. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Oct. 2013. "Musette De Cour." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Oct. 2013. Web. 24 Oct. 2013. "Single-reed Instrument." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Sept. 2013. Web. 21 Oct. 2013. "Shawm." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 25 Oct. 2013. Web. 26 Oct. 2013.
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie, 20 vols. (London: Macmillan, 1980)9: 708-709
The Native American flute is the third oldest known musical instrument in the world, with bone flutes dating back over 60,000 years. The first instrument found were drums, then varies whistle were made. Over time, the instrument evolved with many different materials and shapes. And these difference and changes reflect the culture of that time. Virtually, flutes were used all types of hardwoods and softwoods in history.
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 ...
Susskind, Pamela. "Clara Schumann." The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Ed. Stanley Sadie and George Grove. 1980. Print.
A. The Baroque Wind Band. Lipscomb University, 2007 -. Web. The Web.
It was at Ohrdruf that Bach began to learn about organ building. The Ohrdruf church's instrument was in constant need of minor repairs, and young J. S. Bach was often sent into the belly of the old organ to tighten, adjust, or replace various parts. This hands-on experience with the innards of the instrument provides a good explanation for his unequalled skill at playing the organ (p. 11, Classical Music, the Rough Guide).
Johann Sebastian Bach was born into a family of musicians. It was only natural for him to pick up an instrument and excel in it. His father taught him how to play the violin and harpsichord at a very young age. All of Bach’s uncles were professional musicians, one of them; Johann Christoph Bach introduced him to the organ. Bach hit a turning point in his life when both of his parents died at the age of ten years old. Bach’s older brother Johann Christoph Bach took him in and immediately expanded his knowledge in the world of music. He taught him how to play the clavichord and exposed him to great composers at the time. At the age of fourteen, Bach and his good friend George Erdmann were awarded a choral scholarship to the prestigious musical school St. Michael’s in Luneburg. From then on, Bach began to build his career in the music industry. His first two years at the school he sang in the school’s a cappella choir. Historical evidence has shown that Bach at a young age would visit Johanniskirche and would listen to the works of organ player Jasper Johannsen. This was thought to have been the inspiration to Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor. Studying at the prestigious musical school has help Bach network his way around and become acquaintances’ with some of the best organ players at the time such as Georg Böhm, and Johann Adam Reincken. Through his acquaintance with Böhm and Reincken Bach had access to some of the greatest and finest instruments.
The new era in plectral instruments began in Iberia, Spain in the mid 15th century with the creation of the vihuela (Bellow). The vihuela was practically a flat backed lute with six paired strings, which were most commonly plucked at the same time. Since there was no machined production at the time, many vihuelas were unique to whoever built them, the number of sound ports, shape, or neck varied. However, a majority of them had the same build and concept of a modern guitar. These were the one of the first instrument to feature...
After several stages in the evolution of the monochord, including the organistrum, the bowed monochord, the chekker, and the keyed monochord, the clavichord finally came into existence. Other early string instruments were crucial contributors to its
The clarinet is a woodwind instrament consisting of a cylindrical wood, metal, or ebonite pipe with a bell-shaped opening at one end and a mouthpiece at the other end, to which a thin reed is attached. The clarinet has five different sections, the mouthpiece, the barrel, the upper section, the lower section, and the bell. The length of the entire instrument is 60 cm long. The mouthpiece section consists of a slotted cylinder, to which a reed is attached by a metal clamp called a ligature. The mouthpiece plugs into the next section which is a barrel. The barrel is simply a connecting cylinder to which the mouthpiece and the upper section plugs into. The upper section is a cylindrical pipe consisting of 4 holes and 9 keys placed in different locations along the pipe. On the back of the pipe there is a hole and a key that is used by the thumb. The lower section plugs into the upper section and is also connected via a special bridge key. This piece consists of 3 holes and 8 keys. On the inward facing side of the pipe, there is a protruding piece of metal called a thumb rest, which supports the entire clarinet. The bell plugs into the lower section. It consists of a cylinder that flares out into a bell shape and ends the clarinet.
Giuseppe Torelli, was an Italian violinist, teacher and composer, is considered one of the early developers of the Baroque concerto and concerto grosso. Torelli also composed a significant number of works for the trumpet during the Baroque period (1600-1750). Around 1690, one can begin to see the first works for the trumpet. He was familiar with the virtuoso trumpeter, Giovanni Pellegrino Brandi. Brandi would sometimes play with the San Petronio orchestra, of which Torelli was violin player. This acquaintance could explain Torelli’s awareness of the trumpet’s timbre, dynamic range, and expressive capabilities.
Donington, R. (1982). Baroque Music Style and Performance: a Handbook. New York: Norton and Company.
There are many typs of clarinets the chalumeau,E flat clarenet,soprano clarinet,alto clarinet,bass clarinet,basenet horn,contry alto clarinet,contrabass clarinet,and piccolo clarinet. First spelled klarinette. Used orchestrally as military bands.Clarinets have the largest pitch range of common woodwinds.[7] The intricate key organization that makes this range possible can make the playability of some passages awkward. The bottom of the clarinet’s written range is defined by the keywork on each instrument, standard keywork schemes allowing a low E on the common B♭ clarinet. The lowest concert pitch depends on thetransposition of the instrument in question
In Medieval (1100 to 1450), the size of Pipe Organ’s keys is very big and people was only be able to play diatonic notes which is known as the white notes on current keyboard today. Until the mid of 15th century, the Organs were developed and allowed people to play both diatonic notes and chromatic notes (the notes is similar to the black keys of current keyboard nowadays). In the Renaissance (1450 to 1600), around in the year of 1500, It is easy for people to play these organs because the size of keys were also decreased. Moreover, at this time, in the north of Germany, Pipe Organ is stepped into a new stage because it was developed to have all the basic characteristics similar to the current ones. Until the Baroque period (1600 to 1750), it is known as a golden age of building organs, the Builders such as Jasper Johannsen, Zacharias Hildebrandt and Gottfried Silbermann are famous constructer who created beautiful sound for people. In the early in Romantic period, when the orchestra Music is in common in human lives, Pipe organs were out of having deep affection to the people, because of an appearance of reed organs which is smaller, more convenient, especially, the price of this Organs also less
The Web. The Web. 16 Feb. 2014. http://www.heri.ucla.edu/pdfs/sax_final%20report_sing_1f02b4.pdf>. Sokol, Marlene.