There I was, halfway through a 17 dollar meal of fish and chips, thinking about what I had gotten myself into this time. Me, my band director, and about ten other instrumentalists from my high school were eating at a nearby Cheesecake Factory, preparing for our performance in Continental League Honor Band. Me, and around 200 other musicians, would all perform a concert at Boettcher Concert Hall in Denver, and I was about to play first chair French Horn in a building that could seat well over a thousand.
For me, this experience felt like everything my previous six years of playing the horn had been building up to, as this was my biggest performance I would ever give, as well as with some of the most technical, complicated music. More importantly,
I have always been the kind of person who has enjoyed staying inside my ‘comfort zone’, but this experience forced me out of there. I was playing very difficult music for a very large audience, and I happened to be playing one of the most difficult instruments out there. There was a possibility that I would mess up, and although I made several mistakes, the performance went on well. If anything, this experience taught me to do things that scare me - I may be terrified of messing up, or doing something wrong, but the end result is far greater than what I would get if I just gave up. Playing the horn is something I have enjoyed for the past several years, and this concert allowed me to spread my music to the people of Denver in a way I had never attempted before, hopefully not only satisfying me, but the hundreds of people who came to listen.
On Tuesday, October 17, 2017, I attended a musical concert. This was the first time I had ever been to a concert and did not play. The concert was not what I expected. I assumed I was going to a symphony that featured a soloist clarinet; however, upon arrival I quickly realized that my previous assumptions were false. My experience was sort of a rollercoaster. One minute I was down and almost asleep; next I was laughing; then I was up and intrigued.
The night was young, times were crazy and it was only the beginning of my senior year. It was still warm out and it still felt like summer; we didn’t know that we could have this much fun in one night, but we knew we were going to have fun no matter what. My first concert had to be one of the best nights of my life and one of my most favorite nights of my life during my senior year. It all began when my buddy Alex Kramper decided to give me a phone call and wanted to know if I wanted to go to an Imagine Dragons concert at the Verizon Wireless Amplifier Theater for only twenty bucks, I responded with a hell yeah, the concert was only in a weak.
Then, with a punchy five-note line the sax player began his solo. After that phrase he stopped and waited-allowing a few bars to roll by as he felt the rhythm and absorbed the harmonies the piano player offered in response to his line. With his head bent down as if in prayer, he countered with a longer, smoother second phrase that elaborated on the first one but then confidently let his last unresolved note bang out over the audience. I felt my legs moving under me and my head bobbing slightly, and my jaw began to open and shut tightly as if to sing the next phrase. As the solo progressed, I felt I had to hold my breath, waiting for each of the horn player's thoughts to finish before I could take a full breath. The phrases began to get faster and closer together until he was rapidly firing notes out of his horn, and there was increasingly less space to breathe. The notes came in clusters and bursts of creative energy. His ideas seemed to flow from deep within the realms of the unconscious until he seemed no longer to be in control of his thoughts.
The Revolutionary Instrument, the Trumpet. Throughout the ages, styles, instruments, and concepts of music have changed very dramatically, but still the trumpet has survived them all. From Classical, to Jazz, to Polka, to Latin, to Big Band, to small ensembles, to Opera, and Musicals. It is probably the most popular instrument of all time with talented musicians like Allen Vizzuti, Maynard Ferguson, Arturo Sandoval, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Dizzie Gillespie, Doc Severinsen, Herbert L. Clarke, and Claude Gordon.
This paper will explore the early instrument known as the chalumeau and the various types of instruments that have evolved from it. The chalumeau group of instruments were folk instruments that were played with a single reed and the chalumeau itself is most commonly known as the predecessor to the modern-day clarinet. The instrument has only eight tone-holes on its cylindrical bore. There are many other single reed instruments that resemble the chalumeau and were in existence during the same time period. I will be discussing the history of the chalumeau and its repertoire, similar instruments of the time, and the evolution from the chalumeau to the modern day clarinet. My sources will include scholarly articles from online databases, such as Oxford Music Online, as well as books written on the topic. Such sources include The Baroque Clarinet by Albert R. Rice and Some Light on the Chalumeau by Edgar Hunt. Through this paper, I hope to shed more light on not only the group of instruments in the chalumeau family, but also the people who helped to adapt and modify the chalumeau itself, and the specifics of those modifications to create what we now see as the modern day clarinet.
In this research paper, I will talk about the history of horn from past to present. Because horn in classical period was different, the valves of horn were not invented.
The guitar is a musical instrument that is played by the plucking or strumming of its strings. According to the records, this instrument was invented in Spain in the 15th century. The guitar’s appearance has changed since then. The body of the guitar was narrower than what it is now. Guitars were considered “lutes” at the time. In which lutes formed to be vihuelas then later became guitars. When the guitar was first invented, it only had four-strings so it was called a four-course guitar. However, it has a variety course of strings now. The guitar is one of the instruments that has a major role in music, today. The genres of music that
The history and progression of wind bands and their instruments has shaped music in American history, helped create the music industry, and reflects pop culture trends we see today. Though many people may believe that music is not a huge part of history, it actually has created many jobs and opportunities for a lot of people. The instrumentation of bands and the creation of new instruments have influenced people to make music more than just a special skill, and into an actual career.
What is a brass instrument? A brass instrument is known as an “aerophone”, which is an instrument where the musician blows air through the instrument. The player of the brass instrument makes a tone by buzzing their lips against a cup-shaped mouthpiece. However, many brass instruments aren’t purely made of brass. Many of these instruments have other metals to form separate parts of the instrument. Brass instruments, like every other pitched music instrument, are reliant on on the overtone series of notes. The overtone series states that a string, or vibrating air column, like a brass tubing on an instrument, vibrate at certain frequencies based on the length of string or tubing. “The fundamental pitch is the lowest natural note. Other possible
The history of the clarinet begins in 1690, Nuremberg, Germany, when a man by the name of Johann Christoph Denner, with the help of his son, Jacob, invented the clarinet. J.C. Denner was well-known and highly respected for the woodwind instruments that he made back in that time period. The clarinets that they were making/selling only had two keys and were mostly made from brass and the use of springs. The clarinets that we know and love today come from an instrument called the Chalumeau.
Orchestras have become a major part of the musical society. My favorite part of the orchestra is the string section. Especially when the harp is used for a piece. Did you know the harp is one of the oldest musical instruments in the world? The harp went through many changes before achieving the one we see used today.
Of all the instruments laid out on display, only one caught my attention. I was thirteen at the time, and naturally, my eye was drawn to the shiniest of the group. I had never heard the sound of a flute before, aside from the cheap imitation of one on my family’s electronic keyboard. Nevertheless, I picked the pretty, gleaming, easy-to-carry flute on that first day of band class. Three years later, I can’t imagine playing anything else. What started off as blind luck and an attraction to shiny objects is now a part of my life. Playing an instrument is always a worthwhile investment; you develop a skill that many people only wish they had, you have opportunities to meet other musicians, and you may even get to travel in a band setting. But in order to reap the benefits, you first have to learn how to play.
In this experience, I was able to find and enhance not just my talent, but also my character. My experience strengthened and molded me not just as a musician, but also as a person. The lessons I have acquired in that experience formed my character. It teaches me the value of perseverance, patience and trust in God’s plans.
→My friend’s music blasted all the way up there, her car full of passengers. We rocked out and sang from Osseo to Eau Claire. The night had such good vibes, I knew it was going to be memorable.
with, who enjoyed playing, so I would often go over to their house. I have