Unit 4 - musical instruments

IESO Juan Patiño Torres – Dpto Música – Carlos Rodríguez Parrón – http://musicamiguelesteban.blogspot.com

Unit 4

Musical instruments 1. Definition and classification A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making music.

At various times, and in various different cultures, various schemes of musical instrument classification classification have been used. The major classifications are woodwinds, brass, percussion, and stringed instruments. a) Strings In string instrument (or stringed instrument) the sound is made by vibrating strings (We have got three categories of strings instruments, bowed, plucked and stricked instruments.) instruments b) Wind instruments The sound is produced by vibrating air (usually inside the instrument). The instrument, or parts of the instrument, are shaped (often into a tube or set of tubes) so that the vibrations will be a particular length, and so a particular pitch c) Persucssion instruments (membraphones and idiophones) A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound by being hit with an implement, shaken, rubbed, scraped, or by any other action which sets the object into vibration.

We hit them with percussion beaters and sticks d) Electrophones (It’s a new category!)

An instrument that is not amplified electrically is an acoustic instrument.

2. String instruments Remember, the sound is made by vibrating strings and we have three categories 2.1 Bowed instruments A bow is A tool made of wood and horsehair used to set the strings of a bowed string instrument in vibration. The bow was originally curved in the shape of a cycle, but it has been subject to many changes over time.

We have four instruments in this category and all of them have an important function in the orchestra The four major instruments in the string family, family the violin, the viola, the cello and the double bass, are built the same way. The instruments are made of many pieces of wood which are glued - never nailed - together. The body of the instrument is hollow, thus becoming a resonating box for the sound. They have got four strings (sometimes five on the double-bass) made of animal gut, nylon, or steel are wrapped around pegs at one end of the instrument and attached to a tailpiece at the other. They are stretched across a bridge to produce their assigned pitches.

- The violin is the soprano voice in the string family. It is held under the chin, resting on the shoulder. The violin has a lovely tone that can be soft and expressive or exciting and brilliant.

- The viola is the alto voice in the string family. Like the violin, it is held under the chin, resting on the shoulder. Unlike the violin, the viola is slightly larger and is tuned five notes lower. It has a darker and warmer tone quality than the violin, but is not as brilliant.

- The violoncello or cello is the tenor voice in the string family. While shaped like a violin, the cello is much larger and is held between the player’s knees. Because it can produce beautiful sounds from its lowest to its highest notes, it is a popular instrument.

- The double bass, bass or string bass is the largest and lowest instrument of the string family. The double bass has rounded shoulders instead of square shoulders like the other string instruments. Because of its size, the player stands or sits on a high stool to play it.

2.2 Plucked string instruments

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IESO Juan Patiño Torres – Dpto Música – Carlos Rodríguez Parrón – http://musicamiguelesteban.blogspot.com

Plucked string instruments are a subcategory of string instruments that are played by plucking the strings.

Plucking is a way of pulling and releasing the string in such as way as to give it an impulse that causes the string to vibrate. Plucking can be done with either a finger or a plectrum. plectrum This category includes the keyboard instrument the harpsichord, which formerly used feather quills (now plastic plectra) to pluck the strings.

We have two principal instruments in this category, the harp and the guitar - The harp is not like any other member of the string family. It has about 45 strings stretched across its tall triangular frame. The strings are plucked by hand while seven pedals at the bottom of the harp adjust the length of the strings to produce additional notes.

- The guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six strings. Traditionally guitars have usually been constructed of combinations of various woods and strung with animal gut, or more recently, with either nylon or steel strings. Guitars may be played acoustically, where the tone is produced by vibration of the strings and modulated by the hollow body, or they may rely on an amplifier that can electronically manipulate tone.

2.3 Striking string instruments The third common method of sound production in stringed instruments is to strike the string with a hammer. By far the most well-known instrument to use this method is the piano ,where the hammers are controlled by a mechanical action - The Piano. Keyboard instruments are often classified as percussion instruments because they play a rhythmic role in some music. However, most keyboard instruments are not true members of the percussion family because their sound is not produced by the vibration of a membrane or solid material.

Sound is produced on the piano by small hammers striking strings. The hammers are controlled mechanically and strike the strings when the player's hands press the piano keys.

3. Wind Wind instruments Remember, the sound is produced by vibrating air (usually inside the instrument).

A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator (usually a tube), in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into (or over) a mouthpiece set at the end of the resonator.. The pitch of the vibration is determined by the length of the tube and by manual modifications of the effective length of the vibrating column of air. In the case of some wind instruments, sound is produced by blowing through a reed; others require buzzing into a metal mouthpiece.

3.1 Woodwind instruments We have three kinds of woodwind instruments. The three branches of the woodwind family have different sources of sound. Vibrations begin when air is blown across the top of an instrument, across a single reed, or across two reeds. reeds Reeds are small pieces of cane. cane A single reed is clamped to a mouthpiece at the top of the instrument and vibrates against the mouthpiece when air is blown between the reed and the mouthpiece. Two reeds tied together are commonly known as a double reed. This double reed fits into a tube at the top of the instrument and vibrates when air is forced between the two reeds.

- Flute: Originally made of wood, the flute is now made from silver or gold and is about 2 feet in length.

It looks like a narrow tube with a row of holes covered by keys along one side. The player blows air across the small hole in the mouthpiece to produce a sound that can be either soft and mellow or high and piercing - Clarinet: Clarinet Made from wood, the clarinet produces a fluid sound when air is blown between a single reed and the mouthpiece. By pressing metal keys with the fingers of both hands, the player has the ability to play many different notes very quickly.

- Saxophone: Saxophone Conically shaped, the saxophone is the only woodwind instrument made of brass. Although it is found only occasionally in the symphony orchestra, it is considered a member of the woodwind family because it has a single reed like the clarinet.

- Oboe: Oboe The oboe is similar to the clarinet in many ways. Both are made from wood and have metal keys that can produce many notes rapidly. Unlike the clarinet, the oboe does not have a mouthpiece, but has two reeds

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tied together. By placing them between one's lips and blowing air through them, the reeds vibrate and produce a sound.

- Basson: Basson The bassoon is a large double reed instrument with a lower sound than the other woodwind instruments. Its double reed is attached to a small curved tube called a bocal which fits into the bassoon. When the player blows air between the reeds, the vibrating column of air inside the instrument travels over nine feet to the bottom of the instrument, then up to the top where the sound comes out.

3.2 Brass family Brass Family instruments produce their unique sound by the player buzzing his/her lips while blowing air through a cup- or funnel-shaped mouthpiece. To produce higher or lower pitches, the player adjusts the opening between his/her lips. The mouthpiece connects to a length of brass tubing ending in a bell. The shorter the tubing length, the smaller the instrument, and the higher the sound; and the longer the tubing length, the larger the instrument, and the lower the sound. The brass family can trace its ancestry back to herald trumpets, hunting horns, and military bugles. The main instruments of the brass family include the trumpet, horn, trombone, and tuba.

- Trumpet: Trumpet The trumpet is the highest sounding member of the brass family. The brilliant tone of the trumpet travels through about 6 - ½ feet of tubing bent into an oblong shape. The player presses the three valves in various combinations with the fingers of the right hand to obtain various pitches.

- Trombone: The mouthpiece of the trombone is larger than that of a trumpet, and gives the instrument a more mellow sound. Instead of valves, the trombone has a slide which changes the length of its approximately 9 feet of tubing to reach different pitches.

- Horn (French Horn): Horn) The horn or French horn consists of about 12 feet of narrow tubing wound into a circle.

The player obtains different notes on the horn with a clear mellow sound by pressing valves with the left hand and by moving the right hand inside of the bell.

- Tuba: Tuba Made of about 16 feet of tubing, the tuba is the lowest sounding member of the brass family. The tuba has four to five valves and is held upright in the player’s lap.

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4. Percussion family Remember that a percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound by being hit With a name that means, "the hitting of one body against another," instruments in the percussion family are played by being struck, shaken, or scraped. In the orchestra, the percussion section provides a variety of rhythms, textures and tone colors. Percussion instruments are classified as tuned or untuned. untuned a) Tuned instruments play specific pitches or notes, notes just like the woodwind, brass and string instruments. b) Untuned instruments produce a sound with an indefinite pitch, pitch like the sound of a hand knocking on a door.

4.1 Tuned instruments (remember that they play specific notes) - Timpani: Timpani also called kettledrums, were the first drums to be used in the orchestra over 300 years ago.

They are constructed of a large copper bowl with a drumhead made of calfskin or plastic stretched across the top.

When struck with felttipped wooden sticks, or mallets, mallets timpani produce a specific pitch that is determined by the drum’s size. That pitch is fine-tuned by tightening the drumhead with keys and foot pedals. Most orchestras use three or four timpani of varying sizes.

- Glockenspiel also called orchestra bells, the glockenspiel resembles a small xylophone, but it is made of steel bars. The glockenspiel is typically played with wooden or plastic plastic mallets, mallets producing a high tuned sound that is bright and penetrating. The name glockenspiel comes from the German language and means "to play the bells."

- Xilophone: Xilophone First used in the orchestra just over a century ago, the xylophone is a tuned instrument made of hardwood bars in graduated lengths set horizontally on a metal frame. With the larger, lower-sounding bars on the left, the notes of the xylophone are laid out much like a piano keyboard. Striking the bars with hard mallets produces a bright, sharp sound. The xylophone was originally modeled after an African instrument and its name is Greek, meaning "wood sound".

- Chimes: Chimes They are a tuned instrument consisting of a set of 12 to 18 metal tubes hung from a metal frame. frame The chimes, or tubular bells, are struck with a mallet and sound like church bells when played. The longer the length of tube that is struck, the lower the pitch that is created.

4.2 Untuned instruments. instruments (Remember that produce a sound with an indefinite pitch) - Snare:.

Snare It has two calfskin or plastic drumheads stretched tightly over a hollow metal frame. The top head is struck with wooden drumsticks, and is called the batter-head. The bottom head, or snare-head has catgut or metal wires called snares stretched tightly across it.

- Cymbals: Cymbals Made from two large, slightly concave brass plates, cymbals are fitted with leather hand straps and are shaped so that when they are crashed together, only the edges touch. Although cymbals are untuned instruments, different sized cymbals produce a wide range of sound effects. Cymbals are also played by being struck with drumsticks or mallets while suspended on a string or stand.

- Bass drum: drum Constructed like a snare drum, but without snares, the bass drum is much larger and is played on its side, so that either head may be struck. The beater or mallet for a bass drum is large with a soft material such as sheep’s wool covering the end.

Another percussion instruments: triangle, tambourine, castanets or guiro

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IESO Juan Patiño Torres – Dpto Música – Carlos Rodríguez Parrón – http://musicamiguelesteban.blogspot.com

5. Orchestra Seating Chart Chart

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