sackbut | French musical instrument | Britannica.com French musical instrument See Article History Alternative Title: tenor trombone Sackbut, (from Old French saqueboute: “pull-push”), early trombone , invented in the 15th century, probably in Burgundy. It has thicker walls than the modern trombone, imparting a softer tone, and its bell is narrower. Sackbuts. Multimann The sackbut answered the need for a lower-pitched trumpet that composers of the time sought. Its telescoping slide mechanism is retained in the modern trombone. Learn More in these related articles: Corrections? Updates? Help us improve this article! Contact our editors with your feedback. MEDIA FOR: You have successfully emailed this. Error when sending the email. Try again later. Edit Mode Submit Tips For Editing We welcome suggested improvements to any of our articles. You can make it easier for us to review and, hopefully, publish your contribution by keeping a few points in mind. Encyclopædia Britannica articles are written in a neutral objective tone for a general audience. You may find it helpful to search within the site to see how similar or related subjects are covered.

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Close Date Published: July 20, 1998 URL: Access Date: January 18, 2017 Share The Sacbut The Sacbut or here for same in mp3 format However, for the lowest contratenor parts, and often for any contratenor part, to the shawm players one adds brass players who play very harmoniously, upon the kind of tuba which is called ..trompone in Italy and sacqueboute in France. When all these instruments are employed together, it is called the loud music. Tinctoris, circa 1487 ein feste burg - three settings by Walther (3rd setting at 1:43 includes sacbut) Aridan Branle - dance tune (includes sacbut on third verse) Many names have been given to the Renaissance trombone, including sackbut (literally "push-pull"), saqueboute, shakbusshes, seykebuds, sakbuds, shakebuttes, shagbutts, and even shagbolts. It is uncertain when the sackbut first appeared, but by 1500 it is illustrated and mentioned regularly.

Detailed information about the instrument is given by Praetorius, who also pictures four principal sizes: the alto, tenor, bass, and great bass. The tenor sackbut is the most useful size and it is this instrument which has evolved into the modern tenor trombone. In the early seventeenth century the sackbut was considered an instrument of the virtuoso performer. Praetorius mentions an Erhardus Borussus of Dresden who had a range of nearly four octaves (low A1 to g2) and was able to execute rapid coloraturas and jumps on his instrument just as is done on the viola bastarda and the cornett. For outdoor music the top part of a sackbut ensemble was usually taken by a shawm, and for church music, by a cornett. The sackbut player should imitate the sound of the cornett, not the trumpet. Thus today's marching band trombone blasts have no place in the performance of early music. In spite of the instrument's wide range of dynamic and chromatic compass, and its ability to be played "in tune" (by slide adjustment), the sackbut did not become a regular member of the orchestra until the early nineteenth century.

The sackbut differs from today's trombone by its smaller bore, its bell which is less flared, and in the lack of a water key, slide lock, and tuning slide on the bell curve. Sackbuts could adjust tuning at the joint between the bell and slide. The shallow brass mouthpiece was unplated. Decorated outer slide braces could telescope slightly to follow the imperfections of the inner slide. Leather pieces cushioned the slide when brought up to first postion. Since the human arm couldn't reach the longest positions on the bass and great bass sackbuts, they have an articulated handle on the slide to extend the reach. Sackbut | Define Sackbut at Dictionary.com sackbut a medieval form of the trombone. 2. Bible. an ancient stringed musical instrument. Dan. 3.

Origin of sackbut Middle French 1495-1505 1495-1505; < Middle French saquebute, earlier saqueboute, saquebot(t)e orig., a kind of hooked lance, apparently with saque (it) pulls (see saccade ); identity of 2nd element uncertain Dictionary.com Unabridged Examples from the Web for sackbut Expand Certain Personal Matters H. G. Wells British Dictionary definitions for sackbut Expand a medieval form of trombone Word Origin C16: from French saqueboute, from Old French saquer to pull + bouter to push; see butt³: used in the Bible (Daniel 3) as a mistranslation of Aramaic sabb'ka stringed instrument Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd.

1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 Word Origin and History for sackbut Expand n. medieval wind instrument, c.1500, from French saquebute, a bass trumpet with a slide like a trombone; presumably identical with Old North French saqueboute (14c.), "a lance with an iron hook for pulling down mounted men," said to be from Old North French saquier "to pull, draw" + bouter "to thrust," from Germanic *buton (see butt (v.)). Originally in English with many variant spellings, including sagbutt, shakbott, shagbush. In Dan. iii:5, used wrongly to translate Aramaic sabbekha, name of a stringed instrument (translated correctly in Septuagint as sambuke, and in Vulgate as sambuca, both names of stringed instruments, and probably ultimately cognate with the Aramaic word).

The error began with Coverdale (1535), who evidently thought it was a wind instrument and rendered it with shawm ; the Geneva translators, evidently following Coverdale, chose sackbut because it sounded like the original Aramaic word, and this was followed in KJV and Revised versions. Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper sackbut in the Bible Expand (Chald. sabkha; Gr. sambuke), a Syrian stringed instrument resembling a harp (Dan. 3:5, 7, 10, 15); not the modern sackbut, which is a wind instrument. Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary Baroque-Music.com | Instruments | Sackbut Instruments Sackbut Brass Instrument Musical instrument, the immediate predecessor of the modern trombone, made of thin, hammered metal, with a shallow, flat mouthpiece and a narrow, nonflaring bell. The instrument produced a soft sound that complemented the harpsichord, voice, viol, lute, recorder, and cornett.

The English name sackbut (along with its French and Spanish cognates) was used from the mid-15th century until the 18th century, when the Italian term trombone came into general use. The sackbut was made in at least four sizes, from soprano to bass. It probably evolved as a lower-pitched version of the Renaissance slide trumpet, which first appeared at the ducal court of Burgundy in the 15th century. Like the trombone, the sackbut featured a predominantly cylindrical bore, narrower than that of the trombone, and a telescopic slide to alter the pitch by increasing or decreasing the length of the tube. Also like the trombone, the sackbut was constructed in three sections: the mouthpiece; the slide joint, an assembly consisting of two parallel and stationary tubes attached by a crossbar, or stay, and covered by a long, U-shaped sleeve (the telescopic slide tube), itself supported with a stay; and the bell joint, a U-shaped tube terminating at the bell. The mouthpiece was inserted into one end of the slide joint, and the bell joint was inserted into the other.

The bell joint could be fitted with crooks to change the pitch, and the slide joint often had a hinged handle attached to the stay that enabled the player to slide it further than the length of the arm. The pitch was lowered as the player extended the slide away from the mouthpiece. Read more on Wikipedia . sackbut - definition and meaning sackbut from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition n. A medieval instrument resembling the trombone. from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License n. A brass instrument from the Renaissance and Baroque Eras, and an ancestor of the modern trombone. It was derived from the medieval slide trumpet. from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English n. A brass wind instrument, like a bass trumpet, so contrived that it can be lengthened or shortened according to the tone required; -- said to be the same as the trombone. from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia n. A medieval musical instrument of the trumpet family, having a long bent tube with a movable slide so that the vibrating column of air could be varied in length and the pitch of the tone changed, as in the modern trombone.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. n. a medieval musical instrument resembling a trombone Etymologies from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition French saquebute, from Old French saqueboute : Old North French saquier, to pull; see saccade + Old French bouter, to push (of Germanic origin; see bhau- in Indo-European roots). from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License Middle French sacquer ("to push") + bouter ("to pull") Examples A sackbut is a brass horn that looks alot like a trombone with a slightly smaller bell, and a shawm is a double reed instrument that is a predecessor to the oboe. Sackbut - definition of sackbut by The Free Dictionary Sackbut - definition of sackbut by The Free Dictionary Also found in: Thesaurus , Encyclopedia , Wikipedia . sack·but n. A medieval instrument resembling the trombone.

[French saquebute, from Old French saqueboute : Old North French saquier, to pull; see saccade + Old French bouter, to push (of Germanic origin; see bhau- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots).] sackbut n (Instruments) a medieval form of trombone. Also called: sacbut or sagbut [C16: from French saqueboute, from Old French saquer to pull + bouter to push; see butt3: used in the Bible (Daniel 3) as a mistranslation of Aramaic sabb'ka stringed instrument] sack•but Sackbut - Encyclopedia Sackbut GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES SACKBUT, SHAKBUSSHE, SAGBUT, Draw or DrawING TRUMPET (Scotland, draucht trumpet) Or Flat Trumpet (Fr. saquebute, saqueboute, cacbouc, trompette harmonique; Ger. Posaune, Busaun, Pusin, Zug-Trommet; Ital. tromba da tirarsi. or tromba spezzata; Span.

sacabuche; Dutch bazuin Schuijftrompette), the earliest form of slide trumpet, which afterwards developed into the trombone. As soon as the effect of the slide in lengthening the main tube and therefore proportionally deepening the pitch of the instrument was understood, and its capabilities had been fully realized, the development of a family of powerful tenor and bass instruments followed as a matter of course. It is not known exactly in what country the principle of the slide was first discovered and applied to musical instruments; if it be not an Oriental device, then the credit is probably due to the Netherlands or to South Germany before or during the 13th century. The early history of the sackbut is among the most interesting of all instruments. Various attempts have been made to fix the etymology of the word as derived from Span. sacabuche through French. The Rev. F. W. Galpin 1 suggests a derivation from sacar, to draw out, and buche, identical with bucha (Lat. buxus), used in the sense of a tube or pipe originally of boxwood.

To accept this etymology would be to lose sight of the fact that all the technical names applied to the sackbut in various languages directly acknowledge its descent from the buccina, with the exception of Italian, in which the recognition is indirectly made through the synonym tromba. A clue to the etymology of sacabuche is afforded by the well-known fact that not only did the Arabs after the conquest introduce oriental musical instruments by way of Spain to western Europe, but the Arabic names also clung to the instruments in many cases. The Arabs had a military trumpet they called Buk or Buque, a word they had borrowed from the Christians, 2 and it is mentioned in a musical treatise of the 14th century (Escorial MS. 69) among the musical instruments then in use in Spain. It has been claimed on philological grounds that England derived her knowledge of the sackbut from France, but the oldest known form of the word in English is shakbusshe, which occurs in the accounts of Henry VII. 1 "The Sackbut, its Evolution and History," in Proc. Mus. Assoc. London (1906-1907). 1907). 2 See Edw. W.

Lane, Arabic-English Lexicon (London, 1863), bk. i. pt. i. p. 276. for the 3rd of May 1495,1 and is obviously of Spanish origin. Sackbut appears early in the 16th century, The word sacabuche was at some time applied in Spain to the ship's pump; and the questions naturally arise, Which came first, and Was the musical instrument named after the pump from the great resemblance in their respective actions as well as in outward form? 2 It is certainly significant that the Ital. tromba, from which sprang "trumpet" and "trombone," means a pump as well as a trumpet and the trunk of an elephant. Even if it could be proved beyond doubt that the slide had been applied to the trumpet before the word tromba was used for it, there would still remain several difficulties to be disposed of. (I) The word trumba, trumbin, trompe, already general in the romances of the 12th and 13th centuries, was at first applied to the tubas and curved horns, probably from the similar curve of the elephant's trunk.

(2) If tromba referred to the pump, it must have been applied to the slide trumpet, and tromba da tirarsi for "sackbut" is senseless tautology. (3) The etymology given above from buk or buque, trumpet, supported by similarly compounded words in English, Scotch, Dutch, Italian, would have to be regarded as a strange but pot unparalleled philological coincidence. The earliest instance yet discovered of the use of sacabuche as a musical instrument seems to be in the 14th century.' The transformation of the busine (buccina) into the sackbut involved two or three processes, the addition of the slide being accomplished in at least two stages. It was applied first to the straight busine made in three or four sections having rings or knobs at the joints. The sliding portions or joints here doubtless served much as in our modern wood wind instruments for tuning purposes or for changing the key. The long slide, added for the purpose of obtaining a diatonic compass, denoted a further step in the evolution.

When applied to the straight busine it differed materially from the slide of the sackbut or trombone, for the normal position of the instrument was with the slide fully drawn out, so that the knobs were equidistant; on the slide being gradually closed the pitch was proportionally raised in order to fill in the gaps of the first fifth by new fundamentals, upon each of which the harmonic series would be obtainable. An example of this early use of the slide is to be found in a miniature from a psalterium executed in the south of France during the 13th century, now preserved in the library of the university of Munich (MS. 24, 4to fol. 96b). Here (fig. 1) the performer is represented playing on a busine in which two of the knobs or rings denoting the joints or sections are shown. touching each other. The hand is grasping the instrument just under the lower ring in the act of pushing it up to close the slide, as is indicated by the position of the wrist. This is the earliest indication of the existence of the slide yet found by the writer, and the instrument, although straight, is one of the earliest sackbuts.

The manipulation of the slide on the long straight busine must have been exceedingly difficult, requiring not only skill, but a long arm. This led to the next step in the evolution, i.e. the bending of the tube in three parallel branches like a flattened S, an example of which, also of the 13th century, is found on some carved woodwork from the abbey of Cluny., The folding of the busine marks the advent of the new double slide, like a u, made to draw out and lower the pitch. This radical change did not come all at once, the intermediate step being the folding of the busine, with the old single slide, the whole S being drawn up and down, as the slide closed and opened again. This interesting development is shown (fig. 2) in a miniature by Taddeo Crivelli in the Borso Bible s (1450-1471). The two upper joints defined by rings are clearly drawn of larger calibre than the lower folded portion, which has been drawn out to what would approximately correspond to the third position on the trombone lowering the pitch one tone.

A single slide would require to be extended about twice the distance of the double or folded tube on the trombone to produce any given effect. This drawing of the sackbut must not be taken as showing the instrument in use in Crivelli's day; it is clearly retrospective, for sackbuts in a more advanced stage are not uncommon in works of art of the same century. In a MS.' preserved in the library of the Arsenal in Paris, executed for the dukes of Burgundy in the middle of the 15th century, is seen a trumpet of 1 See W. H. Black, Sir N. H. Nicolas, etc., Excerpta historica (London, 1833), p. 102. This question has been thoroughly investigated by the late Professor George Case in his work on the trombone. See Felipe Pedrell, Organographia musical. antigua espanola, p. 116. Illustration in Du Sommerard, Les Arts au moyen age, Atlas, pl. i. ch. xii. b See Hermann Julius Hermann, "Zur Gesch. d. Miniaturmalerei am Hofe der Este in Ferrara," in Jahrb. d.

Kunstsamml. d. allerhachsten Kaiserhauses (Vienna, 1900), bd. xxi. pl. xiii. s Illustration in Du Sommerard, op. cit., album, 4 e serie, pl. xvii. the cavalry type with a single straight slide drawn out so far that the bell rests on the performer's foot (fig. 3). The last transition immediately preceding the change into the trombone consisted in folding the tube to form two U-shaped bends, one of which pointed downwards and the other over the shoulder, reaching to the level of the back of the head; the third branch was bent over between the other two, but in a plane almost at right angles above them, the bell extending downwards beyond the first bend. Sackbuts of this type are to be seen in Dti rer's picture in the Nuremberg town hall, and in others by artists of the 15th century, as, for instance, in Gentile Bellini's Processione in piazza S. Marco among the band to the right of the picture. The further history and development of the sackbut are given. under TROMBONE.

See also TRUMPET and BUCCINA. (K. S.) - Please bookmark this page (add it to your favorites). - If you wish to link to this page, you can do so by referring to the URL address below this line. Copyright © 1995-2011 ITA all rights reserved. Encyclopedia Alphabetically Early music Instruments Typical instruments by musical era Medieval (476 ï¿½ 1400) Bagpipe, Citole, Dulcimer, Fiddle (Vielle), Flute, Gemshorn, Gittern, Harp, Hurdy-gurdy, Lute, Lyre, Mandora, Organ, Percussion, Pipe & tabor, Psaltery, Rebec, Recorder, Shawm, Trumpet. Very few specimens of instruments have survived from the Middle Ages, so most of our information has to come mostly from iconography (the study of depictions in painting and sculpture), from theoretical discussions, and from relating those things to surviving music that seems to be intended for instruments. Unfortunately, not many medieval writers condescend to give much practical information concerning instruments.

One of the earliest writers to do so is Johannes de Grocheo who was working, probably in Paris, around the year l300. He divides instruments into two types according to their means of sound production: those that use wind or breath, and those that use percussion (including, surprisingly to us, string instruments). Later Medieval musicians began to observe a distinction between loud and soft types of instruments (haut and bas is the usual French terminology) and mixed ensembles were made up entirely of instruments of one kind or the other, depending on whether loud or soft music was desired. All of the string instruments, naturally, fall into the soft category and many of the wind instruments do, as well, so it was possible to have combinations of wind and string instruments. In particular, at least one medieval writer mentions the joining of the flute and the fiddle. Medieval Woodwind Instruments As with recorders, there are virtually no surviving woodwind instruments from prior to the sixteenth century; modern makers have been most ingenious in creating medieval instruments by extrapolating backwards from later renaissance instruments, incorporating European and folk instrument influences, and using depictions of instruments in paintings and wood and stone carvings as a point of departure.

Whether windcap instruments per se existed in this period is debatable, although bladderpipes and bagpipes were clearly quite common. Windcap instruments probably originated as detached bagpipe chanters. Pictorial sources show what is possibly a windcapped instrument with a flaring bell played by rustic types. This so-called shepherd's shawm was recreated by the late Gï¿½nter Kï¿½rber in four sizes; although largely conjectural, it provided a missing link between the bagpipe chanter and the renaissance families of windcap instruments. Medieval String Instruments The music of the late middle ages requires a great variety of bowed and plucked string instruments, among them rebecs, vielles (fiedels), psalteries, hurdy-gurdies, etc. Their distinctive tone qualities provide an essential ingredient of the medieval instrumentarium.

Renaissance (1400-1600) Bassoon, Broken consort (or English Consort), Cittern, Clavichord, Cornamuse, Cornetto (zink), Crumhorn (Cromorne), Curtal (dulcian), Dulce Melos, Flute (transverse), Flute (one handed flute), Harpsichord (and Virginals), Kettledrums, Lira da gamba (lirone), Lute, Organs (big ones), Pommers, Rankets, Rauschpfeifen, Recorder, Recorder consorts, Regals (small reed organs), Sackbut, Schryary, Shawms (Bombardes), Sordone, Spinets, Tabor and pipe, Trombone, Trumpet, Viol, Violin. The writings of Michael Praetorius is always the point of departure to study the rich palette of colours available to the Renaissance instrumentalist. Praetorius published his book about instruments in l6l8 in Wolfenbï¿½ttel, in northern Germany, as the second volume of a three-volume encyclopaedia entitled Syntagma Musicum.

And while this might seem late for a work about Renaissance instruments, the described instruments are the same ones which were in use throughout much of the l6th century. Praetorius makes it clear that single-line instrumentsï¿½those which play only one note at a timeï¿½were normally played in consorts, or groups of instruments of the same type in a wide range of sizes. This represents a change in taste from the late Medieval period when ensembles of different types of instruments seem to have been preferred. The change is no doubt because of the contrapuntal nature of much Renaissance music in which each part is of equal importance and therefore most properly rendered as part of a homogeneous texture. Early in the Renaissance, the standard ensemble had a three-voice texture, increasing to five or six by the end of the 16th century. The Renaissance also saw the beginnings of a substantial and virtuosic solo repertoire for keyboards instruments, lutes, and so on.

Renaissance Brass instruments The history of brass instruments prior to the sixteenth century is largely a matter of conjecture; it is clear that trumpets have existed since ancient times and that trumpets and some primitive slide trumpets, the predecessors of the trombone family, were used during the late middle ages. The later sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries saw the development of an entire family of trombones or sackbutts. The most common four-part ensemble consisted of an alto, two tenors, and a bass, much as did the flute family; the soprano sackbutt was a later addition, and it seems clear that the treble cornett was greatly preferred to the soprano sackbutt, providing as it did better tone quality and technical facility. While some writers have asserted that renaissance trombones had wider bores and later instruments had narrower bores, an examination of surviving instruments has shown that both wide and narrow bore instruments, particularly tenor sizes, existed in this period; moreover, both flat and rounded slide braces were found on renaissance sackbutts as well. The distinguishing characteristic of renaissance trombones and trumpets was the construction of the bell branch, which had a longer and less-pronounced taper terminating in a smaller, thicker bell.

This gave the instrument a warmer, more covered, vocal, blending quality which made the instrument, like the cornetts and the bass dulcian, highly useful in both choral and purely instrumental contexts. Renaissance Woodwind Instruments In the sixteenth century, instrument makers developed large families of wind instruments from the sparser medieval instrumentarium; most instruments were made in four to eight different sizes and pitches. The taste of the period dictated the performance of music on contrasting choirs of like instruments, as well as in the mixed ensembles more common in the middle ages and in later periods. The palette of wind instrument colors was far more extensive in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries than at any other time in music history. Transverse flutes, of straight cylindrical bore with six open tone holes, were commonly used in alto, tenor, and bass sizes, although most modern makers provide a soprano size as well. Their simple, open sound contrasts well with renaissance recorder tone as well as with the many reed instruments.

Exposed double reed instruments were of two families, the shawms (oboes) and the dulcians or curtals (bassoons); both families existed in four to six sizes, although the greatbass and contrabass sizes were extremely rare then as now. Renaissance shawms were larger in bore and fuller in tone than their medieval predecessors; the earlier soprano instruments (schalmei) were simple unkeyed instruments, whereas the more refined soprano shawm with keywork did not appear until the turn of the seventeenth century. The soprano through tenor sizes were played either with or without a pirouette, the small cup of wood surrounding the reed which, contrary to popular belief, was used not to play the instrument with a freely-vibrating reed but rather to support the instrument against the lips and teeth while marching and protect the reed and player from mishap. The bass shawm, too large for marching use, was never supplied with a pirouette. Alto and tenor instruments were made in two models, the shorter one having only a single key and the longer one having three additional keys which extended the range an additional fourth below.

Bass and larger shawms invariably had the extended lower range. The dulcian or bassoon family was created in the second quarter of the sixteenth century. The wider bore of these instruments was doubled back upon itself, making the larger sizes considerably more portable and manageable. The most common size was the bass or Chorist Fagott, which served as the lowest voice in a dulcian or mixed wind consort, supported the pitch in church choirs when an organ was not available, and even developed a virtuoso solo literature of its own in the early seventeenth century. Next to a set of renaissance recorders, a bass dulcian is perhaps the single most useful instrument in the renaissance instrumentarium. The tenor size was somewhat less common, and the soprano and alto sizes seem to have been used only in Spain, to support the upper voices in cathedral choirs. Dulcians were made either with open or closed bells, the former being louder and brighter, the latter more covered and mellow.

Perhaps the most distinctive wind instruments of the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries are the several families of windcap instruments, in which the tone is produced by a freely vibrating double reed inside a hollow chamber at the top of the instrument. The most common of these was the krummhorn family, instruments of narrow cylindrical bore with a characteristic J-shape, producing a bright, buzzy tone quality; these instruments are relatively easy to play, but are incapable of dynamic variation and, because they cannot overblow, have a limited range of a ninth to an eleventh. The larger sizes are sometimes equipped with sliders, small brass keys on the bell curve which may be set to close additional holes and make possible two or three additional low notes. Closely related to the krummhorns are the cornamuses, which lack the picturesque bend of the krummhorn and have a perforated wooden sleeve at the lower end to dampen the sound; they are therefore somewhat softer than krummhorns but have the same range.

The kortholts have a doubled back bore, similar to the dulcian family but narrow and cylindrical rather than larger and conical, and are therefore shorter in physical length but longer acoustically, allowing a lower range extension of four or five notes below the corresponding size of krummhorn or cornamuse. The members of the rackett family, which have semi-exposed reeds in a pirouette but function acoustically as windcap-blown instruments, carry the kortholt principal of construction to its logical extreme; the bore winds up and down nine times within the body, creating instruments of very low pitch in a small physical size. Differing greatly from all of the foregoing cylindrical bore windcap instruments are the rauschpfeifes, which have wider conical bores and are more closely related to the shawm family. They are capable of overblowing a few notes into the second octave, providing a useful range of an eleventh to a thirteenth.

Baroque (1600-1750) Archlute, Baryton, Bassoon, Bow, Carillons, Cello, Chalumeau, Citterns, Clavichord, Cornetto, Cortol (Cortholt), Curtall (Dulcian), Flute (Baroque flute), Fortepiano, Guitar, Harp, Harpsichord (French/Flemish), Harpsichord (Italian/German), Horn, Hurdy-gurdy, Lute, Musette, Oboe (Baroque Oboe), Organ, Rackett, Recorder, Sackbut, Serpent, Timpani, Trombone, Trumpet (Slide Trumpets), Trumpet (Baroque Trumpet), Viola dï¿½Amore, Viola da gamba, Viola Pomposa, Violin. Many instruments of the Baroque era are easily recognizable as antecedents of modern instruments. Sometimes, the differences between them are subtle or even invisible to the casual observer, or simply in the way they are played. Other instruments had their heyday at the time and passed out of use without obvious descendants.

It is important to realize that, although these instruments may be simpler in construction than any modern successors, they are not musically inferior. In fact, both musically and technically, they are perfectly suited to performing the repertoire for which they were designed. Baroque Woodwind Instruments During the third quarter of the seventeenth century, a drastic overhaul of all of the woodwind instruments was initiated by a circle of Parisian instrument makers centering around the famous Hotteterre family. The families windcap instruments, being incapable of tonal or dynamic variation and therefore unsuited to baroque performance styles, had by this time passed into obsolescence. From each of the remaining renaissance families of recorders, flutes, and reed instruments, the one most useful size was selected, redesigned acoustically to meet the more expressive needs of baroque music, and fitted with an elaborately turned exterior in the baroque style. The body of the instrument was typically divided into several pieces, both for ease in manufacturing and portability. In the recorder world, the alto size became the leading solo instrument for chamber music and concerti, whereas the soprano, tenor, and bass sizes, although still occasionally made, were used far less.

The bore of the instrument became narrower and more highly conical, the tone smaller but much more complex and reedier, with distinct quality and dynamic differences among the low, middle, and high registers. Parallel changes occurred in all of the other woodwind instruments: from the flute family, it was the tenor size which became the solo flauto traverso of the baroque, from the shawm family, the soprano member was modernized into the baroque oboe, and from the dulcian family, the noble bass Chorist Fagott was modified into the baroque bassoon. The renaissance shawm band underwent transformation and become the French double reed band of two oboes, taille (tenor oboe), and bassoon. The more expressive and highly contrasted tone quality of the new baroque woodwind saw immediate employment not just in chamber music but also, together with the string family of violins, in the woodwind section of the late baroque and classical orchestra. Pitch standards also changed about the middle of the seventeenth century. The old renaissance high pitch for wind instruments, about a'=462 Hz.

and a semitone above modern pitch, gave way to a French chamber pitch of c. a'=394 Hz., a whole tone below a'=440 Hz.; in the early eighteenth century, this was superseded by a pitch of about a'=409 or 410. The current practice of making baroque woodwind instruments at a'=415 has in fact very little basis in history. In addition, some modern makers have not been careful in redesigning their instruments to compensate for the difference between a'=409 and a'=415, producing instruments which have intonation and response problems. There were also a small number of instruments from the late baroque pitched at a'=435, about a semitone above a'=409. The conclusion to be drawn here is that the current practice of playing baroque music at a'=415 is no more nor less authentic than playing at a'=440 and that both pitches require a total redesign of the original instruments, not a crude shortening and retuning.

The baroque woodwind instruments which we offer are from makers who fully understand the problems of scaling instruments to the present day pitch standards of a'=415 and a'=440 and produce instruments redesigned to those pitches as well as at the original pitches of a'=394 and 410. Single reed instruments did not find their way into sophisticated musical circles until the early eighteenth century and did not find widespread acceptance in orchestral and chamber music until the very late classical period. The chalumeau was not the predecessor of the clarinet, as is generally believed, but a completely separate entity whose development paralleled that of the baroque clarinet. The baroque chalumeau was a simple cylindrical single reed instrument which enjoyed a brief period of use by German composers such as Graupner and Telemann. It had two keys at the top which permitted a range of an eleventh. The music for this instrument never exceeds this lower register, although most chalumeaux can overblow an additional three or four notes as well. There were four sizes of chalumeau in use, called soprano through bass in the eighteenth century, but usually labelled sopranino through tenor by modern makers.

There was no true bass size, since the baroque rackett (also called rackett-bassoon) was used as a bass to the members of this family in the opera orchestra. The smallest size, the sopranino, was used as a solo instrument in concerti and as an obbligato instrument in operatic arias. The soprano, alto, and tenor sizes were used both independently and in various combinations as solo instruments in concerti and church or secular cantatas, and in chamber music by themselves with or without continuo or with other wind or string instruments. The chalumeau, after several decades, was eclipsed by the baroque clarinet, which offered a much wider range and a fully useful upper register which was overblown at the twelve from the lower register. The upper register is fully chromatic, whereas the lower register offers some chromatic notes by half-holing but does not provide useful cross-fingered notes. Composers therefore habitually avoided chromatic tones in the lower register.

Among the works written for the baroque clarinet are the several concerti for oboes and clarinets in C by Vivaldi, the operatic scores of Rameau, and the wonderful virtuoso solo concerti for D clarinet by Molter. The D clarinet was frequently employed as a substitute for the baroque clarino trumpet, and therefore all baroque trumpet literature is also fair game for the baroque clarinetist. Classical (1750 ï¿½ 1820) Basset Clarinet, Basset Horn, Buccin, Chalumeau, Clarinette d'amour, Classical Clarinet, Clavichord, Fortepiano, Harpsichord, Ophicleide (Serpent replacement, precursor of tuba) Classical Woodwind Instruments The changes in woodwind instrument building from the baroque to the classical periods were on the whole far less dramatic than the changes from renaissance to baroque, a process evolutionary rather than revolutionary. Later eighteenth century makers made instruments which were warmer and less assertive in tone color, suited more for blending in the wind section of the classical orchestra of Mozart, Haydn, and their contemporaries.

Some earlier instruments seem to have been made for a pitch standard of a'=425 to 430, but there are a large number of surviving instruments which play at or close to a'=440; this would seem to be a reasonably authentic and yet practical standard to which modern makers should adhere. The single-keyed transverse flute of the baroque period became a four-keyed and still later six-keyed instrument, although single-keyed instruments were still in use well into the nineteenth century. The additional keywork provided greatly technical facility and eliminated or offered more stable alternatives to the cross-fingered notes of the earlier instruments. Oboes, on the other hand, temporarily lost one of their original three keys in the classical era, only to have many other keys gradually added after the turn of the nineteenth century. Bassoons evolved slowly and gradually from the three-keyed instrument of the baroque into the four and six-keyed instrument of the classical era, and the extension of the upper register by an additional three to five semitones was also utilized by composers in solo and orchestral literature.

The clarinet, however, showed the most dramatic changes in the late eighteenth century; a total redesign of the baroque clarinet produced a larger bored, wide-belled instrument with a warm, expressive tone and a greatly enlarged range which very rapidly earned the instrument a place in solo, orchestral, and chamber music. Instruments pitched in A, Bb, and C were all quite common. Folk Instruments Folk Woodwind Instruments The distinction between folk and classical instruments was not at all well defined in earlier periods as it is today, and many folk instruments can be used to great effect in the performance practices of early music. Including numerous models of transverse flutes, tabor pipes (three-hole or one-hand recorder-like instruments), flageolettes (transverse flutes with recorder-like headjoints), and fifes. The folk chalumeaux, wooden pennywhistles,ocarinas, panpipes. Copyright ï¿½ 1999 Renaissance Workshop Company Ltd. Last modification: 08 de mayo de 2015 MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT PDF of article NOTE: It has been a few decades since this research was done.

It is possible that additional information may have been discovered during that time. The value of this report lies in the fact that it introduces the various instruments that are mentioned in the Old Testament, along with Scripture references that show some of the passages where those instruments are mentioned. Such information can be a starting point for further research, if desired. The King James Version word for the instrument is sometimes included in parentheses, when it is different from a more commonly-used word. MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT Dennis Hinks © 1976 INTRODUCTION Music played a vital part in Hebrew culture. It was present in all aspects of their life: work, worship, merrymaking, and military activities. It was used to soothe depressed kings (1 Samuel 16:14- 23) and it accompanied shepherds watching their sheep (David was a musician). It even accompanied specific acts of God (for example, the destruction of Jericho, Joshua 6:4-20). Music was invented within a few generations of Adam (Genesis 4:21). By the time of the Hebrews, there were many types of instruments.

Due to the centuries between us and them, it is hard to determine the identity of the various instruments mentioned in the Bible. However, with the etymology of the various words, pictorial sources on coins, monuments and seals (mostly from nations surrounding Israel, perhaps because the Hebrews had a commandment against creating images), various manuscripts, and even discovered musical instruments, we are able to get a good idea of what types of instruments existed, as well as identify many (not all) of the biblical names used for those instruments. STRINGED INSTRUMENTS Kinnōr--LYRE (CITHARA) (KJV-"harp") and Nebel--HARP (KJV-- "psaltery"; "viol") A lyre has a body with two arms, which are joined by a crossbar. The strings stretch from the body to the crossbar. Harps have a neck at an angle to the body, either arched (of the same piece as the body) or angular (the neck fastened to the body at a near right angle). There is some overlap between these two instruments.

Kinnōr comes from the root "to twang." Nebel means "a skin bottle," perhaps referring to the shape of the sound box. Most authorities say kinnōr is a lyre and nebel is a harp. However, there is some confusion between these terms. Some feel that the main difference between them might be that of size and number of strings. The joyful music of the kinnōr was heard in the temple (1 Chronicles 15:16; 2 Chronicles 5:12), as well as during festivities and banquets (Isaiah 5:12). David used this instrument to calm Saul's spirit (1 Samuel 16:23). It was played by itself (1 Samuel 16:16) or with other musical instruments (1 Samuel 10:5). The nebel was often played with the kinnōr (1 Kings 10:12) or with other instruments (Isaiah 5:12). It was used in the temple (2 Chronicles 5:12).

Asōr; Nebel Asōr (KJV-- "an instrument of ten strings") Asōr means "ten." Some believe nebel asōr (Psalms 33:2; 144:9) refers to a "ten-stringed nebel" and asōr (Psalms 92:3) to a shortened form of the name. Others believe this term refers to a zither, an instrument with many strings (in this case, ten) stretched across a body (sounding box), either struck (dulcimer) or plucked (psaltery). LUTE A lute has strings stretched along a neck attached to a resonating body, as does a guitar-like or violin-like instrument. No biblical term has been identified with it, although they probably existed in Israel, since they have been found in Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and Hittite art. WIND INSTRUMENTS Shōfar--HORN (KJV-- "cornet," "trumpet") and Yōbēl--HORN (KJV-- "ram's horn", "trumpet") There is no evidence of any distinction between these two terms.

Shōfar is used more frequently. Usually the horn was a male ram's horn, which has a curved shape and a relatively wide conical bore. Some were flattened and straightened with heat. Straight (female) mountain goat's horns were also used during the second temple period. The horn was sometimes used with other instruments (1 Chronicles 15:28). Yet it was used chiefly as a signal instrument in religious and secular activities. It was used in war (Joshua 6:20; Judges 7:16-22). It also announced the year of the Jubilee (Leviticus 25:8-10). This instrument is still in use today. Hasōsera--TRUMPET This instrument consisted of a straight narrow tube flared out at one end, not quite a cubit long. They were usually made of brass or silver, sometimes gold-plated. The tone was sharper than the low-pitched shōfar, and it had a limited number of pitches (two or three). Two long silver trumpets played an important part in Israel's history (Numbers 10:1-10).

Trumpets were used to assemble the people or the chiefs, to prepare them for moving camp (during the wilderness wanderings) or for war, as well as during feasts and ceremonies. FLUTE Pipes were probably made from a cane, hollowed wood, or bone; often pierced with holes. They may be divided into two types: pipes with one or two reeds (comparable to modern- day clarinets and oboes) and pipes with no reeds (flutes). Flutes may be end-blown, cross-blown, or blown like a whistle. Often two pipes (with or without reeds) were played simultaneously by the same person. Flutes were used at this time, but no biblical term has yet been positively identified with them (although there are a few possibilities). Halīl--REED PIPE (KJV-- "pipe") Halīl is derived from the Hebrew word meaning "pierced," which probably indicates fingering holes similar to those in a modern day flute. Some believe halīl was a simple flute. Most believe it had a double reed like a modern-day oboe.

The halīl could produce bright sounds for joyous occasions (1 Kings 1:40) as well as sad notes of grief (Jeremiah 48:36). It was used by common people, as well as in the second temple. PERCUSSION INSTRUMENTS Tōph--HAND-DRUM (KJV-- "timbrel," "tabret") These could be of any size and shape, yet most of them were small hand-drums. Some were made from a wooden hoop covered with two skins. Others were made with a single drum-head; two of which were sometimes put together, back- to-back. Many were light enough for women to use while dancing (Exodus 15:20). They were used during joyous occasions and religious celebrations (2 Samuel 6:5). Meziltayim--CYMBALS and Selzelim--CYMBALS The same root word forms both of these words, so they may be synonymous; yet this need not be so. (There is a third word from the same root, yet with a totally different meaning.) Cymbals varied greatly in size, shape, and sound.

These words may signify different types, since both are used in the same context (Psalms l50:5). Perhaps one refers to castanets (some feel this is unlikely). These instruments were used in temple service (1 Chronicles 15:16, 28) to mark the beginning, end, and pause in the singing and playing. Mena'anim--SISTRUM (KJV-- "cornet") The root designates a shaken instrument--whether a rattle (beads in a gourd) or a sistrum. Most believe mena'anim was a sistrum, which was common, especially in Egypt. It consists of a handle and a frame with jingling cross-bars. It produced a sound, when shaken. David used a mena'anim (2 Samuel 6:5). Pā'amonim--BELLS Though used in Israel, they apparently were not used in a strictly musical sense. The high priest wore bells on his garment (Exodus 28:33-35).

INSTRUMENTS OF UNKNOWN IDENTITY Alamōth Alamōth (1 Chronicles 15:20; Psalms 46 subtitle) could be a high soprano instrument. Soprano voices have also been suggested. Gittīth This could refer to an instrument named after "Gath" or a group of instruments (Psalms 8; 81; 84 subtitles). Mahōl (KJV-- "dance") This is one of the instruments that formed the orchestra of praise (Psalms 150:4). Possibly a pipe, it is not "dance" (though from the same Hebrew word). Minnim (KJV-- "stringed instruments") It is an instrument (Psalms 150:4) but its identity is unknown. Negīnoth Its identity is uncertain. It could refer to a stringed instrument (Psalms 4; 6; 54 subtitles, etc.). Shālishim (KJV-- "instruments of music ") The Hebrew word suggests possibly a three-stringed instrument or a three-sided instrument (1 Samuel 18:6).

Shemīnith This could refer to an eight-stringed lyre or to a pitch an octave lower (higher?) than normal (Psalms 6 subtitle). Ugab (KJV-- "organ") It's identity is unknown. It has no satisfactory etymology. It could possibly be a flute, but not an "organ" (Genesis 4:21; Psalms 150:4). INSTRUMENTS OF DANIEL 3:5ff. [These are some of the instruments that the Israelites would have been familiar with, during their captivity in Babylon.] Kātaros (KJV-- "harp") Kātaros is of Greek origin, indicating a stringed instrument--a cithara or lyre. Sabbeka (KJV-- "sackbut") Sabbeka has no convincing etymology. A similar Greek word refers to a harp. An Aramaic name suggests a seven-stringed instrument. A Roman word suggests the name of a tree its wood could have come from. It is definitely not a sackbut (trombone).

Pesanterin (KJV-- "psaltery") The name is derived from the Greek word for "psalter," but its identity is unknown. Some have suggested a harp or psaltery. Mashrōkī Derived from "hiss" or "whistle," it probably signifies some type of pipe or whistle. Keren (KJV-- "cornet") Keren is probably an animal horn (compare to Hebrew: keren, "ram's horn"), possibly synonymous to shōfar. Some believe it could be a trumpet. Sumpōnia (KJV-- "dulcimer) A few believe sumpōnia could be a reproduction of a Greek word meaning "drum" (tumpanon). More likely, it probably came from Greek sumphonia, which means "in unison", and could refer to the whole orchestra. It is quite unlikely that sumpōnia is a bagpipe (as some believe) or a dulcimer. CONCLUSION We do not understand all the Hebrew musical terminology. Yet, from what we do know, we can still get a better appreciation of the music that was a part of their life. BIBLIOGRAPHY Best, H.

M., and D. Huttar. "Music; Musical Instruments." The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, vol. 4. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1975. Cornfeld, Gaalyahu, ed. Pictorial Biblical Encyclopedia. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1964. Corswant, W. A Dictionary of Life in Bible Times. New York: Oxford University Press, 1960. McKenzie,. John L. Dictionary of the Bible. Milwaukee: The Bruce Publishing Co., 1965. Negev, Avraham, ed. Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1972. New American Standard Bible. Chicago: Moody Press, 1973. Olson, Lee G. "Music." Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1963. Strong, James. The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. MacLean, Virginia: MacDonald Publishing Co., n.d. Unger, Merrill F.

Under's Bible Dictionary, 3rd ed. Chicago: Moody Press, 1966. Dennis Hinks © 1976; drawings (and a few additional comments) © 2006 060112

Question: Which modern musical instrument used to be called the 'sackbut'?
Answer: Trombone