The Western concert flute was developed over the centuries from a simple end-blown flute to the current transverse flute. Transverse flutes are flutes that are held parallel to the floor. To play a transverse, the flutist directs the airstream across the mouth or blow hole and not directly into the instrument. The flute constitutes one of the most important instruments of the orchestra because of its high range, ability to blend in with other instruments and play the melody.
Head Joint
The head joint of the Western concert flute contains the mouthpiece, lip-plate and the blow hole. There are no keys on the joint of the flute. The mouthpiece consists of the lip-plate and an oval hole in the center of the plate. Lip-plates are also commonly referred to as embouchure plates. Larger blow holes will produce deeper, richer tones, while small blow holes produce sharper,
…show more content…
more brilliant tones. The flutist must weigh her options carefully and pick a flute that feels comfortable for her. Body Joint The body joint fits between the head joint and the foot joint of the Western concert flute. This part constitutes the largest section of the flute and includes the tuning slide, tenons and the majority of the keys. When all of the keys are open, the flute plays the highest pitches available on the instrument. Depressing keys from top to bottom lowers the pitch as the instrument extends, forcing the air to travel farther. The tuning slide and tenons adjust to make minor intonation changes in the flute. Intonation deals with the actual pitch and whether or not the instrument plays in tune. Foot Joint The foot joint connects to the end of the body joint and constitutes the smallest part of the flute.
The rod on the foot joint must properly line up with the rest of the keys on the flute. Student model flutes have a foot joint that plays down to middle C, which is the C directly below the treble clef staff. Professional model flutes have a B joint which makes it possible to extend the range of the flute by a major second down to B, just below middle C. There are only a few keys on this part of the flute.
Additional Characteristics
The Western concert flute has a range that extends three full octaves and a fourth up to the F two octaves above the treble clef staff. The flute has several capabilities for advanced techniques, including flutter-tongue, in which the tone rapidly flutters to create a vibrating sound. Flutists can also clack the keys and blow to create a crackling sound. Some flute players have mastered the art of multi-phonics, in which two notes play at the same time. One note sounds by the flutist humming while the other note sounds through actually playing the
flute.
86), depth or space is illustrated or implied by the size and position of the flute and guitar player being the larger of all the musicians in the foreground and the smaller musicians behind them. Depth is further depicted by the guitar player's right leg in between the flute player's left leg. The line in the neck of the smaller guitar and the implied receding lines of the guitar's body depict linear perspective and add depth. Paolini creates value by using the artistic technique chiaroscuro or Italian for ‘light-dark’ on the flute player per DeWitte (2015, p. 84). The flutist back is highlighted in bright light coming from over his right shoulder. His front side or chest is bathed in shadow.
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.
of this piece -- the clarity of the oboe, and the lovely tune of the
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.
cymbals to be played with the thick end of the Side Drum stick, in the
...se on both the tenor and alto flute, one an octave higher than the other. While the return of the verse and the flute’s soothing sound give this ending a vague happy feeling, the contrast between the flutes’ pitches and timbres cannot help but leave the listener with a feeling of tension and apprehension over what will ensue.
Wolfe, Joe. "How Do Woodwind Instruments Work?." Music Acoustics. 1994. 2014. Web. April 13, 2014. .
There are five main types of trumpets made in the Renaissance era: natural trumpet, flat trumpet, S-shaped trumpet, tower trumpet, and the slide trumpet. Trumpets, in the renaissance era did not have developed holes, crooks, or valves yet, which limited the notes available for play. The natural trumpet was the beginning of the trumpet history in the Renaissance. It could only play notes of the harmonic series, which were sharp or major keys. To change pitches, you would have to change out parts of the trumpet. Next, a new type of trumpet was made that could play in flat or minor keys called a flat trumpet. This extended the range of notes available to play. The S-shaped trumpet was longer than the other trumpets because of additional tubing. This trumpet folded upon itself forming an “S-shape”. It
There are many kinds of Chinese flutes. The earliest flute is the paixiao, or panpipes (Chinese Flute). Many changes were applied since the paixiao, and the end-blown flutes became more popular during the Han Dynasty. This end-blown flute is called the xiao. The xiao is made of bamboo and has a mellow timbre. It is blown vertically and has five holes for fingers with one thumbhole in the back (Xiao Musical Instrument). The more recent traditional flute is called the dizi, or di, for short. Unlike the paixiao or xiao, the di is a transverse flute, which is played horizontally (Di Musical Instrument). The di’s unique sound characterizes many aspects of Chinese music, from its elegance in operas to military marching bands. Although there are many different types of Chinese traditional flute, the structure of these flutes were key factors in the development of the modern flute.
...htly syncopated, again with ornamental notes by the flute. There is a crescendo, which contrasts long notes and staccato notes, creating an unusual rhythm. The crescendo builds up to a perfect cadence with the timpani crashing.
The new era in plectral instruments began in Iberia, Spain in the mid 15th century with the creation of the vihuela (Bellow). The vihuela was practically a flat backed lute with six paired strings, which were most commonly plucked at the same time. Since there was no machined production at the time, many vihuelas were unique to whoever built them, the number of sound ports, shape, or neck varied. However, a majority of them had the same build and concept of a modern guitar. These were the one of the first instrument to feature...
Jazz is a music genre that is very rich in culture which is why I decided to attend a Jazz concert. This was my first Jazz event I had ever been to. I went to see the band The Chairman and the Board. This was a blues swing band. Having been to other concerts, I was expecting something similar as far as atmosphere and crowd. I was proved very wrong as this concert defied all my expectations and was in a whole different field as far as life entertainment goes. The first thing I noticed right off the bat was the audience. The age range of this audience was mainly 40-70. I definitely felt like the odd man out when I was there. It did get me thinking though, why was this audience so much older? I looked into the era of when most of those people
Theatre has heavily evolved over the past 100 years, particularly Musical Theatre- a subgenre of theatre in which the storyline is conveyed relying on songs and lyrics rather than dialogue. From its origination in Athens, musical theatre has spread across the world and is a popular form of entertainment today. This essay will discuss the evolution and change of musical theatre from 1980-2016, primarily focusing on Broadway (New York) and the West End (London). It will consider in depth, the time periods of: The 1980s: “Brit Hits”- the influence of European mega musicals, the 1990s: “The downfall of musicals”- what failed and what redeemed, and the 2000s/2010s: “The Resurgence of musicals”- including the rise of pop and movie musicals. Concluding
Garner, Bradley. “The Flute Embouchure.” Texas Bandmasters Association. Texas Bandmasters Association, 2007. Web. 8 Sep. 2011.