Musical Instruments Musical Instruments Harp A stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicular to the soundboard. All harps have a neck, resonator and strings. Some, known as frame harps, also have a forepillar; those lacking the forepillar are referred to as open harps. Harp strings can be made of nylon (sometimes wound around copper), gut (more commonly used than nylon), wire, or silk. A person who plays the harp is called a harpist or a harper. Various types of harps are found in Africa, Europe, North, and South America, and a few parts of Asia. In antiquity harps and the closely related lyres were very prominent in nearly all musical cultures, but they lost popularity in the early 19th century with Western music composers, being thought of primarily as a woman's instrument after Marie Antoinette popularised it as a lady's pastime. The aeolian harp (wind harp) and autoharp are technically zithers, not harps, because their strings are not perpendicular to the soundboard. The harp's origins may lie in the sound of a plucked hunter's bow string.

The oldest documented references to the harp are from 4000 BC in Egypt (see Music of Egypt) and 3000 BC in Mesopotamia. While the harp is mentioned in most translations of the Bible, King David being the most prominent musician, the Biblical "harp" was actually a kinnor, a type of lyre with 10 strings. Harps also appear in ancient epics, and in Egyptian wall paintings. This kind of harp, now known as the folk harp, continued to evolve in many different cultures all over the world. It may have developed independently in some places. The lever harp came about in the second half of the 17th century to enable key changes while playing. The player manually turned a hook or lever against an individual string to raise the string's pitch by a half step. In the 1700s, a link mechanism was developed connecting these hooks with pedals, leading to the invention of the single-action pedal harp. Later, a second row of hooks was installed along the neck to allow for the double-action pedal harp, capable of raising the pitch of a string by either one or two half steps.

With this final enhancement, the modern concert harp was born. Some pedal harps have rods in the column, but the latest harps have cables which makes for better pedal action. Piano The general name given to a musical instrument classified as a keyboard, percussion, or string instrument, depending on the system of classification used. The piano produces sound by striking steel strings with felt hammers that immediately rebound allowing the string to continue vibrating at its resonant frequency. These vibrations are transmitted through the bridges to the soundboard, which amplifies them. The piano is widely used in western music for solo performance, chamber music, and accompaniment. It is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal. Although not portable and often expensive, the piano's versatility and ubiquity has made it among the most familiar of musical instruments. The word piano is a shortened form of the word pianoforte, which is seldom used except in formal language and derived from the original Italian name for the instrument, gravic�mbalo col piano e forte (literally harpsichord with soft and loud). This refers to the ability of the piano to produce notes at different dynamic levels depending on the speed with which a key is depressed.

Violin A bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola and cello. A violin is sometimes informally called a fiddle, no matter what kind of music is played on it. The word "violin" comes to us through the Romance languages from the Middle Latin word vitula, meaning "stringed instrument". A person who plays the violin is called a violinist or fiddler, and a person who makes or repairs them is called a luthier, or simply a violin maker. The violin emerged in northern Italy in the early 16th century. Most likely the first makers of violins borrowed from three types of current instruments: the rebec, in use since the 10th century (itself derived from the Arabic rebab), the Renaissance fiddle, and the lira da braccio. One of the earliest explicit descriptions of the instrument, including its tuning, was in the Epitome musical by Jambe de Fer, published in Lyon in 1556. By this time, the violin had already begun to spread throughout Europe.

The oldest documented violin to have four strings, like the modern violin, was constructed in 1555 by Andrea Amati. Other violins, documented significantly earlier, only had three strings. The violin immediately became very popular, both among street musicians and the nobility The oldest surviving violin, dated inside, is from this set, and is known as the "Charles IX," made in Cremona c. 1560. "The Messiah" or "Le Messie" (also known as the "Salabue") made by Antonio Stradivari in 1716 remains pristine, never having been used. To this day, instruments from the "Golden Age" of violin making, especially those made by Stradivari and Guarneri del Ges�, are the most sought-after instruments by both collectors and performers. Alphorn A wind instrument, consisting of a natural wooden horn of conical bore, a cup-shaped mouthpiece, used by mountain dwellers in Switzerland and elsewhere. Similar wooden horns were used in most mountainous regions of Europe, from Sweden to the Romanian Carpathians. Documented records of alpine societies using signal horns date back to a 2nd century Roman mosaic fragment in Orbe.

Scholars have believed that the alphorn was derived from the Roman-Etruscan lituus, because of their resemblance in shape, and because of the word liti, meaning Alphorn in the dialect of Obwalden. There is no documented evidence for this theory, however, and, the word liti was probably borrowed from 16th-18th century writings in Latin, where the word lituus could describe various wind instruments, such as the horn, the crumhorn, or the cornett. In 1555, Swiss naturalist Conrad Gesner used the words lituum alpinum for the first known detailed description of the alphorn in his De raris et admirandis herbis. The oldest known document using the German word Alphorn is a page from a 1527 account book from the former Cistercian abbey St. Urban near Pfaffnau mentioning the payment of two Batzen for an itinerant alphorn player from the Valais.

17th-19th century collections of alpine myths and legends suggest that alphorn-like instruments had frequently been used as signal instruments in village communities since medieval times or earlier, sometimes substituting for the lack of church bells. Surviving artefacts, dating back to as far as ca. 1400 AD, include wooden labrophones in their stretched form, like the alphorn, or coiled versions, such as the '"B�chel" and the "Allg�uisches Waldhorn" or "Ackerhorn". Harmonium Invented in Paris in 1842 by Alexandre Debain, though there was concurrent development of similar instruments. Harmoniums reached the height of their popularity in the West in the late 19th- and early-20th centuries. They were especially popular in small churches and chapels where a pipe organ would be too large or too expensive.

Harmoniums generally weigh less than similarly-sized piano and are not as easily damaged in transport, thus they were also popular throughout the colonies of the European powers in this period- not only because it was easier to ship the instrument out to where it was needed, but it was also easier to transport overland in areas where good-quality roads and railways may have been non-existent. An added attraction of the harmonium in tropical regions was that the instrument held its tune regardless of heat and humidity, unlike the piano. This 'export' market was sufficiently lucrative for manufacturers to produce harmoniums with cases impregnated with chemicals to prevent woodworm and other damaging organisms found in the tropics. At the peak of the instruments' popularity around 1900, a wide variety of styles of harmoniums were being produced. These ranged from simple model with plain cases and only 4 or 5 stops (if any at all), up to large instruments with ornate cases, up to a dozen stops and other mechanisms such as couplers. Expensive harmoniums were often built to resemble pipe organs, with ranks of fake pipes attached to the top of the instrument. Small numbers of harmoniums were built with two manuals (keyboards).

The invention of the electronic organ in the mid-1930s spelt the end of the harmonium's success (although it's popularity as a household instrument declined in the 1920s as musical tastes changed). The last mass-producer of harmoniums in the West was the Estey company, which ceased manufacture in the mid-1950s. As the existing stock of instruments aged and spare parts became hard to find, more and more were either scrapped or sold. It was not uncommon for harmoniums to be 'modernised' by having electric blowers fitted, often very unsympathetically. The majority of harmoniums today are in the hands of enthusiasts. Harmonica A free reed, musical wind instrument. It has multiple, variably-tuned brass or bronze reeds which are secured at one end over an airway slot in which they can freely vibrate. The vibrating reeds repeatedly interrupt the airstream to produce sound. Unlike most free reed instruments (such as reed organs, accordions, and melodicas), the harmonica lacks a keyboard. Instead, the player selects the notes by placing the mouth over the proper airways.

These holes are usually discrete holes in the front of the instrument. Each hole communicates with one or more reeds, depending on the type of harmonica. Because a reed mounted above a slot is made to vibrate more easily by air from above, reeds accessed by a mouthpiece hole often may be selected further by choice of breath direction (blowing, drawing). Some harmonicas, primarily the chromatic harmonica, also include a spring-loaded button-actuated slide that, when depressed, redirects the airflow. The harmonica is commonly used in blues and folk music, but also in jazz, classical music, country music, rock and roll, and pop music. Increasingly, the harmonica is finding its place in more electronically generated music, such as dance and hip-hop, as well as funk and acid jazz. The harmonica has many names, especially in blues music. Commonly used names include: mouth-organ, blow-tube, Indiana Mating Call, mouth harp, Hobo Harp, French harp, Reckless Tram, harpoon, tin sandwich, blues harp, Mississippi saxophone, Cincinnati Cheerwine or the Aussie Bluey.

Flugelhorn (also spelled fluegelhorn or fl�gelhorn) is a brass instrument resembling a trumpet but with a wider, conical bore. It is thought by some to be a member of the saxhorn family developed by Adolphe Sax Plumber Thomas Crapper invented a device he referred to at one time as a flugelhorn, which was used to unclog drains (although this usage of the word is no longer current). The flugelhorn is built in the same B-flat pitch as many trumpets and cornets. It usually has three piston valves and employs the same fingering system as other brass instruments. Four valve and rotary valve variants also exist. It can thus be played without too much trouble by trumpet and cornet players, though some adaptation may be needed to their playing style. It is usually played with a more deeply conical mouthpiece than either trumpets or cornets (though not as conical as that on a horn). The tone is fatter and usually regarded as more "mellow" and "dark" than that of the trumpet or cornet.

It has a similar level of agility to the cornet but is more difficult to control in the high register where in general it "slots" or locks on to notes less easily. It is not generally used for aggressive or bright displays as both trumpet and cornet can be, but tends more towards a softer and more reflective role. Its main areas of use are in jazz and in the brass band, though it does get occasional use in orchestral writing. The flugelhorn is the melody-instrument of a fanfare-orchestra. Flugelhorns have occasionally been used as the alto or low soprano voice in a drum and bugle corps. However this is increasingly rare, as the mellophone, with its larger bell, is more often picked to mimic the sound of a French horn. Some modern flugelhorns are built with a fourth valve which takes them down in pitch a perfect fourth (similar to the fourth valve sometimes found on euphoniums, tubas, and piccolo trumpets, as well as the trigger on trombones), adding a useful area of low range which when coupled with the dark sound gives an interesting extension to the instrument's abilities.

More often, however, the fourth valve is used in place of the first and third valve combination, which is somewhat sharp (and which is flattened on trumpets and cornets and some three-valve flugelhorns by a "kicker" slide on the first and/or third valve). Flute A musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike other woodwind instruments, a flute produces its sound from the flow of air against an edge, instead of using a reed. A musician who plays the flute is generally referred to as either a flautist or a flutist. Flute tones are sweet and blend well with other instruments. Early flutes were made of carved bone. The flute has appeared in many different forms in many different locations around the world. The Flute has been dated back to, almost or even further back in time, the prehistoric times. A bone fragment of the femur of a juvenile cave bear with two to four holes found at Divje Babe in Slovenia and dated to about 43,100 years ago may also be an early flute. Some early flutes were made out of tibias (shin bones).

During the 16th and early 17th centuries in Europe, the transverse flute was available in several different sizes, in effect forming a "consort" much in the same way that recorders and other instrument families were used in consorts. At this stage, the transverse flute was usually made in one section (or two for the larger sizes) and had a cylindrical bore. As a result, the flute had a rather soft sound and limited range, and was used priimarily in compostions for the "soft consort". With the advent of the Baroque (17th and 18th centuries), the transverse flute was re-designed. Now often called the traverso (from the Italian), it was made in three or four sections, or joints, with a conical bore from the head joint down. The conical bore design gave the instrument a wider range and a more penetrating sound, without sacrificing the softer, expressive qualities of the instrument. In addition to chamber music, the traverso began to be used in orchestral music, eventually occupying an exalted status amongst the woodwinds.

Many composers, such as Frenchmen Joseph Bodin de Boismortier, Michel Corrette and Michel Blavet, Italians Antonio Vivaldi and Pietro Locatelli, and Germans Georg Phillipp Telemann and Johann Joachim Quantz, wrote significant collections of sonatas and chamber works for the traverso. ohann Sebastian Bach also contributed to the literature of the flute with his Sonatas for Flute and Continuo BWV 1034-35 and the Partita BWV 1013. Flute Terms: Flautist - one who plays the flute. Crown - the cap at the end of the head joint that unscrews to expose the cork, and which helps keep the head joint cork positioned at the proper depth of insertion. Lip plate - the part of the head joint which contacts the player's lower lip, allowing precise positioning and direction of the air stream. Riser - a metal section shaped like a 'top hat with the top cut off', which raises the lip plate from the head joint tube. Head joint - the top section of the flute, has the tone hole/lip plate where the player initiates the sound by blowing air across the opening.

Body - the middle section of the flute with the majority of the keys. Closed-hole - a finger key which is fully covered. Open-hole - a finger key with a perforated center, allowing the use of techinques such as pitch bending or glissando. Pointed arms - arms connecting the keys to the rods which are pointed and extend to the keys' centers; found on more expensive flutes. French model - a flute with pointed French-style arms and open-hole finger keys, as distinguished from the plateau style with closed holes. Inline G - the standard postion of the left-hand G (third-finger) key - in line with the first and second keys. Offset G - a G key which is extended to the side of the other two left-hand finger keys (along with the G# key), thus requiring less bending of the wrist, rendering it easier to reach and cover effectively, and less uncomfortable and fatiguing to play.

Split E mechanism - a system whereby the second G key (positioned below the G# key) is closed when the right middle-finger key is depressed, enabling a clearer third octave E; standard on most flutes, but omitted from many intermediate- and professional-grade flutes, as it can reduce the tonal quality of 3rd octave F#. Trill Keys - two small, teardrop shaped keys between the right-hand keys on the body; the first enables an easy C-D trill, and the second enables C-D#. A Bb lever or "trill" key is located in line directly above the right first-finger key. An optional C# trill key which facilitates the trill from B to C# is sometimes found on intermediate- and professional-quality flutes. Foot joint - the last section of the flute (played farthest towards the right). C foot - a foot joint with a lowest note of middle C; typical on student model flutes. B foot - a foot joint with a lowest note of B below middle C, which is an option for intermediate - and professional-grade flutes.

D# roller - an optional feature added to the Eb key on the foot joint, facilitating the transition between Eb/D# and Db/C#, and C. "Gizmo key" - an amusingly named optional key on the B foot joint which can be used to play low B, as well as assisting in playing C7. Fiddle A violin used in folk music. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music. Fiddle playing, or fiddling, is a style of music. A violin is sometimes informally called a fiddle, regardless of the kind of music being played with it. The word "violin" is derived from Italian and the word "fiddle" is native to English. Historically, the word fiddle also referred to a predecessor of today's violin. Like the violin, it tended to have 4 strings, but came in a variety of shapes and sizes. Another family of instruments which contributed to the development of the modern fiddle are the viols, which are held between the legs and played vertically, and have fretted fingerboards.

One very slight difference between "fiddles" and ordinary violins may be seen in American (e.g., bluegrass and old-time music) fiddling: in these styles, the top of the bridge may be cut so that it is very slightly less curved. This reduces the range of right-arm motion required for the rapid string-crossings found in some styles, and is said to make it easier to play double stops and shuffles (bariolage), or to make triple stops possible, allowing one to play chords. Most classical violinists prefer a more rounded curve to the top of the bridge, which allows them to articulate each note more easily and clearly. In practice, most instruments are fitted with a rounded bridge to better accommodate the shape of the fingerboard. In any case, the difference between "round" and "flat" is not great; about a quarter or half a millimeter variation in the height of one or two strings. As a violin's bridge is relatively easy to replace, modifying the bridge does not permanently make a violin into a fiddle.

It is also more common to see an instrument described as a fiddle if it has steel strings rather than gut or synthetic, and fine tuners on all four strings; it is very uncommon to see four fine tuners on instruments played by classical musicians. (Fine tuners are small screw mechanisms attached to the tailpiece, which make small tuning adjustments easier.) As with the bridge, this configuration is easy to change from "violin" to "fiddle", and causes no irreversible changes to the instrument. Steel Drums A musical instrument and a form of music originating in Trinidad and Tobago. Steel Drums are a pitched percussion instrument, tuned chromatically, made from a 55 gallon drum of the type that stores oil. In fact, drum refers to the steel drum containers from which the pans are made; the steel drum is correctly called a steelpan or pan as it falls into the Idiophone family of instruments, and is not technically regarded as a drum or Membranophone. Bunches of young African men can be credited with contributing to the Steel Drums. Only having scraps as their primary resources they used what they had to preserve aspects of their culture in the space of the Caribbean.

Clearly being influenced by the mixture of those on the islands along with the desire for African drums, Steel Drums was formed. The development of the Steel Drums took place largely during WWII, the first record of a pan band in the press being in a report of the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival in the Trinidad Guardian dated Tuesday, February 6, 1940. Early bands were essentially rhythm bands. However during the 1940s discarded 55-gallon steel oil drums became the preferred type of pan and, perhaps noticing that constant drumming changed the tone of the Steel Drums, techniques were developed to tune them to enable melodies to be played. During WWII, tamboo bamboo bands, who usually performed during Trinidad's Carnival began using steel drums discarded by the US military to make advanced versions of their instruments. Ellie Mannette is credited as the first person to use an oil drum in 1946. By the late 1940s the music had spread to neighbouring islands. In 1951 the Trinidad All Steel Percussion Orchestra (TASPO) took the music to the Festival of Britain in the United Kingdom.

During the 1960s the tuner Anthony Williams developed a pan - the fourths and fifths - that has since become the standard design used today. Join Us Free ROCK~! S1S5: The Orchestra Instrument . Part 1 of 2 ♫ The Orchestra Instrument . Part 1 of 2 ♫ I going to introduce... EVERY INSTRUMENT IN THE ORCHESTRA The String Family Is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family. It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses (or basses). Feature: 4 strings, Bowing, Tremolo, Pizzicato, With/Without Mutes 1.Violin (G D A E) (16+14) The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin familyof string instruments. Pitch range: from G3 (G below middle C) to C8 (the highest note of the modern piano.) The top notes, however, are often produced by natural or artificial harmonics.

Thus the E two octaves above the open E-string may be considered a practical limit for orchestral violin parts. 2. Viola (C G D A) (12) It is the middle voice of the violin family. Bigger than violin. 3. Cello (C G D A) (10) The word derives from the Italian 'violoncello'. The word derives ultimately from vitula, meaning a stringed instrument. A person who plays a cello is called a cellist. The cello is used as a solo instrument, in chamber music, in a string orchestra and as a member of the string sectionof an orchestra. It is the second largest bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra. 4. Double Bass (E A D G) (8) Also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra. A person who plays the double bass is usually referred to as a bassist.

The double bass stands around 180 cm (six feet) from scroll to endpin, and is typically constructed from several types of wood, including maple for the back, spruce for the top, and ebony for the fingerboard. It also embodies features found in the older viol family. When playing the double bass, the bassist either stands or sits on a high stool and leans the instrument against the bassist's body with the bass turned slightly inwards in order to reach the strings more easily. 5. Harp (2) A multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. All harps have a neck, resonator, and strings. Some, known as frame harps, also have a pillar; those lacking the pillar are referred to as open harps. Depending on its size (which varies considerably), a harp may be played while held in the lap or while it stands on a table, or on the floor. Harp strings may be made of nylon, gut, wire, or silk. A person who plays the harp is called a harpist or harper. Folk musicians often use the term "harper", whereas classical musicians use "harpist".

Harps are roughly triangular and are usually made primarily of wood. The lower ends of the strings are fastened to the inside of the sounding-board. The body is hollow and resonates, projecting sound both toward the player through openings, and outward through the highly flexible sounding board. The crossbar, or neck, contains the mechanism or levers which determine the pitch alteration (sharps and flats) for each string. The upper ends of the strings are attached to pins in holes drilled through the neck. The longest side, the column, encloses the rods controlling the mechanism of a pedal harp. At the base are seven pedals, which activate the rods when they are downwardly pressed. Lever harps do not have pedals or rods. Instead they use a shortening lever on the neck for each individual string which must be activated manually in order to shorten the string and raise the tone a half step. Thus, a string tuned to natural may be played in sharp, but not flat. A string tuned to flat may be played in natural, but not sharp. Lever harps are considerably lighter in weight than pedal harps and are smaller in size and number of strings.

Double chromatin harp The Woodwind Family A woodwind instrument is a musical instrument which produces sound when the player blows air against a sharp edge or through a reed, causing the air within its resonator (usually a column of air) to vibrate. Most of these instruments are made of wood but can be made of other materials, such as metals or plastics. 1. Piccolo (1) The piccolo (Italian for small) is a half-size flute. The piccolo has the same fingerings as its larger sibling, the standard transverse flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written. This gave rise to the name "ottavino," the name by which the instrument is referred to in the scores of Italian composers. Piccolos are manufactured in the key of C and in D♭. Feature: Holes 2. Flute (2) Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening. A musician who plays the flute can be referred to as a flute player, a flautist, a flutist, or less commonly a fluter.

Aside from the voice, flutes are the earliest known musical instruments. A number of flutes dating to about 40,000 to 35,000 years ago have been found in Germany. Feature: Holes C Flute with vertical headjoint G Treble Flute Bb Tenor Flute / A Tenor Flute (cause it looks almost the same) (a) Alto flute It is the next extension downward of the C flute after the flûte d'amour. It is characterized by its distinct, mellow tone in the lower portion of its range. It is a transposing instrumentin G and, like the piccolo and bass flute, uses the same fingerings as the C flute. The tube of the alto flute is considerably thicker and longer than a C flute and requires more breath from the player. This gives it a greater dynamic presence in the bottom octave and a half of its range. Pitch range: Its range is from G3 (the G below middle C) to G6 (4 ledger lines above the treble clef staff) plus an altissimo register stretching to D♭8. The headjoint may be straight or curved.

In the classical literature, the alto flute is particularly associated with the scores of Igor Stravinsky and Maurice Ravel. It is featured in Ravel's Daphnis et Chloé, Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring. (b) Flûte d'amour The flûte d'amour or flauto d'amore is pitched in either A or B♭ and is intermediate in size between the modern C concert flute and the alto flute in G. It is the mezzo soprano member of the flute family. It is also sometimes called a tenor flute. The ratio between the bore diameter and tube length is much the same as in the concert flute, which allows it to have a mellower tone colour but without losing any facility in the top octave. Its lowest sounding note is B♭ (or A). (c) Bass flute Is the bass member of the flute family. It is in the key of C, pitched one octave below the concert flute. Because of the length of its tube (approximately 146 cm), it is usually made with a "J" shaped head joint, which brings the embouchure hole within reach of the player.

Pitch range: from C3, one octave below middle C, to C6, two octaves above middle C. Bass flute music is written an octave higher than it sounds which is the typical concert flute range (C4 to C7). Notes written above A6 are not often used as they are difficult to produce and have inferior tone. The shorter tube reduces acoustic resistance, which quickens the response and makes the tone brighter, livelier, and more resonant. It also makes the instrument somewhat lighter and less fatiguing for the player to hold. Bass flutes are most often made with silver plated bodies and head joints. Kotato basses have addressed the weight problem of bass flutes by designing a graphite rod that screws onto the underside of the instrument and then rests on the chair seat between the player's legs. Adjustable rods have also been developed by Jeff Amos. Other manufacturers have added a left hand thumb support called a crutch, which helps some players with physical control of the instrument. (d) Contra-alto flute The contra-alto flute (also called contrabass flute in G or bass flute in F).

It is in the key of G, pitched one octave below the alto flute, and a fourth below the bass flute. It is so large that the instrument's body is held vertically, with an adjustable floor peg similar to that of the bass clarinet. (e) Contrabass flute Is one of the rarer members of the flute family. Pitch range: Its range is similar to that of the regular concert flute, except that it is pitched two octaves lower; the lowest performable note is two octaves below middle C (the lowest C on the cello). Sometimes referred to as the "gentle giant" of the flute family. The upper registers (middle C and above) lack the strength of tone found in its cousins; the strongest register is arguably that between G1 and G2; sensitivity and lyricism can be used to great effect; a good instrument can readily reach the high A or B (above middle C); the 'haunting' low register (below G1) has similar qualities to the bassoon; the low B (three octaves below middle C) can carry well with an experienced performer. The contrabass flute requires much greater force of breath to produce sound than most other wind instruments.

The addition of the contrabass flute has made to the composition of flute choirs is enormous, offering at last the grounding of a true and deep bass sound. A wider, slower air stream is needed to produce a solid tone. (f) Double contrabass flute Also called the octobass flute is the largest and lowest pitched metal flute in the world. Pitch range: in the key of C, three octaves below the concert flute (two octaves below the bass flute and one octave below the contrabass flute). Its lowest note is C1, one octave below the cello's lowest C. Despite the tendency of the larger sizes of flute to be softer than their higher pitched relatives, the double contrabass flute has a relatively powerful tone, although it usually benefits from amplification in ensembles. A double contrabass flute constructed of PVC. The instrument is comparatively light, weighing only 7 kg , and can be produced relatively quickly and inexpensively. In addition, the PVC appears to produce a broad tone. (g) Subcontrabass flute Is one of the largest instruments in the flute family, measuring over 15 feet (4.6 m) long.

Pitch range: The instrument can be made in the key of G, pitched a fourth below the contrabass flute in C and two octaves below the alto flute in G; which is sometimes also called double contra-alto flute, or in C, which will sound three octaves lower than the C flute. The subcontrabass flute is rarely used outside of flute ensembles. It is sometimes called the "gentle giant" of the flute family too. It may be made out of PVC or metal. This instrument's unique sound quality, dark tone, and at times sluggish articulation make for excellent solo opportunities. C3-G3 sounds rich and it has great opportunities for dynamic power and accent. A3-D4 The tone becomes less secure and loses some of the lower partials and it is great for blending. E4-C5 has a weaker and somewhat unfocused pitch center which may be a good choice for blend or effect. (h) Hyperbass flute Is the largest and lowest pitched instrument in the flute family, with tubing reaching over 8 metres in length.

Pitch range: in C, four octaves below the concert flute (three octaves below the bass flute, two octaves below the contrabass flute, and one octave below the double contrabass flute), with its lowest note being C0), one octave below the lowest C on a standard piano. At 16 Hz, this is below what is generally considered the range of human hearing (20 to 20,000 Hz). The hyperbass flute is made of PVC and wood.There appear to be wide tone holes, made from standard tee fittings, but without keys; these are covered with the palms of the hands. The first known example of the instrument was built by Francesco Romei, a Florentine craftsman, for Italian flautist Roberto Fabbriciani. He calls it flauto iperbasso in Italian. The instrument truly is amazing in its approach to distribution of partials, as if blown in the correct manner a three to four voice chord will sound. The instrument can produce an edgy, growling tone, as well as support a large ensemble of flutes and winds on a handful of notes (C1-F1).

The 32 feet of piping, required to produce the fundamentals, permits creative exploration. The Columbis Flute Choir From top: Bass flute in C, alto flute in G, concert flute with B foot, concert flute with C foot (most common), soprano flute in E-flat, piccolo 3.Oboe (2) Is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" (French, meaning "high wood"), "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca. 1770 from the Italian oboè, a transliteration in that language's orthography of the 17th-century pronunciation of the French word hautbois, a compound word made of haut ("high, loud") and bois ("wood, woodwind"). A musician who plays the oboe is called an oboist. Feature: Double reeds Two reeds made A modern oboe with a reed Comparison of various oboes.

From left to right: 3-keyed Baroque oboe; 4-keyed Classical oboe; 8-keyed Early Romantic oboe; Triebert-Systeme-3-type Late Romantic oboe; "Buffet Greenline" Modern oboe. (a) Piccolo oboe Also known as the piccoloboe, is the smallest and highest pitched member of the oboe family, historically known as the oboe musette or terz oboe. Pitch range: in E-flat or F above the regular oboe (which is a C instrument), the piccolo oboe is a sopranino version of the oboe, comparable to the E-flat clarinet. It can be in D, Eb or F. (b) Oboe d'amore The oboe d'amore (oboe of love in Italian). Slightly larger than the oboe, it has a less assertive and more tranquil and serene tone, and is considered the mezzo-soprano of the oboe family, between the oboe itself (soprano) and the cor anglais, or English horn (alto).

It is a transposing instrument, sounding a minor third lower than it is notated, i.e. in A. The bell is pear-shaped and the instrument uses a bocal, similar to the larger cor anglais, whose bocal is larger. After waning popularity in the late 18th century, the oboe d'amore fell into disuse for about 100 years until composers such as: (i) Richard Strauss (eg. Symphonia Domestica where the instrument represents the child). (ii) Claude Debussy (eg. in Gigues, where the oboe d'amore has a long solo passage). (iii) Maurice Ravel (eg. Boléro where the oboe d'amore follows the E-flat clarinet to recommence the main theme for the second time around) Baroque oboe d'amore (c) Oboe da caccia Literally "hunting oboe" in Italian. It pitched a fifth below the oboe and used primarily in the Baroque period of European classical music. It has a curved tube and a brass bell, unusual for an oboe.

Pitch range: close to that of the English horn, from the F below middle C (notated C4 but sounding F3) to the G above the treble staff (notated D6 but sounding G5). The oboe da caccia is thus a transposing instrument in F. The oboe da caccia has a leather-covered wooden body terminating in a brass bell similar to a horn bell. There are typically two brass keys, E-flat and C. The E-flat key is typically repeated for the left hand. There are usually two "doubled" finger holes, G/A-flat and F/F#, similar to the soprano baroque oboe. Then the instrument is bent over steam and a slat glued onto the inside curve to fix it. The sound of it is very mellow and supple. (d) Wiener oboe The Akademiemodel Wiener oboe, first developed in the 1880s by Josef Hajek. The Wiener oboe is a hybrid of German and Austrian designs. It has a wider internal bore, shorter and broader reed and a different fingering schema than the Conservatoire oboe.

From the concept of the bore, the Viennese oboe is the last representative of the historical oboes, adapted for the louder, larger orchestra, and fitted with an extensive mechanism. Its great advantage is the ease of speaking, even in the lowest register. It can be played very expressively and blends well with other instruments. The Viennese oboe is (with the Viennese horn) perhaps the most distinctive member of the Vienna Philharmonic instrumentarium. The modern Wiener oboe is most commonly made from grenadilla, also known as African Blackwood, though some manufacturers also make oboes out of the traditional European material Boxwood. (e) Cor anglais The cor anglais or English horn. It is consequently approximately one and a half times the length of the oboe. The fingering and playing technique used for the cor anglais are essentially the same as those of the oboe. Music for the cor anglais is thus written a perfect fifth higher than the instrument actually sounds. Because the cor anglais normally lacks the lowest B flat of the oboe, its sounding range stretches from the E (written B natural) below middle C to the C two octaves above middle C.

Pitch range: transposing instrument pitched in F, a perfect fifth lower than the oboe (a C instrument). Its pear-shaped bell gives it a more covered timbre than that of the oboe, being closer in tonal quality to the oboe d'amore. Whereas the oboe is the soprano instrument of the oboe family. the cor anglais is generally regarded as the alto member of the family. the oboe d'amore, pitched between the two in the key of A, as the mezzo-soprano member. The cor anglais is perceived to have a more mellow and plaintive tone than the oboe. Its appearance differs from the oboe in that the reed is attached to a slightly bent metal tube called the bocal, or crook, and the bell has a bulbous shape. It is also much longer overall. Reeds used to play the cor anglais are similar to those used for an oboe, consisting of a piece of cane folded in two. The cane part of the reed is wider and longer than that of the oboe.

Cor anglais reeds typically have wire at the base, approximately 5 millimeters from the top of the string used to attach the cane to the staple. This wire serves to hold the two blades of cane together and stabilize tone and pitch. (f) Bass oboe The bass oboe or baritone oboe is about twice the size of a regular (soprano) oboe and sounds an octave lower; it has a deep, full tone not unlike that of its higher-pitched cousin, the English horn. The bass oboe is notated in the treble clef, sounding one octave lower than written. Its lowest note is B2 (in scientific pitch notation), one octave and a semitone below middle C, although an extension may be inserted between the lower joint and bell of the instrument in order to produce a low B-flat2. The instrument's bocal or crook first curves away from and then toward the player (unlike the bocal/crook of the English horn and oboe d'amore), and looks rather like a flattened metal question mark. Its reeds similar to but larger than that of the English horn.

(g) Heckelphone oboe With a wider bore and hence a heavier and more penetrating tone. It is pitched an octave below the oboe and furnished with an additional semitone taking its range down to A. The Heckelphone is approximately four feet in length, and is quite heavy: it rests on the floor, supported by a short metal peg attached to the underside of its bulbous bell. An alternate second bell, called a "muting" bell, is also available, which serves to muffle the instrument for playing in a small ensemble. This arrangement is unique among double-reed instruments. It is played with a large double reed that more closely resembles a bassoon reed than an oboe reed. For all its potential in adding weight to the lower registers of the woodwind section, the Heckelphone remains a rarity on the orchestral scene—only about 150 Heckelphones have been produced, of which around 100 are believed to be extant—and is seldom carried on the regular roster of professional orchestras. Competent players are thus rare.

The bigger one is the Heckelphone oboe and the smaller one is the Bass oboe (h) Piccolo Heckelphone A very rare woodwind instrument invented in 1904 by the firm of Wilhelm Heckel in Germany. The piccolo heckelphone was intended to add power to the very highest woodwind register of the late Romantic orchestra, providing a full and rich oboe-like sound well into the sopranino range. It can be in Eb or F. Pitch range: A transposing instrument pitched in F, a perfect fourth above the oboe, its range as described in contemporary fingering charts is from B to G♯, though it can reach tones as much as a third above this. Following the basic principle of the heckelphone, the piccolo heckelphone in F has an extremely wide bore with large tone holes. The angle of the instrument's conicity is quite wide (though not as wide as that of a saxophone), giving it a characteristically strong and powerful tone. The instrument is built in one section with a detachable bell, and has simple-system German fingering.

(i) Contrabass oboe The contrabass oboe is in the key of C, sounding two octaves lower than the standard oboe. >>>>>Finally, the end of oboe.... You maybe have lot of confused of the oboe family~ Let me give it an conclusion... From left: Oboe, Oboe d'amore, Cor Anglais. From left: Piccolo oboe, Oboe, Oboe d'amore, Cor Anglais, Bass oboe. From top: Heckelphone, Bass oboe, Cor Anglais, Oboe d'amore, Oboe, and Piccolo oboe. 4. Clarinet (3) The name derives from adding the suffix -et (meaning little) to the Italian word clarino(meaning a type of trumpet), as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore. Feature: a single reed Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches. The word clarinet usually refers to the B♭ soprano clarinet, by far the most commonly played clarinet.

A person who plays the clarinet is called a clarinetist or clarinettist. The clarinet family is keyed in Bb and Eb. Clarinet bodies have been made from a variety of materials including wood, plastic, hard rubber, metal, resin, and ivory. The vast majority of clarinets used by professional musicians are made from African hardwood. Historically other woods, notably boxwood, were used. Most modern, inexpensive instruments are made of plastic resin (resonite), which is Selmer's trademark name for its type of plastic. Ivory was used for a few 18th century clarinets, but it tends to crack and does not keep its shape well. Buffet Crampon's Greenline clarinets are made from a composite of grenadilla wood powder and carbon fiber and are less affected by humidity and temperature changes than wooden instruments but are heavier. Alastair Hanson and Tom Ridenour are strong advocates of hard rubber. Hard rubber, such as ebonite, has been used for clarinets since the 1860s.

Hanson Clarinets of England manufactures clarinets using a grenadilla compound reinforced with ebonite, known as 'BTR' (bithermal reinforced) grenadilla. This material is also not affected by humidity, and the weight is the same as that of a wood clarinet. Mouthpieces are generally made of hard rubber, although some inexpensive mouthpieces may be made of plastic. Other materials such as crystal/glass, wood, ivory, and metal have also been used. Ligatures are often made out of metal and plated in nickel, silver or gold. Other ligature materials include wire, wire mesh, plastic, naugahyde, string, or leather. Reed made from the cane of Arundo donax, a type of grass. Reeds may also be manufactured from synthetic materials. The ligature fastens the reed to the mouthpiece. When air is blown through the opening between the reed and the mouthpiece facing, the reed vibrates and produces the instrument's sound.

Basic reed measurements are as follows: tip, 12 mm (0.47 in) wide; lay, 15 mm (0.59 in) long (distance from the place where the reed touches the mouthpiece to the tip); gap, 1 mm (0.039 in) (distance between the underside of the reed tip and the mouthpiece). Adjustment to these measurements is one method of affecting tone color. Reed and mouthpiece characteristics work together to determine ease of playability, pitch stability, and tonal characteristics. Clarinet reed, mouthpiece, and ligature Clarinet barrel Clarinet in four view (a) Piccolo clarinet ~A♭, E♭, D The smaller and higher pitched than the more familiar high soprano clarinets in E♭ and D. Shackleton also lists obsolete instruments in C, B♭, and A♮. Some writers call these sopranino clarinets or octave clarinets. The boundary between the piccolo and soprano clarinets is not well-defined, and the rare instruments in G and F might be considered as either.

Shackleton along with many early twentieth-century composers uses the term "piccolo clarinet" to refer to the E♭ and D clarinets as well. This designation is now less common today; with the E♭ and D instruments are more usually designated soprano clarinets. Pitch range: The A♭ clarinet is pitched a minor seventh higher than the B♭ soprano clarinet. Its lowest note, E, sounds as concert middle-C, the same as many concert flutes. Size comparison among the A♭, E♭, and B♭ clarinets Size comparison of the B♭, E♭, and A♭ reeds (b) Soprano clarinet ~C, B♭, A The sub-family of the clarinet family. They include the most common types of clarinets, and indeed are often referred to as simply "clarinets". Among the soprano clarinets are the B♭ clarinet. Sopranino clarinets for the E♭ and D clarinets, these are more usually regarded as soprano clarinets as well.

Pitch range: From D below middle C (written E) to about the C three octaves above middle C; The A and C clarinets, sounding respectively a semitone lower and a whole tone higher than the B♭ clarinet; Gb clarinet, sounding yet a whole tone lower than the A, rare in western music but popular in the folk music of Turkey. The clarinet family is commonly used in an orchestral setting to provide color, especially with regards to harmonies. Composers in the classical and romantic periods featured clarinet solos as well, relying on its unique tone and range. Clarinets in C are common in music of the classical period and in some later music, particularly opera. There have also been soprano clarinets in C, A, and B♭ with curved barrels and bells marketed under the names Saxonette, Claribel, and Clariphon. Shackleton lists also obsolete "sopranino" clarinets in (high) G, F, and E, and soprano clarinets in B and A♭.

The G "sopranino", only a half step lower than the A♭ piccolo clarinet, was popular during the Biedermeier period in Vienna for playing Schrammelmusik. C soprano clarinet Romantic Period Instruments | BILLIE WEBSTER ILLUSTRATION Uncategorized Romantic Period Instruments As I’m interested in the connection between Clockwork Orange and Beethoven, I’m only looking at instruments from the Romantic classical music period. Using the list from the previous post, I found out information about each of the different instruments. Piccolo “An orchestral sparkler, the piccolo – which takes its name from the Italian for ‘small’ – is a half-sized flute and plays an octave higher. The fingering is identical to that of the flute and flute players often alternate with piccolo. Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony is the piccolo’s debut in a major work, where it adds a bright florescence to the Finale.

Beethoven’s delighted rushes and trills also caught on, and the piccolo quickly became the go-to instrument for jubilation, a faculty it has never lost.” ( Philharmonia ) Flute “The flute is perhaps the best known member of the woodwind family and flute solos are among the most magical moments in orchestral music. As well as being capable of extreme virtuosity the flute can create beautiful sustained melodies. It also blends perfectly with all instruments and spends much of its time providing background colour to foreground activity elsewhere in the orchestra. The flute is the highest pitched instrument of the woodwind section. In Bach’s time, back in the 18th century, recorders were used in the orchestra but gradually the brighter tone and increased power of the ‘transverse flutes’ replaced the recorder.

In the 19th century flute technique really took off with the invention of the Bohem System, which is the set of metal keys and pads that cover the surface of the flute and enable far more complicated music to be played than was previously possible.” ( Philharmonic ) Oboe “Historically, the woodwind section was formed around the soprano of the double-reed family, but the oboe has an even more ostentatious pride of place. The oboe and its larger relative, the cor anglais both produce a beautiful, sweet, haunting sound. When used as solo instruments the sound is sometimes described as a ‘pastoral’ sound. This is because they are descended from the type of reed instruments that have been used in folk music and by shepherds the world over for thousands of years. Modern oboes blend superbly with all instruments of the orchestra and can also be surprisingly agile. The Oboe and the Cor Anglais (or English Horn) are wooden conical bore, double reed instruments. Other types of oboe include the Oboe d’Amore and the Hecklephone.

Oboes have been used in orchestras for about 400 years and are among the most established instruments of the orchestra. The oboe is slightly lower in pitch than the flute and so occupies the alto register in the woodwind section. The cor anglais is a larger relative of the oboe, lower in pitch and is often featured for its more resonant, melancholy tone.” (Philharmonic) Cor Anglais “The first thing always mentioned about the English horn, the alto of the double-reed family, is that it is neither English nor is it a horn. To make matters more confusing, the instrument is often referred to by its French name, the cor anglais, all for obscure reasons. About one-and-a-half times the size of the oboe, the English horn is immediately recognised by its pronounced, pear-shaped bell. The sound is similar to, if slightly less honky than, the oboe, thickening nicely in the lower register. It is both a mellow melody instrument and a handy softener for the wind section’s overall texture.” (Philharmonic) Clarinet “Clarinets are known for their smooth, creamy tone: warm and resonant low down, bright and clear up high.

The clarinet’s plaintive, clear sound can be perfect for a romantic melody or when agitated for creating angular accented textures and effects. They can make a surprisingly loud sound or play incredibly softly. Clarinets are also associated with the sound of jazz and are perfect for producing the typically rhythmic, swooping, rippling sounds of traditional jazz and swing. Clarinets come in many shapes and sizes, from tiny high pitched sopranino clarinets to the largest contrabass instruments which can play lower than a double bass.” ( Philharmonic ) Bass Clarinet “Larger and differently shaped than the standard clarinets, the bass clarinet has a darker timbre that composers often exploit for expressions of gloom and doom, as Mahler does in his Sixth Symphony. However, the bass clarinet also shares the higher clarinets’ wood-rich glow and can provide a satisfyingly comforting sound. Like a saxophone (which was influenced by the earlier bass clarinet), the instrument has a metal upturned bell and a curved metal crook to which the mouthpiece is attached, but it retains the maple-wood body.

Another adjective that gets applied to the bass clarinet is goblin-esque – for its startlingly subtle dynamic control.” ( Philharmonic ) Contrabass Clarinet “The contrabass clarinet descended from a weird, short-lived late 18th-century instrument called the batyphone into another weird instrument that might be likened to the deep sea monster of the orchestra. Huge and rarely seen, it makes a wondrous low sound unlike any other from an acoustic instrument. Contrabass clarinets come in different shapes, but all have loops and some double loops. The instrument is a favourite of Esa-Pekka Salonen, who exploits its other-worldly timbral qualities in his Violin Concerto.” ( Philharmonic) Bassoon “The bassoon is the lowest sounding member of the woodwind family and is perhaps the most versatile. The bassoon’s double reed gives it a rich, slightly buzzing quality in the lowest notes and a sweet nasal sound higher up. Bassoons can be extremely expressive as solo instruments and their warm vibrato enables them to sound remarkably human, a little like a resonant baritone singer.

They are also great for creating punchy rhythmic lines and as bass instruments they help provide support for the whole orchestra. Because of their versatility, bassoons have been used in orchestras for a very long time. There are a variety of larger and smaller bassoons, but these days the most commonly used additional member of the bassoon family is the contrabassoon which sounds an octave lower than the bassoon.” ( Philharmonic ) Contrabassoon “The contrabassoon, or double bassoon, is an ungainly double-long bassoon playing an octave lower, which is very long and low indeed. To accommodate all that length, the bore doubles back twice on itself like a paper clip in contrast to the bassoon’s hairpin shape. The reeds, too, are thicker and heavier, and the fingering is different. The contrabassoon’s lowest notes are the lowest of the orchestra, and the instrument’s deep profound buzz was thought suitable only for reinforcement of bass lines until modern composers were able to find delight in the contrabassoon’s strangeness.

This is another of the instruments Beethoven introduced into symphonic repertory with his Fifth Symphony.” (Philharmonic) French Horn “The Horn, often called the French Horn, is thought by many to be the most beautiful sounding instrument in the orchestra. The horn’s mellow sound can turn a simple tune into something that both soothes and lifts the spirit. Horns can also be tremendously powerful and when the whole section plays loudly the sound will break through any orchestral texture. Before the 20th century most people recognised the horn’s strong relationship with the hunting horns of the past and composers frequently used wrote rustic hunting style music for the horns. However in our modern, urbanised times the horn has lost its rural connotations for us. Perhaps the most common use of the horn is simply as harmonic filling – somewhere between the bass line and the melody. Horns are perfect for holding long, sustained notes discretely in the background above which melodies can float, around which accompaniments weave and beneath which bass lines wander. This use of the horn is one of the key orchestral techniques that composers learn early on.

This is not simply because it’s one of the great ways of tying the orchestra together to create a unified sound, but because it’s very easy to do and sounds fantastic. ” (Philharmonic) Trumpet “The trumpet is the flexible soprano of the otherwise not terribly agile brass section. The trumpet is sometimes seen as just a loud instrument, but there is much more to it than that. It is true that it can be extremely loud and that before the days of telecommunications it was one of the best ways to transmit messages across a battlefield, but in the hands of a skilled orchestral player the trumpet is much more flexible than you might imagine. For example, when playing a soft melody with a mute it can sound as gentle and sweet as an oboe (an effect Shostakovich plays with in his First Symphony by switching music between the two). The trumpet can also play extremely rapid sequences of notes or even hold a romantic, lyrical melody.

Nevertheless, when a composer really needs to grab everyone’s attention and blast out a tune that will pin their ears back, the trumpet really is quite irreplaceable.” (Philharmonic) Trombone “The orchestra at its grandest and most powerful moments is often underpinned and given its power by the trombones. This capability of the trombone has been repeatedly exploited by composers over the years and, in common with many instruments of the orchestra, this has created a stereotype of what people think the trombone is all about. It can also be a very soft melodic instrument. In fact, during the Renaissance the trombone had a golden era and a tremendous amount of subtle and delicate music was written for groups of trombones which would be played during church services. Only at the beginning of the 19th century did the trombone cease to be thought of as a church instrument and become a regular member of the orchestra.” (Philharmonic) Tuba “The tuba has a beautiful warmth and richness in its sound. The most basic writing for the instrument treats it as a loud ‘oom-pah band’ instrument used just to pick out the bass line of the music. This falls a long way short of what the tuba does best.

In great orchestral writing it plays expressive bass melodies that, due to its depth of tone, loom through the lower half of the orchestral texture. It is also perfect for creating tremendous swells which can be used to heighten the emotional peaks of the music in much the same way as the timpani are often used. And of course, when playing loudly alongside the whole brass section its effect of its immense power can be awesome. There are several different tubas (or saxhorns), including the tenor tuba or euphonium, the bass tuba, and the BBb or contrabass tuba. Most modern instruments have a conical bore, but there are variations in construction and name from country to country. In the USA a ‘baritone’ refers to a euphonium, whereas in the UK it means a tenor horn. The ‘Wagner tuba’ is called ‘Tenor-Tuba’ in Germany, and so on. The three most common instruments in orchestras are the bass, the contrabass, and the euphonium.

The tubas are of course the bass instrument of the brass section, but they are more than capable of playing melodies in the tenor register.” (Philharmonic) Timpani “The timpani provide the underlying heartbeat of the orchestra, and conductors tend to remain in near constant eye contact with the timpanist.These pairs of kettledrums feature foot pedals for changing pitch, a copper shell (with fiberglass a contemporary option) and a calfskin drumhead. Drumsticks and mallets come in a wide selection of sizes and materials. The timpani buttress the beat and the fundamental bottom notes of chords, but they also take charge, as when Berlioz propels the March to the Scaffold with two timpanists using sponge-headed drumsticks.” (Philharmonic) Percussion “Drums, cymbals, xylophones, triangles – in fact anything that has to be hit in order to make a sound is included in the percussion section. The percussion section first carved out its place in the orchestra as a result of the vogue for Turkish marching music in Mozart´s time, bringing bass drums, snare drums, triangles and cymbals into play.

But it is since the start of the 20th century that the variety of other percussion instruments has really taken off. Untuned instruments such as gongs from east Asia or tuned instruments like the marimbas of Africa have been adopted and adapted for use in the modern orchestra. Today composers take a truly global approach to using percussion instruments. This process is further encouraged by the percussionists themselves, many of whom are enthusiastic adopters of new instruments and pride themselves on perfecting their skills with an enormous range of instruments. Percussion instruments provide an enormous range of timbres. Although the word “percussion” means “struck”, the percussion family traditionally includes effects that are blown or produced in other ways. Some of the instruments classified as ‘unpitched’ do in fact have pitch, but this is unpredictable or uncontrollable. A catalogue of percussion can never be complete, and it is true to say that any percussion instrument may be integrated into the modern symphony orchestra. ” (Philharmonic) Keyboards “Everyone is familiar with the sound of the piano and the organ. Most are also aware of how the piano sounds as a solo instrument with an orchestra backing.

From Rhapsody in Blue to Tom and Jerry playing one of Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsodies in unforgettable style, many of the greatest musical moments are for piano with orchestra. However the use of keyboard instruments in the orchestra is very varied and although the keyboards are no longer considered permanent members of the orchestra as cellos or flutes would be, there are numerous pieces of music where they form part of the orchestra playing on an equal footing with the other instruments. When in this role they are often situated towards the back near the percussion section. In the 18th century keyboard instruments such as the harpsichord were a standard feature of orchestras. Then, as keyboard technology improved, they became increasingly used just as solo instruments. The emergence of the piano with its powerful tone and very wide range made it a more self-contained instrument and less easy to include as a member of the orchestra. Nevertheless, there are examples of orchestral use of keyboards throughout the 19th century, and in the 20th and 21st centuries they are very commonly used as part of the orchestra. Another regularly used keyboard is the celesta which is like a large glockenspiel played with a keyboard, rather than percussion beaters.

It can have a magical effect and perhaps its most famous moment is in Tchaikovsky´s Nutcracker Suite.” (Philharmonic) Harp “The modern concert harp is very different in appearance from the instruments used centuries ago to accompany songs and those used today in folk music across the world such as the Irish harp. The concert harp sound is very similar to that of its relatives only more powerful and richer in tone. Although the harp has a long history it was not really used in orchestral music until the 19th century. What brought this about was the development of a pedalling system, which enabled the player to continually change the tuning whilst playing, turning the harp into a fully chromatic instrument. The harp is not a particularly loud instrument but the sound of its attack does penetrate, so composers often only use one with an orchestra or two with a larger orchestra. The harp relies on 7 foot pedals to change the pitches of its 47 strings. They allow the harp to play chromatic notes but this also means that composers need to be aware of the need to allow sufficient time for pedal changes.

Composers tend to use harps in a variety of ways: to support harmonies by playing chords; to add definition to the start of notes, phrases or bass lines – by providing a little ‘ping’ as another instrument begins to play and to create swirls of sound through glissandos – sweeping the hands across the strings in swift, flowing movements.” (Philharmonic) Violin “The violin could be said to define the orchestra, but it may be a little provocative to suggest that everything else is there merely as an accompaniment. The other strings just fill out the lower harmonies, woodwinds provide pleasantly contrasting timbres, the brass is for added power when you need it and the percussion creates crisper edges and the occasional crash, but there would be no orchestra without the violin at its heart. Or would there? Perhaps it was true once, but certainly since the beginning of the 20th century composers have begun to treat the sections of the orchestra as equal partners and distribute the music accordingly. It is also a fact that in the modern professional orchestra all the players are virtuosos and so less reliance need be placed on the traditionally more agile violins. And what of the sound?

The rich low notes can be very vocal and can be easily used to ‘tug the heart strings’. They can play very fast and also very high, but it is the endless sustain that characterises all string instruments that enables the violins, in particular, when they all play together, to create a floating effect which is responsible for some of the most sublime moments in music. Indeed it is primarily because people love the effect of massed string sounds that orchestras are so large (the violin is the most numerous of all the strings, with as many as 30 being used for a large orchestral work). The violin is the highest pitched and most agile member of the string family. In a typical orchestra, violins are grouped into Firsts and Seconds. The leader of the First Violins is also the Leader of the Orchestra. Numbers vary, but usually there are sixteen Firsts and fourteen Seconds, seated two to a ‘desk’.” (Philharmonic) Viola “Not simply a big violin, the viola has its own distinct qualities and serves an essential function in orchestral music.

The viola’s tone is thicker and darker than the violin which makes it perfect for providing resonant solo passages in the middle of the orchestral range and the perfect antidote to the penetrating, crystal quality of the violin. It also blends particularly well with the clarinet and bassoon. Traditionally the viola was used in uninteresting ways simply to fill in the harmonies between the expressive cello and violin parts, but this is no longer the case. Violas can be every bit as agile as the other Strings and since the 19th century viola writing has just as demanding as that for the other string instruments. The viola is the alto voice of the String family. It is larger than the violin, and its lowest note is a perfect 5th lower than the violin. A typical symphony orchestra will have twelve violas seated two to a desk for a large orchestral work.” (Philharmonic) Cello “The word cello is actually just an abbreviation of violoncello, an Italian word meaning “little violone”. A violone was an instrument common in the 17th and 18th centuries which evolved into today’s double bass. The cello is the tenor voice in the string section.

It can play an octave lower than the viola and, as with the other Strings, the cello section sits two to a desk. There are usually between eight and twelve cellos in a symphony orchestra. Perhaps more than any other instrument the cello sound can create a melancholy mood. Its deep tenor voice can be further enhanced by a broad vibrato which on other instruments might sound ridiculous. With its particularly wide range and powerful sound it can one minute be playing a bass line and the next a melody that is high enough for the rest of the orchestra to move underneath. Another of its useful qualities is its clarity of attack, which enables it to play crisp architectural shapes as well as driving rhythmic patterns and makes the cello a key component of the orchestra’s ‘engine room’.” (Philharmonic) Double Bass “The double bass is the largest string instrument in the orchestra and with its warm, deep tones it is often thought of as the supporting the rest of the orchestra. The double-bass sometimes comes to the fore with a solo or a particularly prominent part, but mostly it is in the background supporting the harmonies, creating rhythms and adding its rich tone to the overall orchestral mix.

The double bass, or contrabass as it is also known, is descended from the viol rather than the violin, although both violin and viol shaped instruments exist today.” (Philharmonic) Share this:

Question: What instrument, named from the Italian word for small, is traditionally considered to be the highest-pitched in an orchestra?
Answer: Piccolo