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May 2009Sunday, May 17, 2009
The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The name derives from adding the suffix -et meaning little to the Italian word clarino, meaning a particular type of trumpet, as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical Bore (wind instruments), and uses a single reed.
Clarinets actually comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches. It is the largest such instrument family, with more than a dozen types. Of these many are rare or obsolete, and music written for them is usually played on one of the more common size instruments. The unmodified word clarinet usually refers to the B♭ soprano clarinet, by far the most common clarinet.
A person who plays the clarinet is called a clarinetist or clarinettist.
Some Pictures Of The Clarinet-
E-flat Clarinet:
Close Up On Clarinet Buttons:
Sound It Produces:The cluster of keys at the bottom of the upper joint (protruding slightly beyond the cork of the joint) are known as the trill keys and are operated by the right hand. These give the player alternative fingerings which make it easy to play ornaments and trills that would otherwise be awkward. The entire weight of the smaller clarinets is supported by the right thumb behind the lower joint on what is called the thumb-rest. Basset horns and larger clarinets are supported with a neck strap or a floor peg.
Finally, the flared end is known as the bell. Contrary to popular belief, the bell does not amplify the sound; rather, it improves the uniformity of the instrument's tone for the lowest notes in each register.
For the other notes the sound is produced almost entirely at the tone holes and the bell is irrelevant.
On basset horns and larger clarinets, the bell curves up and forward, and is usually made of metal.
Pitch range:
Clarinets have the largest pitch range of any common woodwind. The intricate key organization that makes this range possible can make playability of some passages awkward. The bottom of the clarinet’s written range is defined by the keywork on each particular instrument; standard keywork schemes allow a low E on the common B♭ clarinet. The lowest concert pitch depends on the piece of music.
Nearly all soprano and piccolo clarinets have keywork enabling them to play the E below middle C as their lowest written note, though some B♭ clarinets go down to E♭ to enable them to match the range of the A clarinet. In the case of the B♭ soprano clarinet, the concert pitch of the lowest note is D3, a whole tone lower than the written pitch. Most alto and bass clarinets have an additional key to allow a (written) E♭3. Modern professional-quality bass clarinets generally have additional keywork to written C3.
Defining the top end of a clarinet’s range is difficult, since many advanced players can produce notes well above the highest notes commonly found in method books. The G two octaves above G4 is usually the highest note clarinetists encounter. The C above that, is attainable by most advanced players and is shown on many fingering charts.
The range of a clarinet can be divided into three distinct registers. The lowest register, consisting of the notes up to the written B♭ above middle C (B♭4), is known as the chalumeau register (named after the instrument that was the clarinet's immediate ancestor).
Qualities to look out for when purchasing:
The instrument must be clean, shiny and new-looking. The acoustics and the placing of all the parts of the clarinet all must be in position and firm.
Historical background:
The clarinet has its roots in the early single-reed instruments or hornpipes used in the Middle East and Europe.
The modern clarinet developed from a Baroque instrument. This instrument was similar to a recorder, but with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the modern clarinet and a cylindrical bore. Lacking a register key, it was played mainly in its fundamental register, with a limited range of about one and a half octaves. It had eight finger holes, like a recorder, plus two keys for its two highest notes. At this time contrary to modern practice the reed was placed in contact with the upper lip.
Around the turn of the 18th century the chalumeau was modified by converting one of its keys into a register key to produce the first clarinet. This development is usually attributed to a German instrument maker named Johann Christoph Denner, though some have suggested his son Jacob Denner was the inventor. This instrument played well in the middle register with a loud, strident tone.
The original Denner clarinets had two keys, and could play a chromatic scale, but various makers added more keys to get improved notes, easier fingerings, and a slightly larger range. Clarinets were soon accepted into orchestras.
The next major development in the history of clarinet was the invention of the modern pad. Early clarinets covered the tone holes with felt pads. Because these leaked air, the number of pads had to be kept to a minimum, so the clarinet was severely restricted in what notes could be played with a good tone. In 1812, Iwan Müller, a Russian-born clarinetist and inventor, developed a new type of pad which was covered in leather or fish bladder. This was completely airtight, so the number of keys could be increased enormously. He designed a new type of clarinet with seven finger holes and thirteen keys. This allowed the clarinet to play in any key with near equal ease.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Indian bamboo flutes:
Japanese flutes:
History
Though the flute has been dated to prehistoric times, Theobald Boehm is mainly responsible for making flutes very similar to modern flutes known today. It has appeared in different forms and locations around the world. A three-holed flute, 18.7cm long, made from a mammoth tusk (from the Geißenklösterle cave, near Ulm, in the southern German Swabian Alb and dated to 30,000 to 37,000 years ago.) was discovered in 2004, and two flutes made from swan bones excavated a decade earlier (from the same cave in Germany, dated to circa 36,000 years ago) are among the oldest known musical instruments. A fragment of the femur of a juvenile cave bear, with two to four holes, found at Divje Babe in Slovenia and dated to about 2,017 years ago, may also be an early flute.
Some early flutes were made out of tibias (shin bones). The flute has also always been an essential part of Indian culture and mythology, and the cross flute believed by several accounts to originate in India as Indian literature from 1500 BCE has made vague references to the cross flute.
Playable 9000-year-old Gudi (literally, "bone flute"), made from the wing bones of red-crowned cranes, with five to eight holes each, were excavated from a tomb in Jiahu in the Central Chinese province of Henan.
The earliest extant transverse flute is a chi (篪) flute discovered in the Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng at the Suizhou site, Hubei province, China. It dates from 433 BC, of the later Zhou Dynasty. It is fashioned of lacquered bamboo with closed ends and has five stops that are at the flute's side instead of the top. Chi flutes are mentioned in Shi Jing, compiled and edited by Confucius.
Unique Electric Cello:
Cello [Commonly seen] :
The Sound It Produces:![[cello keyboard]](http://library.thinkquest.org/5116/images/cello_key.jpg){kind=small}
| Approximate dimensions for 4/4 size cello | Average size (cm) | Average size (in) |
|---|---|---|
| Approximate width horizontally from A peg to C peg ends | 16 | 6 - 5/16 |
| Back length excluding half round where neck joins | 75.5 | 29 - 3/4 |
| Upper bouts (shoulders) | 34 | 13 - 3/8 |
| Lower bouts (hips) | 44 | 17 - 3/8 |
| Bridge height | 9 | 3 - 9/16 |
| Rib depth at shoulders including edges of front and back | 12.5 | 4 - 15/16 |
| Rib depth at hips including edges | 12.8 | 5 - 1/16 |
| Distance beneath fingerboard to surface of belly at neck join | 2.2 | 7/8 |
| Bridge to back total depth | 26.7 | 10 - 1/2 |
| Overall height excluding end pin | 121 | 47 - 10/16 |
| End pin unit and spike | 5.5 | 2 - 5/8 |
By 1529 a 3-stringed instrument was made, probably in Italy. About a century later it was called "violincello", which is Italian for "small double bass". That is what we get the word "cello" from. Late in the 1600’s, composers began writing music for the cello. It played the bass in the early days of the string quartet, only occasionally taking the melody. It became distinct in symphony orchestras and in chamber music in the 1700’s and 1800’s. The cello was used for many years to strengthen the bass section of church choirs.
The cello is the second largest of the string section. It is the tenor or baritone of the string family. The notes have a deep, warm tone. Of all the strings, the rich, singing sound of the cello make it sound the most like a human voice. Some people believe it is the most expressive instrument in the orchestra. In string quartets the cello usually plays the lowest notes.
The cello is played with a bow or plucked (pizzicato). It is about 4 feet tall, approximately 1-1/2 feet across, and weighs 22 pounds. The thicker and longer strings of the cello make it a whole octave deeper than the viola. Music Written For It: | William Tell Overture by Tchaikovsky |
| Cello solos from Piano Concerto No. 2 by Brahms |
| Symphony No. 3 the third movement by Brahms |
| Carnival of the Animals "The Swan" by Saint-Saens |
| Cello Concerto in D by Haydn |
| Cello Concerto in B minor by Antonin Dvorak |
| Cello Concerto no. 1 in C major by Joseph Haydn |
| Variations on a Rococo Theme for Cello and Orchestra by Peter Tchaikovsky |
| Brandenburg Concerto by J.S. Bach |
| Sonata for Cello and Piano by Claude Debussy |
| La Mer (The Sea)(first movement) by Claude Debussy |
| Don Quixote (the cello actually plays the mixed-up man of La Mancha) by Richard Strauss |
| Gloria in D 1st movement by Vivaldi - This has a chorus singing too. |
Friday, May 15, 2009
Birch Harp:
Lever Harp:
Lever Lap Harp:
Comparison of Lever Harp And Pedal Harp:
(Modern pedal Harp)Angle harps and bow harps continue to be used up to the present day. In Europe however a further development took place: adding a third structural member, the pillar, to support the far ends of the arch and sound box.
European harps in Medieval and Renaissance times usually had a bray pin fitted to make a buzzing sound when a string was plucked. By the baroque period in Italy and Spain more strings were added to allow for chromatic notes; these were usually in a second line of strings. At the same time single-row diatonic harps continued to be played.
In Germany in the second half of the 17th century, diatonic single-row harps were fitted with manually-turned hooks which fretted individual strings to raise their 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. The idea was even extended to triple-action harps but these were never common. The double-action pedal harp remains the normal form of the instrument in the Western classical orchestra.
Music Written For The Harp:
The music written for piano and for other instruments that have the pitch range of similar to the harp is also possible for playing on the harp. Songs can be played solo or in an ensemble, simple or complex. A more difficult piece of music is also easier to play in a ensemble as the notes of chords can be easily split so the burden would not be so much and the key and accidentals are also easy to change using levers of pedals, depending on the harp.
Some Videos On The Harp And Some Pieces Played On Them:
Bibliography:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harp
http://www.harpspectrum.org/what/what.shtml
http://www.google.com.sg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8Ww-Iwa6iY
Classical Guitar
Acoustic Guitar
The guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six strings, but four, seven, eight, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen and eighteen string guitars also exist.
Guitars are recognized as one of the primary instruments in flamenco, jazz, blues, country, mariachi, rock music, and many forms of pop. They can also be a solo classical instrument. 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. Such electric guitars were introduced in the 1930s and continue to have a profound influence on popular culture.
Notes Range
History
Before the development of the electric guitar and the use of synthetic materials, a guitar was defined as being an instrument having "a long, fretted neck, flat wooden soundboard, ribs, and a flat back, most often with incurved sides". Instruments similar to the guitar have been popular for at least 4,000 years.
While today's classical guitar first appeared in Spain, it was itself a product of the long and complex history that saw a number of related guitar types developed and used across Europe. The roots of the guitar can be traced back thousands of years to an Indo-European origin in instruments, then known in central Asia and India. For this reason the guitar itself is distantly related to instruments such as the tanbur and setar, and the Indian sitar. The oldest known iconographic representation of an instrument displaying all the essential features of a guitar being played is a 3,300 year old stone carving of a Hittite bard. The modern word, guitar, was adopted into English from Spanish guitarra (German Gitarre, French Guitare), loaned from the medieval Andalusian Arabic qitara, itself derived from the Latin cithara, which in turn came from the earlier Greek word kithara, a possible descendant of Old Persian sihtar.
The sound it produces
The guitar is a transposing instrument. Its pitch sounds one octave lower than it is notated on a score.
In all types of guitars the sound is produced by the vibration of the strings. However, because the strings can only displace a small amount of air, the volume of the sound needs to be increased in order to be heard. In an acoustic guitar, this is accomplished by using a soundboard and a resonant cavity, the sound box. The body of the guitar is hollow. The vibrating strings drive the soundboard through the bridge, making it vibrate. The soundboard has a larger surface area and thus displaces a larger volume of air, producing a much louder sound than the strings alone.
How it works
Guitars can be constructed to meet the demands of both left and right-handed players. Traditionally the dominant hand is assigned the task of plucking or strumming the strings. For the majority of people this entails using the right hand. This is because musical expression (dynamics, tonal expression and colour etc) is largely determined by the plucking hand, while the fretting hand is assigned the lesser mechanical task of depressing and gripping the strings. This is similar to the convention of the violin family of instruments where the right hand controls the bow. A minority, however, believe that left-handed people should learn to play guitars strung in the manner used by right-handed people, simply to standardise the instrument.
