The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-07-25
INITIATIVE STAGE SOUNDS.
some of the Various Contrivances
Used for Producing Them.
FROM Pearson's Weekly.

4
The orchestral attached TO a theater
which Is in the habit OF playing realistic
drama, thus introducing upon its boards
steam engines, ships, race horses, and
similar startling novelties. uses some very
queer instruments, whereby the scene
may be successfully produced.
Take. for instances the roaring Of a hon.
None of the ordinary brass instruments
will give this effect. To produce the de-
sired sound a special apparatus must be
used, technically known as a 'non-roar-
err" This is large, trumpet-shaped in
strument, usually made Of sheet iron. Two
thin tongues OF tin run down the middle,
which, when the instrument is blown, vi
brate and produce an excellent counterfeit
of a Hon roar
Instruments which initiate the notes of
birds are to be found in most orchestras
A wooden tube, down the middle OF which
runs 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 instrument; while some short time
ago an ingenious piece of mechanism was
brought out, whereon the notes of lark,
llnnet and the fincheS could be Initiated to
To produce the effect of horse gal
Looping along road several contriVances
exist. One way, as simple as 1t is effect
and strike them upon some hard surface;
but some orcheStras can boast Of spec
tally made instruments for this purpose,
These are wooden blocks cut into the
shape of a horses hoof, to which real
horseshoes are attached, and this some
what queer contrivance is played by strik-
ing the shoes upon piece Of marble or
stone.
one would have thought that the bag
pipe with all its horrors Of discordance,
might have escaped imitation. Yet such
| is nOwise the case. A very excellent tmi-
tation, we are informed, can be produced
by means of a brass horn with a gradu-
ally narrowing bore, the instrument be-
ing furnished with finger holes and played
after the manner Of q fageolet.
One of tho most ingenious and success
ful contrivances for Initiating the sound
of a putting engine, an effect which, in
the provinces. invariably brings down the
house, Is as follows: The player holds in
each hand an implement somewhat like a
brick composed of steel wires, and IN or
der to produce the puh-puff of a locOmo-
tive strikes q. seni-cyclinder of sheet iron
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 tho cylinder as
quickly as he can.
The Noise made by the screw of a
steamboat, as wen as the putting Of 10
connective, has also been successfully pro-
dueed by the aid OF a special instrument
In appearance this is something like a.
large drum, with this difference that its
two ends are of wood, the rest being Of
parchment, holding several quarts of dried
peas. This IS fitted to an axis upon which
II revolves. From the wooden ends pro-
tect long pegs, and as the drum revolves
the peas strike against the parchment
thus giving a fair imitation of the sound
made by the screw OF a steamboat.
AS a rule, It is the gentleman In charge
OF the drum, cynbals, and triangle to
whose lot it falls TO operate upon the
above and similar orchestral curiosities
1t is true that it does not require a vast
knowledge of music to play the horse
gaJloper the puff-puff, or the lion~roarer
yet we are informed that 1t is necessary
to practise even upon these instruments
before anything approaching efficiency
can be attained. Nor is knowledge Of
the instruments alone SUFFICIENT, for one
has not only got to know how, but when
TO play them, SUES,