n any type of music, whether it is jazz, classical, or pop, woodwind instruments often play an important role. These instruments are tubes that are made from wood or metal. Sound is produced when the players blow through them either by a reed, or resonance. When it comes to learning to play an instrument, woodwind instruments are generally easier to learn than brass and this is why many people prefer to choose them. However, there are different types of woodwind instruments and choosing which one to learn is another difficult decision.
The Flute
Modern flutes are not usually made of wood, instead they are made of metal because it helps in making the sound of the instrument louder in a big hall. Flutes come in different sizes and the smallest one is the piccolo. It has a high and shrill sound. The next in size is the flute which is what most people prefer to
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learn. The alto flute is lower in pitch than the flute and is also bigger in size. The bass flute is the longest and requires much more air than the others of the flute family. Flutes require a lot of breath control from the player. They need to be able to hold a lot of air in their lungs and they also should know how to control the air from escaping. Flutes have been popular in jazz and prog rock (e.g. Jethro Tull), but their main use is in orchestras. Clarinet The clarinet is a popular instrument commonly used in jazz and classical music. It has a small, rectangular piece of cane which is called a reed. This reed is attached to the mouthpiece and when air is blown into the mouthpiece, this reed vibrates against the mouthpiece and sound is created. They are mostly made of the wood, grenadilla. The B-flat and the E-flat clarinet are the most popular. Concert players will have a B-flat and A clarinet because the complex fingering makes some passages in different keys too difficult on one or the other instrument. The notes produced by B-flat types are loud and clear, whereas the low notes are soft and mellow. On the other hand, the E-flat is smaller in size and has the highest and most piercing sound. An even lower-pitched version of B-flat is the bass clarinet with a long tube curling up at the bottom. The contra-bass is even bigger with a metal tube and is pitched even lower. Saxophone Just like the clarinet, the saxophone also produces a sound with a single reed, however, the body is made of brass and its shape is conical. If you like concert bands and large jazz bands, then saxophone is the right instrument for you. Another thing that makes it quite popular is that its key system is quite modern and easier to play. It has rollers that help the small fingers move around. Due to the ease in playing, improvising with this instrument is easier. Oboe The oboe is a double-reed instrument and is often used in classical compositions.
The reeds in the oboe are tied together and therefore vibrate against one another rather than against the mouthpiece as with a clarinet. The English horn (or cor anglais) is an alternative to the oboe and has a deep, soulful, and mellow sound.
Oboe is considered to be one of the harder woodwind instruments to master.
Bassoon
Like the oboe, a bassoon also has a double reed with a conical tube. The tube is about four times longer than the tube of the oboe and its double reed is also bigger. It has a rich and mellow low range and warm high notes. The contra-bassoon is larger in size and produces lower notes. These instruments are rarely heard in solos in orchestras, but play an important part.
The woodwind instrument that you chose to learn will depend on the kind of music you prefer. Some of these instruments are harder to learn compared to others. So, choose your woodwind instrument based on the kind of music you like to play because then you will play more and be willing to put in the commitment required to master
it.
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.
Wolfe, Joe. "How Do Woodwind Instruments Work?." Music Acoustics. 1994. 2014. Web. April 13, 2014. .
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 difference in the Scottish and Irish bagpipe is their name and the number of drones. The Scottish refer to their bagpipe as "the Great Highland Bagpipe," which today has three drones: one bass and two tenor. The Irish call theirs "the Great Irish Warpipe," which has two drones: one bass and one tenor.
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.
This is why the holes in the flute are used to remove the constriction of the air at that particular point. The resonance of the air column in the flute mostly determines the playing frequency which is the pitch. (http://newt.phys.unsw.edu.au/music/) Since the...
Made famous through jazz, the saxophone is a unique instrument that is used in most musical groups today. Playing the saxophone helps improve mental and physical abilities. Most importantly, playing the saxophone is fun.
The instrument has many keys which were created from ebony and ivory. The harpsichord has chords which were made from brass wire, that are vertical to the instruments keyboards. The harpsichord has a piece called the ‘jack,’ that is attached to another piece that plucks the strings which causes a vibration and produces a sound. The way a harpsichord player can tune the instrument is with the tuning pin, that is located near the player. The harpsichord strings are wrapped around the tuning pin and to tune the instrument, the player has to adjust the tension with a wrench. Once the player thinks the instrument is in tune, they will make sure the chord is playing the correct pitch. The player also has to make sure the strings of the instrument are resting correctly in the slots of the bridge. The bridge of the instrument rests on a piece called the soundboard, the soundboard is essentially where the sound is produced. The vibrations from the strings cause the sound board to vibrate which makes the sound come through the harpsichord. There can also be different sounds produced depending on the lengths of the string on the instrument. If the harpsichord has multiple variations of strings the player has more availability to create different tones while playing. Since the harpsichord has multiple keyboards, it is easier for the player to choose which ones to play to produce the desired sound. The harpsichord has no dynamics though, so the loudness of the instrument stays the same no matter what string is plucked. The case of the harpsichord is what holds all the different pieces of the instrument. The strength of the harpsichord also depends on where the instrument has been produced. The lighter constructed harpsichords are typically created in Italy, but the heavier constructed instruments are created in the Flemish design. The German harpsichords were
Another distinctive feature is the rising importance of the woodwind section. Before the 19th century, the string section played a main role in presenting the melody while woodwind instruments were only adopted to create some orchestral colors to the piece. However, the use of the woodwinds became very different during the 19th century that not only melodies were assigned to them, sometimes they were even accompanied by the strings (Ex 4):
Trombones consist of four main parts: bell, tuning slide, hand slide and mouthpiece. Mouthpieces are typically detachable
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...
For music we went to a different school and played many instruments. It was nice to play different instruments and experimenting with them. I had a lot of fun working with the xylophone. I like the wood sounding instruments better than the metal ones. It seems more natural and it makes me feel relaxed. I have played the xylophone a little bit before but it was a very long time ago and it was fun to work with one again.