Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1895-08-04
ORCHESTRAL ouRIosIrIEs.
How Musicians Initiate Men, Birds
and Animals.

The orchestra attached to a theatre
which is in the habit Of playing realis-
tic drama, thus Introducing upon its
boards steam engines, ships, race
horses and similar startling novelties,
uses some very queer Instruments
whereby certain sounds necessary to
the surroundings OF the scene may be
successfully produced.
Take for instance the roaring Of a
lion. None of the ordinary brass instru-
ments Will give this effect, nor will the
low notes Of the double bass. To pro-
duce the desired sound a special instru-
ment must be used. technically known
as lion roarer' This Is a large,
trumpet-shnped instrument. usually
made Cf sheet-irou. Two thin tongues
of tin run down the middle, which
when thu instrument is blown, vihrate
and produce AN excellent counterfeit of
Hons roar
instruments which initiate the notes
of birds are to be found in most or
cheStras. A wooden tube. down The
middle OF which runs a reed, joined to
tin cup is used for initiating the
crow of "a cock. The note of a cuckoo
Is likewise produced by a reed instru-
m6nt; while some short time ago an
| ingenious piece of mechanism was
brought nut wherein the notes Of a
lark. linnet and all the tiuches OF the
grove could he Initiated to the life.
To produce the effect of horse gal
| lCping along a road several contri-
vanccs exist. one way, as simple as it
Is effective, is to take cocOanut shells,
cut in half aud strike them upon some
hard surface; but some urchcstras can
| boast of spe cially made Instruments
| for this purpose. These are wooden
| blocks cut into the shape Of a horse
0 Ia. Il. III. L..
tached, and this somewhat queer in
strument is played by striking the
shoes upon a piece Of marble or stone,
Very similar to the above are the
hollow wooden mallets used to imi-
tate n clog dance, American urches-
tras showing great partially to
these together with sand boar Is, %
whereby jig dancing is likewise coun-
terfeited.
one would have thought that the
bug pipe, with all It's horrors of dis
Cordance. might have escaped imita-
ton, Yet such is nuwise the case. A
very excellent imitation, we are in
formed, can be produced by means Of
brass horn, with gradually narrow
ing bore, the instrument being fur
nished with finger holes. and played
after the manner OF a tiagcolet
one of the most ingenious and sue
cegsful contrivances for initiating the
sound Of II pulling engine, an effect
which In the provinces invariably
brings down the house, Is as follows:
The player holds in each hand an i'm
plement somewhat like n brick, COM
posed of steel wires, and in order to
produce the puff-puff OF a locomotive
strikes n semi-cylimder of sheet-lrUn
| with each alternately. When the train
/ first starts the operator strikes slowly,
and gradually increases the pace until
when the engine is supposed to have
got up steam, he strikes the cylinder
as quickly as he can.
The noise made by the screw of a
| steamboat as well as the pulling of a
| locomotive, has also been successfully
| produced by the aid of special instru-
ment. In appearance this is something
/ like large drum, with this difference,
/ that It's two ends are Of wood the
/ rest being of parchment, holding sew
eral quarts of dried peas This is fitted
/ TO an axis upon which 1t revolves.
/ From the wooden ends project long
| pegs, and as the drum revolves, the
I peas strike against the parchment
thus giving fair imitation Of the
! sound made by the screw of steam
( boat,
As a rule, It is the gentleman in
charge of the drum, cymbals and tri-
angle to whose lot falls to opernte
| upon the above and similar orchestral
curiosities. 1t Is true that 1t does not
| require vast knowledge of music to
/ play the horse gallOper. the puff-pufr
/ or the lion rOarer. yet we are Informed
| thdt II Is necessary to practice even
/ upon these instruments before anv-
| thing approaching efficiency can be
obtained. Nor is n knowledge of the
instrument alone sufficient, for as n
| member of an orchestra once said, one
nasn' only got to know how to play