The flute is a woodwind instrument, but modern flutes are made of metal. It was made of wood a long time ago. It doesn't need lip vibration like brass instruments. Flute players hold it horizontally and make a sound by blowing their breath over the edge of the hole of flute's head. This makes the air vibrate. Flutes need the second most amount of air for an instrument, next to the tuba. Flautists can change the pitch by pushing buttons or changing the direction of the breath. These buttons are called keys. The breath also can change the tone or the volume. Flute has many variations of the sound. The sound of flute is high, so composers often express it as a bird. A flute matches with many instruments such as violin and piano, and is often part of an ensemble.
There are many kinds of flute, so the material also varies. Most flutes are made out of silver. Gold, platinum, wood, and aluminum are also used. The price of flute depends on the material, but there are many different playing situations, so not only expensive flutes are useful.
The oldest kind of side-blown flute was made in India.
In India, a flute called bansuri is used. It has no keys and is often made of bamboo or cane.
In China, a simple flute is used, which has no keys. The Chinese flute sometimes has a thin piece of paper over one hole, which adds a bright raspiness to the sound.
There are other kinds of flute, that are played by blowing into the end, like a recorder. Some of these are tin whistle, flageolet, tabor pipe, and ocarina.
In Japan there is a kind of flute called a "shakuhachi", which is made from the bottom of a bamboo plant. It is blown at the end, but is not like the recorder because it does not have an opening that guides the air across a hole that makes the sound.
In South America, there is a flute called a "quena" that makes its sound the same way as the "shakuhachi".
The Pan pipes are a form of flute with no holes. It has more than one pipe connected together, with the bottom closed. The player blows across the top of one of the pipes to make a note. The pipes are in different sizes, so that each one makes a different note. They are named after Pan, who played this instrument in Greek myth.
There are flutes in many cultures. The flute has been described as "a musical weed which springs up everywhere".
The band Jethro Tull was founded by a flute player (Ian Anderson). It can be heard in many songs. One of them is the hit "Locomotive Breath".
Staind
Staind is an American rock band from Massachusetts, United States. The band was started in 1994. Its first album, "Tormented" was released in 1996. Staind's newest album, "The Illusion of Progress" was released on August 19, 2008. Some of its biggest hits have been "Outside", "It's Been Awhile", and "So Far Away".
In 2013, They announced that they were going on hiatus but were not breaking up.
Ocarina
An ocarina is a kind of flute that is not made out of a tube. Because the ocarina is in a round or box-like shape, its sound is a little different from other flutes.
The ten-hole ocarina was first made by Giuseppe Donati, in Italy, in 1853. Instruments like the ocarina had been made for hundreds of years before that in South America, China, and Africa. In Europe, a form called the gemshorn was made in the 16th century. The gemshorn was made from an animal horn.
In the 19th century, groups of ocarina players, with different sized ocarinas, played classical and folk music. Italian ocarinas became known throughout the world, because of this.
In the United States the ocarina was called the sweet potato, because its shape is like a sweet potato.
In 1928, the Japanese began making ocarinas. They added two small holes to the old kind of ocarinas. Japanese 12-hole ocarinas can play a larger scale than 10-hole ocarinas.
In the 1960s, the English ocarina was invented. It has four finger holes, and may have one or two thumb holes. English ocarinas are made in many shapes.
Clarinet
The clarinet is a woodwind instrument.
The clarinet body is made up of the mouthpiece, barrel, upper joint, pads, keys, ring key, rod, lower joint, and bell. The clarinet has one reed. The reed is made of cane, bamboo or plastic, which varies in thickness. The reed is attached to the mouthpiece with a clamp called a "ligature", which is usually made out of metal. Blowing through the mouthpiece makes the reed vibrate, and therefore makes the noise. The body of the clarinet is a cylindrical tube with holes. The holes are covered by the fingers to make musical notes. There are also buttons pressed by the fingers which allow pads over holes to open or close so all notes of the chromatic scale can be played. The buttons are usually played with the "pinkie" finger.
One kind of keyed clarinet is called the Albert . Another kind is called the system. The Boehm clarinet is much used by classical orchestras and by jazz musicians. In North America and other Western countries, the most popular clarinet is the clarinet pitched in B flat. This means that if a clarinet player plays a note that is written as a C, it sounds like a B flat on a piano. The B flat clarinet is used in concert, marching, and school bands. Musicians in orchestras also play the A-clarinet (a semitone lower), the sopranino E flat clarinet (a fourth higher) and the Bass_clarinet in B flat (sounding an octave lower).
A beginner clarinet player usually can play a note within the first minutes of a lesson. Making a sound with the clarinet is easier than making a sound with many other wind instruments. Most instrumental music teachers consider it to be a good instrument for young players as soon as the lower adult teeth have grown. The fingering system is very similar to the flute and the saxophone, so changing from playing the clarinet to one of these instruments is not too difficult after the student is comfortable playing the clarinet and has reached a certain level.
A famous piece that features a clarinet is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Clarinet Concerto, which has the clarinet playing the melody with the rest of the orchestra playing along. Written in 1791, it is often considered the first great composition for the instrument.
16th century
The 16th century was the century from 1501 to 1600. In this century, many Europeans visited or moved to the newly-found Americas and some also searched for new routes to Asia. There was much change in Europe, such as the Protestant Reformation.
Note: years before or after the 16th century are in "italics".
Lute
The lute is a kind of musical instrument with strings.
The first lutes were brought to Spain by the Moors. Others may have been brought to Europe from Arabic lands. The lute is one of the ancestors of the classical guitar.
A lute has an oval-shaped back, made of strips of wood. It has a flat front, with a neck attached to it. Early lutes had four strings or eight sets of two strings. Beneath these strings, there were strings tied to the neck, where the player pressed down to make the notes. These strings were called frets.
The front part of the body is made of a flat piece of wood, and known as the sound board. It has a beautifully carved hole in the center which is called the rose.
The lute was at first played by strumming or plucking with a pick. Later they were played with the fingers alone.
During the Renaissance, bigger lutes were designed. Most lutes at this time had seven or eight sets of strings. New kinds of lutes were invented. One new kind of lute made in the Renaissance was the theorbo. Another kind was the archlute.
In European classical music the lute was changed into the harpsichord and the mandolin.
Today there are kinds of lute still being played in Greece, Turkey, and in Arabic-speaking countries. The Renaissance lute is also played today, in western countries, as well as a German lute that is played the same way as a guitar.
Independence Day (United States)