Double Reed Instruments
The four most commonly used double reed instruments are the oboe, the English horn, the bassoon, and the contra bassoon. All of the double reed instruments belong to the woodwind family. Between the four instruments the range of double reeds are a low B flat in bass clef 3 octaves bellow middle C to a high G in treble clef 3 octaves above middle C.
The oboe is a double reed woodwind instrument. It has a range of a B flat to a high G 3 octaves above middle C. The oboe is built in the key of c. The French musicians Jean Hotteterre and Michel Philidor invented it in the 17th century. During the Baroque period, violins were the most common solo instruments, so when the oboe was invented a revolution followed. In the beginning they had only two keys. These original oboes where high in quality mostly due to their construction in three separate parts. Several sized oboes were made for playing in groups. The soprano and alto became common for solo roles. During the later baroque and almost the whole Vienna classicism, the oboe was the leading wind instrument of the orchestra. The oboe has a wide dynamic range, from pianissimo to forte. It is favored as the "singer" in the orchestra. The oboe is separated into three parts; the bell, lower joint, and the upper joint. The joints are drilled with a seven hole scale in the key of the instrument. The first hole above the middle joint and the first hole bellow the middle joint is drilled double. The reed is mounted in the top of the oboe on a metal tube or staple. A sound is produced through the use of the double reed. Two reeds are bond together with a small opening between them, and are attached as a mouthpiece at the end of the tube. The player takes the reeds between their lips, and vibrates them with breath lip pressure. A complicated metal mechanism stops and opens the holes in the modern open, with the fingering like a flute. Trills, Tremolos, and staccato notes are all possible for an oboe player. A modern day oboe player is Joseph Robinson who plays in the New York Philharmonic.
The English horn is a double reed woodwind instrument.
The clarinet is a woodwind instrament consisting of a cylindrical wood, metal, or ebonite pipe with a bell-shaped opening at one end and a mouthpiece at the other end, to which a thin reed is attached. The clarinet has five different sections, the mouthpiece, the barrel, the upper section, the lower section, and the bell. The length of the entire instrument is 60 cm long. The mouthpiece section consists of a slotted cylinder, to which a reed is attached by a metal clamp called a ligature. The mouthpiece plugs into the next section which is a barrel. The barrel is simply a connecting cylinder to which the mouthpiece and the upper section plugs into. The upper section is a cylindrical pipe consisting of 4 holes and 9 keys placed in different locations along the pipe. On the back of the pipe there is a hole and a key that is used by the thumb. The lower section plugs into the upper section and is also connected via a special bridge key. This piece consists of 3 holes and 8 keys. On the inward facing side of the pipe, there is a protruding piece of metal called a thumb rest, which supports the entire clarinet. The bell plugs into the lower section. It consists of a cylinder that flares out into a bell shape and ends the clarinet.
<td width="50%">Baroque OrchestrasClassical OrchestrasString section and basso continuo central to the orchestra. Other instruments are occasional additions.Standard group of four sections: strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion. Different instruments treated individually.Fairly small; generally 10- 40 players.Larger than baroque; great variation to the numbers of players.Flexible use of timbres, e.g. Timpani and trumpets used generally just for festive music.Standardised sections. Most sections used regularly.Tone colour is distinctly secondary to other musical elements.Greater variety of tone colour and more rapid changes of colour. Timbre is unimportant and therefore a piece written for harpsichord could easily be rearranged for a string section.Each section of the classical orchestra has a special role. And each instrument is used distinctively.Wind instruments mainly used as solo instruments or as part of the basso continuo.The wind section had become a separate unit capable of contrast and distinct colour.The harpsichord generally plays an ostinato under the orchestra. Piano not invented.The piano introduces a third colour-tone to be contrasted with the orchestra
The Native American flute is the third oldest known musical instrument in the world, with bone flutes dating back over 60,000 years. The first instrument found were drums, then varies whistle were made. Over time, the instrument evolved with many different materials and shapes. And these difference and changes reflect the culture of that time. Virtually, flutes were used all types of hardwoods and softwoods in history.
Mozart’s Symphony No. 41 was his last and longest symphony he composed. While listening to this breathtaking piece of music, one specific aspect of this piece stood out to me; this being the instrumentation. In this symphony, many different instruments were used. While listening, I recognized many of them. A flute, two oboes, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani, and strings make up this famous piece that is known world-wide by millions of people.
Phillis Wheatley, a poet of early modern poetry discloses a sonnet to Scipio Moorhead labeled To S.M., a Young African Painter, on Seeing His Works. The start of Wheatley life was being purchased by a white family and shipped off to Boston. She was an extremely intelligent child that was beginning to learn how to read, write and how to strongly connect to the Bible. When knowing the background of this poet, we realize first-hand how her childhood impacted her poetry. This piece of poetry was in the point of view of first person. Many poets use a type of sound devices or figurative language to enhance their message within. Wheatley introduces a sound device known as end rhyme as a way of intensifying the experience to the reader. The poet stated, “When first thy pencil did those beauties give, and breathing figures learnt from thee to live” (409) uses end rhyme to give connection between those two lines. My outsight on these two lines would be summarized as the poet trying to interpret the beautiful people the artist has drawn in her own words. Also, Wheatley communicates figurative language into this poem by using the several metaphors to put emphasis on her writing. The metaphor heavily absorbed by me would be, “Whose twice six gates on radiant hinges ring: Celestial Salem blooms in endless spring” (410) creating an image of Heaven.
When you hear the instrument, “clarinet” which person do you think of? Lots of people try to be funny and answer Squidward from Spongebob Squarepants but who really were the super stars of this well-known instrument? There are many clarinet players out there that had a lot of great master pieces and who made very important achievements with this instrument. One of these famous clarinet players was a man named Johann Simon Hermstedt. Johann Simon Hermstedt was one of the many well-known clarinet players of the 19th century. Hermstedt was born on December 29 of 1778 and he died on August 10 of 1846 in Sondershausen, Germany. Hermstedt also played an important part in Germany, when he lived in Germany, he played as court clarinetist to Duke Gunther I of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, and he also taught him how to play the clarinet. Another clarinet player named Louis Spohr’s used to play concerts and he played four concerts along with Carl Maria von Weber, played all pieces that were composed by Hermstedt. These two clarinet players were very dedicated to his work and his life; they were very inspired by his way of playing. Hermstedt was pretty much a bit of a composer himself, he wrote various pieces of music for other wind instrument players but he’s not as famous as Mozart and all other composers, he was more of a conservative player.
The Alto Saxophone is a single-reed musical instrument that was invented in 1846 by Antoine-Joseph (Adolphe) Sax. Adolphe Sax was born on November 6, 1814 in Dinant, Belgium. During his childhood, he studied the clarinet and flute at Brussel’s Conservatory. His father was a renowned maker of musical instruments during that time. Since Adolphe grew up with his father making instruments and studying the clarinet and the flute, it was obvious that he would end up following in his father’s footsteps. The first instrument that Adolphe decided to look at was the bass clarinet; he wanted to improve the tone of the instrument. He came up with a single-reed instrument constructed from metal that had a conical bore and overblew at the octave, which translates to the saxophone.
The piano is the most commonly known and most used. The saxophone has the ability to produce a unique sound. The clarinet has a reed connected to the mouthpiece, which the player blows through to create music. The trumpet is another a popular instrument. The trombone is descended from the trumpet that’s with played in bass clef or treble clef. With the larger size the double bass, the player usually has to stand up. The drums include the bass drum, snare drum, and cymbals. Last but not least, it’s good to have a vocalist because songs will sound
The orchestration comprises of a standard set of instruments, including two flutes, two clarinets, two oboes, two bassoons, two trumpets, three trombones, four horns, timpani, bass drum, cymbals and strings. An additional instrument is the tuba (Chung 22). Moreover, it appears that the piano is not the only soloist; rather other instruments such as flutes, clarinets and horns make minor appearances for similar purposes.
The major classes of musical instruments used in the High and Late Renaissance include plucked strings, bowed strings, brass, double reeds, other winds, keyboards, and percussions (McGee, 1985). Lutes, drums, and trumpets were often used, but the instruments that were especially popular during the Renaissance include the bass viol, treble viol, viola, violin, tenor sackbut, cornetto, bass sackbut, curtal, tenor shawm, bass recorder, and harpsichord (McGee, 1985).
Also, with organs of this size, the bellows took up large amounts of space, thus
Mozart was a successful composer and violinist. He used the form of concerto (like the
Whether you pick the flute as your instrument of choice because it produces your favorite sound, looks easier to transport than a tuba, or simply because it’s shiny, you will have to decide how to buy. There are a variety of reputable brands to choose from, but not all make durable, high-quality flutes. It will be tempting to go for a cheaper model, but in many cases, you will be sacrificing quality. There is a surprising amount of engineering that goes into the making of one instrument. Each hole must be placed precisely, otherwise the tone is distorted. Often, cheaper flutes skip steps in engineering, or are made with shoddy materials that either bend or break too easily (Duncan). While you should not compromise a good brand name for cost, beginning flutists can get away with buying a student flute. Student flutes differ from professional flutes in that professional flutes are open-holed. Rather than having so...
The orchestra was well amplified throughout the Lincoln Center Opera House because it was clearly heard from our upper mezzanine seating. Sunken down below in front of the stage is where I found the opera orchestra. The opera orchestra, which is quite similar to a full symphony orchestra, was starting to warm-up as I entered the "jewelry box". In the orchestra pit I found aerophones, which included, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, trumpets, trombones, as well as a flute, piccolo, english horn, bass clarinet, contrabassoon, bass trombone, and a tuba; chordophones, which included the first and second violins, violas, cellos, and a harp; membranophones were made up of the percussion and a timpani. The dynamics range from piano to extreme fortissimo throughout the four act opera. This helped the audience grasp the feelings and emotion that the characters were trying to displ...
...te. In old times, most flutes were made of bamboo, which allowed even common people to play it. By covering the holes and blowing through the side hole while moving the fingers flexibly between the six holes, a sound will be produced that is leisurely and mellifluous like sound from far away. This always reminds people of a pastoral picture of a farmer riding on a bull while playing a flute