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History Ofmusic
A Brief Overview of the Evolution of Musical Technology
History Ofmusic
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Musical Instruments
A fairly old instrument that is still in use today is the theremin. It has a particular design that is different from any other instrument around and is played much more differently then other instruments in circulation today. The theremin is an electronic musical instrument that is played using electrical fields. When it was first introduced, society was shocked to see this instrument that could be played without even touching it. The theremin is tuned so that it has a range of three and a half octaves. The theremin's operation is based on the theory of beat frequencies. The instrument also has a peculiar look to it as well. Two antennas stick out on each side of the theremin. A vertical antenna is also located on the right which controls the pitch. The closer the players hand is, the higher the pitch. The further away the player’s hand is, the lower the pitch is. A horizontal loop antenna is located on the left and controls the volume. The closer the hand is, the louder the volume.
The theremin was patented in 1928 by Leon Theremin. The theremin has not escaped its original status as a novelty instrument. Most people have heard the theremin, even though they may not recognize it. The theremin is frequently featured in sci-fi films, particularly classic ones. It is not as famous today but it has featured in recent movies such as Mars Attacks and Ed Wood. (History of the Theremin, Moog)
The theremin was invented in 1921 by Leon Theremin. It is one of the most important musical instruments of the twentieth century because it is the first electronic instrument. Leon Theremin first came up with the idea for the theremin when in high school. He noticed depending on how close a person stands to a Tesla coi...
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...o the classical guitar, the Ud’s strings are generally lighter to play. The ancient ud had four courses for tuning systems. The second characteristic is the pegbox. To provide the necessary tension to keep the pegs from slipping, the pegbox of the ud is bent back at an angle ranging from forty five to ninety degrees. The actual body of the ud resembles a watermelon: it has a staved, bowl like back which differs greatly from the flat backed guitar. The bowl shape of the ud allows the ud to resonate and have a much more complex tone. The fourth and final characteristic of the ud is the sound holes. The amount of holes varies between one to three holes. The holes can be either circular or oval and are decorated. Decorations are typically a bone or wood carved rosette. The four defining characteristics help the ud to deliver the sound and enjoyment that the ud creates.
...ums in the percussion section. It does not have a definite pitch like the timpani. (Jason) Bass drums cannot be tuned like you can tune the timpani. Concert bass drums usually have loose heads that vibrate more for a darker tone. Drums aren’t the only types of instruments in the percussion category; they are just a couple of the instruments that fall into the untuned percussion category. These untuned drums are used for rhythmic patterns of the composition. These untuned instruments don’t have a distinct note, but they only make one sound, and that is the sound this stick with. Untuned percussion instruments are not the only instruments that are played in the orchestra. Tuned percussion instruments are instruments that have distinct notes that you can play. Marimbas are tuned percussion instruments; they have four to five octaves of notes from A natural, to G sharp.
Fievel hears the violin which makes him think he has found his Papa. But, what Fievel really hears is a recording being played by the gramophone. This was invented in 1877 by Thomas Edison.
The next logical step in this evolutionary chain was as sure as a spoiled child’s demands. Now that I have what I want I want more of it. Thus came the psaltery (diagram 2). The psaltery was a great leap fourth from the monochord. It was a small trapezoid shaped box with many strings stretched over it. However unlike the monochord the psaltery did not have movable bridges to change the pitch while playing and furthermore these bridges were much more like the bridges of modern string instruments. The psaltery was played by picking the strings (which were obviously tuned to different pitches) with the fingers or with a pick. This was an extremely popular instrument in the Middle Ages but as the music got more complicated and simple accompaniment wasn’t enough it was soon swallowed by progress.
Woodwinds (clarinet, oboe, bassoon, etc.) are different from piano in that they require wind (created by the player) to create a tone (using a reed or reeds to create the vibrations needed for sound). In addition to using different techniques to make the reeds vibrate in different ways, the player also changes the tone (creates the notes) by pressing and releasing (using their fingers) keys that are attached along the length of the instrument, or by covering up, then opening, various holes on the instrument.
If you have ever watched the television show “Survivor” or a “Foster’s” commercial you have probably heard that annoying but rather interesting noise in the background music. The instrument that is capable of making such a strange noise is called a didgeridoo. The didgeeridoo is a strange type of trumpet that is used by the Aboriginal people of northern Australia. It is used just as we use our musical instruments for singing and dancing or ceremony and entertainment. It is thought to be one of the oldest instruments still used around the world today. It’s recorded history goes back nearly 1500 years but it is probable that it has been around much longer.
Everything in the universe involves some type of physics. Even the universe itself does, but have you ever wondered about the physics of simpler items? Physics is vital for all musical instruments, if it wasn’t; they probably wouldn’t produce the beautiful sounds that they do. One of these instruments is acoustic guitar. By looking at the instrument, it doesn’t look very complicated, but if you delve deeper into its composition, you’ll find that it’s very complicated. Physics takes part in the making of acoustic guitars, all the way to how it produces its beautiful music.
The biggest compliment a band can get is to have another singer write a song about how much they like them, as Randy Newman did in 1979 about ELO with the release of “‘The Story of a Rock and Roll Band.” In the song he said, “I love their “Mr. Blue Sky” Almost my favorite is “Turn to Stone” And how ‘bout “Telephone Line”? I love that ELO’” (Wild 5)
Elana Sanguigni April 18, 2016 Honors Music Term Paper. The Wind Ensemble and Concert Band reflect a rich history. The formation of the Concert and Wind Ensemble bands dates back to the Middle Ages and Medieval Times. The Concert Band and Wind Ensemble have evolved over the years, due in part to significant historical events, music combinations, individuals, and progress.
As a child I always loved to listen to bands being played. Watching all the instruments playing a part was interesting for me. But, the instrument that caught my attention the most was the clarinet. Now as I got older in fifth grade the students and I were sent to try out what instruments would best fit each one in the class. I was lucky enough that the instrument that best fit me was the clarinet. I played the clarinet all through high school and never really knew anything about the instrument, I just knew that I played to make sound out of it. As I found out more information about the clarinet I will explain the history, the parts of the clarinet, tone range and sound, and the types of ensembles a clarinet are in.
Music is something that I believe we could not live without. There is a quote by a philosopher named Friedrich Nietzschethat says “without music, life would be a mistake”. I interpret this to mean that humans would not be creative if it were not for music. There is a reason that music can take us where word cannot. When you hear so many different sounds coming together to make a perfect harmony it is obvious that no words can make you feel the same way as the music. The best thing about music is that there are literally too many genres to choose from. There are different genres of music for any mood you are in. The origins behind these different genres is an interesting and rich history that is begging to be studied and written about. Let me explain....
The turntables are originally derived from the invention of the phonograph in 1877 and has been improvised since its announcement. Thomas Edison, a famous scientist, created the phonograph, an innovation which could essentially play sounds. Edison’s motive was to simplify relaying messages and daily activities. Although another invention had been concepted in France, Edison’s invention was entirely original. In 1881 Emile Berliner, a German scientist, created the gramophone which had better quality than the phonograph and played rubber discs. This replaced the use of cylinders and was optimized for multiple plays unlike the phonograph. The discs were mass produced and easier to create, and its popularity (which hadn’t sprouted until the 1950’s) spread like wildfire. Their inventions made record playback possible and Emile made it easier by simplifying the usage of records. The simplification of distribution made innovation and creation easier to culturally progress; this gave more people in the future access to such technology.
Every invention ever known to man had pioneers or people who contributed to the creation of the product. Radio had many pioneers that allowed for its creation and their names are Heinrich Hertz, Nikola Tesla, Ernst Alexander, Edwin Armstrong, Guglielmo Marconi, Lee DeForest, Frank Conrad, Reginald Fessenden, and Edward Armstrong. It all started with a German physicist named Heinrich Hertz who in 1884 proved that you could transmit and receive electric waves wirelessly. Hertz thought that the work he had done had no use whatsoever but little did he know that what he done is considered the fundamental building block of radio, and that is the reason why every frequency measurement is named after him (Short). In that same year a Serbian-American inventor named Nikola Tesla came to the U.S and sold patents to his inventions to a man named George Westinghouse. After that Tesla established his own lab which is where he built the tesla coil , an induction coil that is still used in radio today (Short). The next progression of radio focused on more than just the transmission of waves, the new focus was transmission of speech. The first to begin to add speech into the radio mix was Ernst Alexander, a Sweden born inventor who developed the first alternator to make speech transmission possible (Short). This was so new to the s...
Everyone knows that Music is played an important role in human lives. Music Instruments are also created for people to play and compose songs for them. The Instrument that I want to mention in this paragraph is one of the traditional keyboard Instruments. That is Pipe Organ. This Organ earns a Great reputation as the King of Instruments. The console includes stops, the pedals and there are one to seven manuals or keyboards for a Pipe Organ. This Organ creates sounds by pumping the air through the hundreds of tubes which is controlled by the keyboard. Pipe Organ is inspired by the water Organ in the third century B.C which is invented by the Greek engineer in Egypt. His name is Ktesibios or Tesibius, he is also known as a
...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
About five hundred years ago the guitar was invented. Since then, the guitar has played a crucial role in music. It serves as the heart for song, from Jazz, to Blues, to Heavy Metal. The guitar is perhaps the most important instrument in modern music. The two types of guitar most popular today, are the acoustic and electric guitar.