| ID |
NAME |
IMAGE |
DESCRIPTION |
|
| 1 | Acoustic Grand Piano |  |
"The piano is a zither-type chordophone with a mechanically elaborate key-driven mechanism provided for each pitch within its seven-and-one-third octave (88 note) chromatic range. The piano came into existence in the latter half of the eighteenth century, but has evolved in some very significant ways since its early days . Pictured here is one form of piano, as defined by size and shape, called a “concert grand” or “9-foot” (the approximate length of its case) piano. In any sort of grand piano, the plane of the strings is horizontal and parallel to the ground and encased in a wing-shaped wood frame (which accommodates longer string lengths towards one side of the instrument, and shorter ones toward the other). Just below and parallel to the strings is a large, thin, wooden soundboard with a series of attached, curved bridges that come in contact with the strings and that allow for the transference of the vibrating strings' energy to the soundboard. The strings themselves, made of metal and held at a high level of tension, are attached at both their ends to a heavy iron frame. The strings are actually struck, as a result of the player's depression of the keys, from below by felt-padded hammers. This padding, plus an additional felt damper for most of the instrument's notes, attenuates the highest overtones of the heavy metal strings to produce a strong, yet not overly bright tone. Foot pedals control parameters of the instrument' sound such as the sustaining or dampening of sounding strings and volume (as determined by, on multi-course strings, how many of the strings are actually struck by the hammer). The case of the instrument is topped off with a heavy hinged lid which can be left closed (muting the overall volume of the instrument) or in one or two positions of openness. The piano is one of the most widely utilized instruments in western music. It has associated with it an immense and ever-growing solo and concerto repertoire, and the music written for its various precursors is often transferred to the instrument. Songs and choral music of many different stylistic varieties use the piano for accompaniment. Much chamber music literature especially for string instruments includes the piano, and many symphony orchestra compositions from the twentieth century include piano parts. It is also a standard instrument in many jazz idioms, from solo performance to combos and big bands. " |
| 2 | Bright Acoustic Piano |  |
Type of Piano Sound |
| 3 | Electric Grand Piano |  |
Type of Piano Sound |
| 4 | Honky-tonk Piano |  |
Type of Piano Sound |
| 5 | Electric Piano 1 |  |
Type of Piano Sound |
| 6 | Electric Piano 2 |  |
Type of Piano Sound |
| 7 | Harpsichord |  |
"This one-manual hybrid instrument by Rutkowski & Robinette, built in 1962, is a good example of a harpsichord whose builders were influenced both by historical harpsichords and by fortepiano and piano construction. It was carefully handcrafted, exhibits handsome casework and fine workmanship, and incorporates characteristics patterned after northern and southern European historical models. It is high quality instrument. But its construction is somewhat heavier and more substantial, it incorporporates some metal framing and other metal parts, and its stop controls are activated by pedals on which there are half- and full hitch notches so that the quills might be moved into full and halfway plucking positions. The halfway positions were designed to produce a smaller, softer sound, perhaps inspired by the una corda stop on fortepianos or the knee levers on some late 18th-century harpsichords.
Mindful of the need to produce sound capable of filling large modern concert halls whose acoustics do not always nurture plucked tones, makers of “modern” harpsichords have tended to produce instruments of heavier construction. They have also employed metal in the attempt to make their instruments less susceptible to the seasonal excesses of heat/cold and humid/dry air that cause them to fall quickly out of adjustment and tune. But metal can also add weight and inhibit the freedom and balance of the acoustical parts to operate without constraint, which can influence both tone quality and volume. Certain pedal stop controls were used in the 18th-century, but not these, with half hitches that are difficult to make work evenly. While such additions seem like compromises to those familiar with historical building traits, they were undoubtedly viewed as innovative improvements by the makers at construction time. In the last analysis, pianos only received their heavy metal framing in order to accommodate greatly increased string tension, something that has never been necessary on harpsichords of balanced proportions.
Unlike piano makers and some modern European harpsichord builders, Rutkowski & Robinette didn’t shorten the length of this instrument for economic and space reasons, which would have made it necessary to compensate with tubby, overwound strings in the bass. This harpsichord is well proportioned, has normal, evenly graduated strings, and possesses a correspondingly consistent tone, though one of less interesting character than on a historical model.
The two sets of 8’ strings on this single manual instrument can be operated independently or together via two pedals. There is a buff stop on the forward plucking 8', controlled by a third pedal. In the early 1960s, Rutkowski & Robinette must have been experimenting with the half-hitches and trying for louder and more stable instruments. Experience shows, however, that modern harpsichords don’t possess much if any more stability than the historically oriented. Around the late 1960s or early 1970s, Rutkowski & Robinette began building double-manual models after 18th-century German and French prototypes.
Modern composers for harpsichord are drawn to its intriguing sound capabilities and the fact that the light key action allows for very fast motion. Many are pianists and organists
but only rarely versed in the actual nature of harpsichord playing. Whether or not they conceive their works for modern or historically oriented instruments, the distinction is further blurred by the fact that performances and recordings are most often done by true harpsichordists on historically oriented instruments." |
| 8 | Clavi |  |
"The clavinet uses hammers to hit strings, the vibrations of which are then picked up by a magnetic pickup similar to that of an electric guitar An electric guitar is a type of guitar with a solid or semi-solid body that utilizes electromagnetic ""pickups"" to convert the vibration of the steel-cored strings into electrical current. The current may be electrically altered to achieve various tonal effects prior to being fed into an amplifier, which produces the resultant sound. In contrast to most stringed instruments, the electric guitar does not rely as extensively on the acoustic properties of its construction to amplify the sound produced by the vibrating strings; as such, the electric guitar does not need to be naturally loud, and its body can be virtually any shape.
A clavichord is a small, very quiet, European keyboard musical instrument. The keys are simple levers; when one is pressed, a small brass 'tangent' strikes the string above. The note is sustained as long as the tangent is in contact with the string. The volume of the note can be changed by striking harder or softer, and the pitch can also be varied by varying the force of the tangent against the string, which is known as bebung, and can be used to give a form of vibrato. Its predecessors, the Cembalet and Pianet, worked by a different principle, using a plucked reed.
The archetypal Clavinet sound can be heard on Stevie Wonder Stevie Wonder (real name: Steveland Morris Judkins Hardaway, born May 13, 1950) is an American soul singer, blind from birth and originally from Saginaw, Michigan. At eleven years old, he began recording (under the name Little Stevie Wonder) and quickly became known as one of the most influential and innovative singer/songwriters of his time. He was also one of the most critically successful artists with the powerful Motown label. Over time, Wonder, like an increasing number of soul and R&B artists, began singing with a new social consciousness, perhaps best reflected by his hit version of ""Blowin' in the Wind"" (Bob Dylan). He also became known as a songwriter, writing for The Spinner and Smokey Robinson, among other Motown artists.
" |
Chromatic Percussion [top] |
| 9 | Celesta |  |
"Invented in 1886 by the Frenchman Auguste Mustel (the instrument pictured at left is a product of his shop), the celesta has as its primary sounding agents several tuned metal bars (it is therefore a metallophone) with resonators. These bars and resonators are housed within the wood and cloth case of the instrument and are struck with hammers that are activated by depressing keys on the instruments piano-like keyboard. (Detail 1 shows the opposite side of the instrument with its back panel removed; the back ends of the keys are seen across the top with one key activated [raised]. The connection of this key to its hammer, located in the row at the bottom of the photo, can be traced along its linking metal rod.) The foot pedal controls a damper mechanism, allowing the performer to sustain or mute the ringing bars. The instrument has a range of four octaves. It is basically an orchestral instrument, called for in several symphonic, ballet and opera scores composed in the late nineteenth century and up to the present. " |
| 10 | Glockenspiel |  |
"The glockenspiel (or “orchestra bells”) is a metallophone with 30 steel bars of definite pitch tuned to the chromatic scale and covering a range of two-and-one-half octaves. The bars are arranged in the keyboard pattern and struck with stick beaters that have round, hard heads. No resonators are provided; the bars rest on padded rails (with the aid of pins passing though holes drilled at each bar's acoustical nodes) that are themselves attached to the bottom half of the instrument's case. The glockenspiel is now a more-or-less standard instrument in the percussion sections of orchestras and concert bands. Composers since the mid-nineteenth century have used it for coloristic effects; it is therefore called for in numerous scores but, in general, is sparingly used. It is also called for in numerous percussion ensemble works.
" |
| 11 | Music Box |  |
"Music boxes are thought to have been invented in Switzerland in the 1700s. They were very popular musical instruments and were found in most wealthy homes. They retained their popularity until they were replaced by the harpsichord, piano and eventually the phonograph. A music box is not a complicated instrument; it has two basic components. It has a revolving brass cylinder with properly spaced pins or projections and it has a steel comb with several fingers of various lengths generating various tones. As the brass cylinder rotates its pin projections pluck the appropriate length steel finger to generate the desired note. In some models of music boxes the cylinders can be changed to allow different tunes to be played. Most music boxes are wound. A spring and clockwork device move the cylinder and some have fly regulators to govern the rate at which the cylinder turns. Most music boxes today are small enough for a curio case but some of the earlier ones were made with brass cylinders several feet across and with steel fingers over a yard long." |
| 12 | Vibraphone |  |
"A metallophone invented in America in 1921, the vibraphone has 37 metal alloy bars tuned to the chromatic scale, arranged in the fashion of a keyboard and covering the range of three octaves. Ropes run horizontally through the bars at their acoustical nodes, and these ropes are supported by thin posts, positioned between the bars, that themselves are attached to the instrument's frame. Like many keyboard mallet instruments, there is a resonator (made from metal tubing) located beneath each bar and tuned to its frequency. However, the vibraphone is unique amongst such instruments in that it includes a motorized mechanism that rotates a disc situated at the top of each resonating tube; the rotation of the disc successively covers and uncovers the opening of the resonator and consequently attenuates and amplifies the sound of its vibrating bar. This creates a vibrato-like effect, and hence the name of the instrument. The bars are struck with rubber- or yarn-tipped stick beaters; depending on the piece or style of music being performed, the performer will hold either one or two beaters in each hand. Because the rope-suspended metal bars on the vibraphone ring for a considerable period of time after being struck, a dampening mechanism, operated by a foot pedal, is provided. The vibraphone is called for in a number of orchestral and band works, and is frequently written for in pieces for percussion ensemble. It has also become an instrument in the jazz idiom, where a few players in particular have elevated the vibraphone to the status of a solo instrument (listen to the audio clip for this page). " |
| 13 | Marimba |  |
"This large, multi-octave xylophone is a standard instrument today in the battery of western percussion instruments. With 61 hardwood bars (somewhat thinner than those found on the concert xylophone) each outfitted with a tuned tube resonator, this instrument spans a range of five octaves and is fully chromatic. The bars are arranged in the keyboard fashion, with the “black notes” in a separate row raised slightly above the plane of the diatonic notes. The keys are suspended by ropes that run horizontally through the bars at their acoustical nodes; these ropes are supported by narrow posts that fit between, but do not touch, the bars. These posts are, in turn, securely attached to wood rails that run the length of the instrument and are part of its frame. Stick mallets with fairly large round heads wrapped with yarn are used to strike the bars; depending on the demands of the given piece or style of music, the player holds either one or two of these mallets in each hand. The large but relatively thin bars, the method of suspending the keys, the presence of tuned resonators, and the use of padded mallets collectively produce a more mellow sound quality for the marimba than that of the standard western xylophone. Passages for marimba are found in some orchestral and band works; there have even been a few concertos written for the marimba. The marimba is more frequently called for in percussion ensemble works, and there exists a small solo repertoire written for the instrument" |
| 14 | Xylophone |  |
"The xylophone is a standard instrument today in the battery of western percussion instruments. With 44 hardwood bars each outfitted with a tuned tube resonator, this instrument spans a range of three-and-one-half octaves and is fully chromatic. The bars are arranged in the keyboard fashion, with the “black notes” in a separate row raised slightly above the plane of the diatonic notes. The bars are suspended by ropes that run horizontally through them at their acoustical nodes; these ropes are supported by narrow posts that fit between, but do not touch, the bars. These posts are, in turn, securely attached to rails that run the length of the instrument and that are part of its frame. Stick mallets with round wooden heads are used to strike the bars; depending on the demands of the given piece or style of music, the player holds either one or two of these mallets in each hand. The relatively thick wood bars and the use of hard mallets produce the xylophone's characteristic bright, brittle and penetrating sound. Passages for xylophone are found in many orchestral and band works composed from about 1875 on. The xylophone is more frequently called for in percussion ensemble works. Outside of classical music circles, the xylophone has been used as a virtuosic solo instrument. " |
| 15 | Tubular Bells |  |
"The chimes (also called “orchestral chimes” or “tubular bells”) is a set of tuned metal tubes hung vertically in a keyboard arrangement from a metal frame. The top end of a tube, which is closed with a metal cap, is struck with a wooden hammer to produce a bell-like tone. However, the chimes are not actually bells in an organological sense, even though they were developed to imitate the sound of cathedral bells. The foot pedal, located at the bottom of the instrument, allows the performer to sustain or damp the sound of any ringing tubes. The 18 tubes of graduated length are tuned to the chromatic scale and cover the range of one-and-one-half octaves. An invention of the late nineteenth century, the instrument is occasionally called for in works for orchestra, the concert band and percussion ensemble. " |
| 16 | Dulcimer |  |
"This plucked box zither with a fretted fingerboard has four brass wire strings stretched over an elongated oval-shaped resonator. The strings are attached to pegs at one end and tuning screw mechanisms at the other end, and pass over two wood bridges glued to the wood soundboard. A raised fingerboard with fourteen brass frets positioned to produce a diatonic scale over a two-octave range is located beneath the strings. The player strums the strings with a pick held in her/his right hand, and presses with the left the nearest two strings (tuned to an octave) to produce a melody while allowing the other two strings (tuned to an interval of a fifth) to vibrate at their full length to produce a drone.
Based on European antecedents, the Appalachian dulcimer developed by the late eighteenth century into an American folk instrument whose primary use was for dance music. In the 1950s, American folk singers started to use it to accompany ballads and dance songs.
" |
|
| 17 | Drawbar Organ |  |
"There were many varieties of the Hammond organ, some designed for home use, some designed for church use, and some designed for live gigs and studio recording. But the most popular variety, and the one still commonly in use today (if you can find one that isn’t too beat up) is the Hammond B-3. This organ has two 61 note keyboards, (manuals), sometimes called the swell (top) and the great (bottom), a variety of built-in special effects, (including ""percussion"" effects, several different chorus and vibrato effects, and adjustable attack and decay effects), 9 preset keys for both manuals, (the inversely white and black keys on the bottom octave of each manual), two sets of nine stops (drawbars) for each manual, a full two octave set of |
| 18 | Percussive Organ |  |
"Type of Organ Sound. Percussive sound emulation is the result of striking an object such as a wire. Drums, cymbals, wood blocks, and triangles are a few examples of percussive instruments." |
| 19 | Rock Organ |  |
Type of Organ Sound Produced In Rock Bands. |
| 20 | Church Organ |  |
"Large Organs, often pipe type…found in Churches. " |
| 21 | Reed Organ |  |
"Also called Pump Organs, Parlor Organs, Melodeons, and harmoniums. Several million were built in the USA and Canada, commencing around 1850 and on into the middle of this century. Greatest production occurred 1885-1900; advent of the talking machine and player piano quickly put the Reed Organ builders out of business after 1920 or so. The last true suction reed organs were produced (by Estey) in the 1950s.
Reed organs came in a bewildering variety of styles and qualities. Although the preponderance of those built were single keyboard with 2 or 2-1/2 ""sets"" of reeds, many larger instruments were built, up to 3 manuals plus pedals. Some had elaborate fake-pipe ""tops"" to make them look sort of like pipe organs
" |
| 22 | Accordion |  |
"The common form of the accordion pictured on this page consists of a bellows and two reed cases with keyboards--the player's right hand works a piano-like (chromatic) keyboard (with just over a three-octave range) used mostly for melodic play, while the left hand works a button keyboard (with six rows of twenty buttons each) some of which produce bass-register notes and others chords. Within the two reed cases are housed several hundred steel reeds and complicated mechanical linkages which facilitate the selection of a wide range of melodic and harmonic effects (e.g., melodic doubling at the octave, chords voiced over several octaves, etc.) Any given pressed key or button will produce the same pitch or chord whether the bellows are being drawn or pressed/squeezed, which is not the case with several other related types of free-reed organs (such as the melodeon and some types of concertinas).
The instrument pictured here was made in Italy by the Castelli company in the mid-twentieth century. While all accordion family instruments in Europe can be traced back to an 1829 patent by the Austrian maker Cyrillus Demian, the form of the instrument with which we are familiar today did not develop until the early twentieth century. While various types of accordions have been incorporated into a wide range of European and American folk and popular music forms, they have also come to be important instruments in the music cultures of distant places such as China, South America, and Africa. " |
| 23 | Harmonica |  |
"Developed in mid-nineteenth century Germany, but inspired by a sound production idea that at the time had already been explored and refined in Asia for perhaps two millennia, the harmonica has become a popular instrument on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. This harmonica has a total of twenty thinly shaven, elongated rectangular shaped tongues of varying lengths (to produce different pitches), ten each mounted (with a screw at one end of each reed) on two brass plates (with rectangular holes matching exactly the reeds situated above them), one above and the other below ten wind channels that are articulated by wood partitions. The reeds on one plate (see Details 1) respond only when the performer exhales/blows into the wind passage beneath them; the reeds on the other plate (see Details 2) sound only when the player inhales through the passage. The reeds on this harmonica are tuned to the diatonic scale covering a range of three octaves (the lowest and highest octave each have one or two missing scale degrees); only notes in the tonic triad can be produced while exhaling; notes outside the tonic triad are produced when inhaling.
" |
| 24 | Tango Accordion |  |
"The instrument pictured at left was made in Italy by the Castelli company in the mid-twentieth century. While all accordion family instruments in Europe can be traced back to an 1829 patent by the Austrian maker Cyrillus Demian, the form of the instrument with which we are familiar today did not develop until the early twentieth century. While various types of accordions have been incorporated into a wide range of European and American folk and popular music forms, they have also come to be important instruments in the music cultures of distant places such as China, South America, and Africa, from the Southern African Sotho people). Occasionally, western academic composers will write works for this instrument " |
|
| 25 | Guitar (nylon) |  |
"The modern classical guitar, seen at left, is a six-string (single courses) instrument that attained its present form in mid-nineteenth century Spain. It evolved from a number of other Spanish plucked lutes dating back to the Renaissance (see Close-ups: Then and Now--The Guitar). Consisting of a fretted neck attached to a wood resonator itself crafted from several pieces of wood, the guitar's modern shape has as characteristic features a flat soundboard and back board, a circular hole cut in the soundboard, and a waisted body shape. Mechanical tuning screws are mounted on the sides of the pegbox, located at the top end of the instrument's neck, and are used to control the tension of each individual string. The other end of each string is tied to a string holder situated just below a bridge; both are attached to a strip of wood glued to the soundboard of the resonator. The six strings are today made of nylon, with the lowest three wrapped with fine wire to add to their mass. The 19 metal frets inlaid on the guitar's neck are positioned so as to produce the interval of a half-step with each successive move on any given string. The player plucks or strums the strings near the soundhole on the resonator with the fingers of the right hand, while stopping the strings against the frets with the fingers of the left hand to produce the desired pitch. (Guitars are also constructed for left-handed players, in which case the roles of the player's hands previously mentioned are reversed.) Harmonics can be produced on the strings by lightly touching them with the left hand fingers (but not pressing them against the frets) at acoustically appropriate places. The basic range of the guitar (without taking into consideration harmonics) is about three-and-one-half octaves. The modern guitar and its precursors have associated with them a considerable solo repertoire of music (including a few concertos) dating back to the Renaissance, although much of the older literature cannot easily be rendered on modern guitars without first being edited to compensate for differences in tuning, the number of strings, and notational practices. Partially for these reasons, a number of guitarists specialize in the performance of earlier repertoire on replicas of period instruments. The guitar has, for centuries, been considered an ideal instrument for the accompaniment of songs, and so there also exists a considerable repertoire for this combination. In recent years, some literature has been composed or arranged for newly formed guitar ensembles (often quartets). The modern and earlier forms of the guitar were spread widely throughout the world during the European ages of exploration and empire building, largely in the hands of sailors and missionaries. As a result, a fascinating array of vernacular guitar traditions are to be found around the globe.
" |
| 26 | Acoustic Guitar (steel) |  |
"The steel strung guitar is an offshoot of the classical guitar that uses, as its name implies, steel wire strings rather than gut or nylon core ones. It was developed in the 1920s in America to provide a louder guitar (in pre-amplification times) for use in a variety of popular and commercial styles of music. It was slightly larger than its classical counterpart, and some hidden structural adjustments had to be made in order for it to accommodate the greater tension of the steel strings. That said, it is otherwise identical in other design features (six strings, fretted neck, tuning peg mechanisms and mounting, bridge glued to soundboard) and playing techniques (plucked or strummed, fully stopped and harmonic notes) with the classical guitar. The steel strung guitar, like its classical counterpart, is ideal for both song accompaniment and for use as a solo instrument, and it is used in a wide range of vernacular American musics.
" |
| 27 | Electric Guitar (jazz) |  |
"Jazz guitar refers to the use of guitar in jazz music. The guitar has a long and honorable history in jazz. Historically, the guitar played the same role in jazz as in country blues and other forms of folk music, as an instrument easy to acquire financially and easy (enough) to play for an individual performer.
As an instrument in an ensemble, however, the guitar had first to supplant the banjo as the standard ""string tenor"" rhythm instrument. Even as late as the early 30s such sophisticated orchestras as Duke Ellington's still used a banjo. In the late 30s, however, there were four important developments, or, more accurately, four important individuals:
Freddie Green -- In the Count Basie Orchestra out of Kansas City, Missouri, Green was a peerless rhythm guitarist, whose reliable pulse propelled the hardest swinging band in jazz. Green's ascendency pretty much ended the banjo era. Green rarely soloed, even in the modern era, but he remains the apotheosis of the rhythm guitar and the master of chorded accompaniment.
Lonnie Johnson, a New Orleans born guitarist, who was the first to play single-string guitar solos. Although best known as a bluesman, Johnson played all forms of music. He had developed his single-string playing while working as a strolling musician in restaurants, accompanying himself as he sang. Although he never achieved great fame, he was a strong influence on the next two guitarists discusssed here.
Charlie Christian -- Also out of the southwest, from Texas, Christian showed up in the Benny Goodman Orchestra unexpected by anyone with a full-blown style of electric guitar soloing. In addition to his appearances with Goodman, Christian was a regular after-hours bebop player. The astonished critics of the time called it ""single-string"" playing because no big-band guitarist before Christian did it (although blues players played single-string obligattos). Now virtually all guitarists do it. Christian's career only lasted a few years and he died young, but his innovation changed the guitar forever.
Django Reinhardt, one-of-a-kind jazz guitarist, a Belgian Gypsy with limited movement in his hand due to a fire in a gypsy caravan. Reinhardt recorded rarely with a standard jazz group, and recorded most often with either solo or with the peculiar Quintet of the Hot Club of France with violinist Stephane Grappelli. Influential for technique, taste, harmonies, and melodies, with many followers and not a single successor.
Other notable jazz guitarists" |
| 28 | Electric Guitar (clean) |  |
A Style of Play: Playing simply by picking on a Guitar with no distortion. |
| 29 | Electric Guitar (muted) |  |
A Style of Play: Playing while dampening the sound. |
| 30 | Overdriven Guitar |  |
A Style of Play |
| 31 | Distortion Guitar |  |
"A Style of Play: There are many types of distortion effects so I will only describe them generally. The two types that I like the best are Bass Overdrive and Fuzz. Surprisingly the distortion effects are very quiet for normal use. If you set the ""drive"" parameter at its maximum level the distortion effects can get very noisy indeed. The distortion effects also have a bass amp simulator. Turning this on, the sound gets more deep. As with the octaver you can mix the distorted and the original sound just as you want.
" |
| 32 | Guitar Harmonics |  |
"Har`mon´ics Pronunciation: ~?ks
n. 1. The doctrine or science of musical sounds.
2. (Mus.) Secondary and less distinct tones which accompany any principal, and apparently simple, tone, as the octave, the twelfth, the fifteenth, and the seventeenth. The name is also applied to the artificial tones produced by a string or column of air, when the impulse given to it suffices only to make a part of the string or column vibrate; overtones
Har`mon´ics Pronunciation: ~?ks
n. 1. The doctrine or science of musical sounds.
2. (Mus.) Secondary and less distinct tones which accompany any principal, and apparently simple, tone, as the octave, the twelfth, the fifteenth, and the seventeenth. The name is also applied to the artificial tones produced by a string or column of air, when the impulse given to it suffices only to make a part of the string or column vibrate; overtones
" |
|
| 33 | Acoustic Bass |  |
"Like the original Fender precision bass and the double bass, it has four strings, normally tuned to E-A-D-G, making it an octave below the lowest four strings of the 6-string guitar. Like the bass guitar, 5+ string models have been produced although these are relatively much less common. The physics of sound production means it is very hard to produce a useable low B string and five string varieties may be strung E-A-D-G-C instead.
There are two main varieties. The majority of acoustic bass guitars are fretted but a significant number are fretless instead. Semi-fretted versions are also occasionally seen.
Many but by no means all acoustic bass guitars are fitted with internal pickups, either magnetic or piezoelectric or both, and can optionally be used with an amplifier.
There are also semi-acoustic models fitted with pickups and intended to be always used with an amplifier. The box of these is principally designed to produce a distinctive tone when amplified, similarly to semi-acoustic electric guitars. Thin-body semi-acoustic basses such as the violin-shaped Hohner made famous by the early Beatles and several Fender models are not normally regarded as acoustic basses at all, but rather as hollow-bodied electric basses. As with semi-acoustic electric guitars, the line between acoustic instruments fitted with pickups and electric instruments with tone-enhancing bodies is sometimes hard to draw.
" |
| 34 | Electric Bass (finger) |  |
A Style of Play |
| 35 | Electric Bass (pick) |  |
A Style of Play |
| 36 | Fretless Bass |  |
A bass that has been manufactured without frets or had the frets removed. |
| 37 | Slap Bass 1 |  |
"PLAYING STYLE: As with any instrument, the electric bass can be played in a number of styles. Players such as Paul McCartney tend to favor a subdued, melodic approach, while Les Claypool of Primus and Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers favor a funky ""slap and pop"" approach in which notes and percussive sounds are created by slapping the string with the thumb and release strings with a snap. Many artists, such as Pino Palladino utilize a fretless bass guitar for the smoothness of its slide and unique tone.
The slap and pop method was pioneered by Larry Graham in the 1960s. Graham's unique sound gained a broad audience when it appeared in the 1970 Sly and the Family Stone song ""Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)"". In the 1970s Stanley Clarke developed Graham's technique further, adding the popping and speed that are a hallmark of contemporary playing.
Most bassists prefer to pluck the notes with the fingers but some also use plectra (also called picks). This often varies according to the musical genre - very few funk bassists use plectrums, while they are almost de rigueur for punk rock. Using a plectrum typically gives the bass a brighter, more punchy sound, while playing with one's fingers makes the sound more soft and round.
Bassists also have different preferences as to where on the string they pluck the notes. While the influential bassist Jaco Pastorius and many with him preferred to pluck them very close to the bridge for a bright and sharp sound, many prefer the rounder sound they get by plucking closer to the neck.
" |
| 38 | Slap Bass 2 |  |
"PLAYING STYLE: As with any instrument, the electric bass can be played in a number of styles. Players such as Paul McCartney tend to favor a subdued, melodic approach, while Les Claypool of Primus and Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers favor a funky ""slap and pop"" approach in which notes and percussive sounds are created by slapping the string with the thumb and release strings with a snap. Many artists, such as Pino Palladino utilize a fretless bass guitar for the smoothness of its slide and unique tone.
The slap and pop method was pioneered by Larry Graham in the 1960s. Graham's unique sound gained a broad audience when it appeared in the 1970 Sly and the Family Stone song ""Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)"". In the 1970s Stanley Clarke developed Graham's technique further, adding the popping and speed that are a hallmark of contemporary playing.
Most bassists prefer to pluck the notes with the fingers but some also use plectra (also called picks). This often varies according to the musical genre - very few funk bassists use plectrums, while they are almost de rigueur for punk rock. Using a plectrum typically gives the bass a brighter, more punchy sound, while playing with one's fingers makes the sound more soft and round.
Bassists also have different preferences as to where on the string they pluck the notes. While the influential bassist Jaco Pastorius and many with him preferred to pluck them very close to the bridge for a bright and sharp sound, many prefer the rounder sound they get by plucking closer to the neck.
" |
| 39 | Synth Bass 1 |  |
"Using this effect you can obtain a synthesizer sound on your bass. There are two different effect types: Internal Sound Mode and Wave Shape Mode. I like the wave shape because it is much more musical than the internal sound mode. In the internal sound mode the ME-8B detects the pitch of the tone you play and creates a synth tone with the same pitch. The sounds you can obtain hereby come from the internal sound source ( a little synthesizer ). You have the choice between sawtooth and square wave. Now you can have a filter move from a frequency that you specify to another frequency that you specify. Also you can decide the speed of this action. This way you can create a sound that changes very slowly like a phaser ( hard to describe ). The effect of this action can be emphasized if you increase the resonance ( creates the bwzzzzzzzz-sound ).
The wave shape mode shapes the bass sound to a synthbass sound. The sound is not as unstable as the one describen above since the pitch doesn't have to be detected. This also means that you can play chords and fast solo stuff. The filter movement is determined by the level of the input. If you let the filter move along with the input level, your sound will say waauuuuuuhhwww, having a very unusual attack. You can also let the filter move the opposite way, meaning that your sound will say uuuuuuuuuuaaaaa...., and thereby have a flat attack and develope as the tone sounds.
There are 5 different characters of sound in wave shape mode. Regardless of the mode you can add noise to the sound. Adding 100 % noise to the square/sawtooth sound you can make a sound that reminds of wind.
" |
| 40 | Synth Bass 2 |  |
"Using this effect you can obtain a synthesizer sound on your bass. There are two different effect types: Internal Sound Mode and Wave Shape Mode. I like the wave shape because it is much more musical than the internal sound mode. In the internal sound mode the ME-8B detects the pitch of the tone you play and creates a synth tone with the same pitch. The sounds you can obtain hereby come from the internal sound source ( a little synthesizer ). You have the choice between sawtooth and square wave. Now you can have a filter move from a frequency that you specify to another frequency that you specify. Also you can decide the speed of this action. This way you can create a sound that changes very slowly like a phaser ( hard to describe ). The effect of this action can be emphasized if you increase the resonance ( creates the bwzzzzzzzz-sound ).
The wave shape mode shapes the bass sound to a synthbass sound. The sound is not as unstable as the one describen above since the pitch doesn't have to be detected. This also means that you can play chords and fast solo stuff. The filter movement is determined by the level of the input. If you let the filter move along with the input level, your sound will say waauuuuuuhhwww, having a very unusual attack. You can also let the filter move the opposite way, meaning that your sound will say uuuuuuuuuuaaaaa...., and thereby have a flat attack and develope as the tone sounds.
There are 5 different characters of sound in wave shape mode. Regardless of the mode you can add noise to the sound. Adding 100 % noise to the square/sawtooth sound you can make a sound that reminds of wind.
" |
|
| 41 | Violin |  |
"The violin is the soprano member of the violin family of string instruments. It is held horizontally with the bottom end of the resonator (as viewed in the picture at the left) pinched lightly between the player's left shoulder and chin so that the top face of the resonator is facing upwards. Its four strings, made of steel wire (for the highest-pitched string) or wire-wound gut (for the other three strings), are stretched over a waisted wood resonator and a neck with a fretless fingerboard. The tension of each individual string is adjusted with a tuning peg that is mounted in the peg box at the end of the instrument's neck. The violin pictured here has an additional fine-tuning device for its highest string located where that string comes in contact with the instrument's tailpiece. A high, thin bridge situated on the upper face of the instrument's body transmits energy from the vibrating strings to the resonating chamber; this transmission is further aided by a wood sound post that is wedged between the upper and lower faces of the resonator, exactly below the bridge. Sound escapes from the resonating chamber via the two f-shaped sound holes carved into its upper face. The strings are generally set into vibration with a rosined horsehair bow, although they are sometimes plucked (called pizzicato) instead. The performer uses the fingers of her/his left hand to alter the lengths of the strings by pressing them against the fingerboard, thus producing numerous pitches on any given string. By lightly touching, instead of pressing, the strings at key points, the harmonics of a string's fundamental pitch are produced. The basic timbre of the instrument can be subdued by placing a comb-shaped mute over the instrument's bridge. The violin developed from a variety of other string instruments into a form recognizable to us today in sixteenth century Italy (see Close-ups: Then and Now--The Violin). Its lowest string is tuned to G below middle C, with the other strings successively tuned an interval of a fifth above the preceding one. Because the neck of the instrument has no frets, the performer can produce either chromatic intervals or microtonal ones over the violin's entire four-octave range. A vast repertoire of solo (unaccompanied, sonata and concerto) literature exists for the violin. It is a mainstay both of the orchestra and of string and piano-and-string chamber music. Musicians from genres outside of the classical music establishment and from a variety of music cultures around the world have adapted the violin to their traditions--folk fiddling, bluegrass, country and western, jazz (listen to the second audio example on this page), Mexican mariachi, European Gypsy, Yiddish Klezmer, South Indian classical music, and many others. " |
| 42 | Viola |  |
"The viola is the alto member of the violin family of string instruments. Its four strings, made of wire-wound gut or metal cores, are stretched over a waisted wood resonator and a neck with a fretless fingerboard. The tension of each individual string is adjusted with a tuning peg that is mounted in the peg box at the end of the instrument's neck. The viola pictured at left has an additional fine-tuning device for its highest string located where that string comes in contact with the instrument's tailpiece. A high, thin bridge situated on the upper face of the instrument's body transmits energy from the vibrating strings to the resonating chamber; this transmission is further aided by a wood sound post that is wedged between the upper and lower faces of the resonator, exactly below the bridge. Sound escapes from the resonating chamber via the two f-shaped sound holes carved into its upper face. The strings are generally set into vibration with a rosined horsehair bow, although they are sometimes plucked (called pizzicato) instead. The performer uses the fingers of her/his left hand to alter the lengths of the strings by pressing them against the fingerboard, thus producing numerous pitches on any given string. By lightly touching, instead of pressing, the strings at key points, the harmonics of a string's fundamental pitch are produced. The basic timbre of the instrument can be subdued by placing a comb-shaped mute over the instrument's bridge. Its lowest string is tuned to C one octave below middle C, with the other strings successively tuned an interval of a fifth above the preceding one. Because the neck of the instrument has no frets, the performer can produce either chromatic intervals or microtonal ones over the viola's entire four-octave range. A modest repertoire of solo (unaccompanied, sonata and concerto) literature exists for the viola. It is a mainstay both of the orchestra and of string and piano-and-string chamber ensembles. " |
| 43 | Cello |  |
"The violoncello (or simply “cello”) is the bass member of the violin family of string instruments. The cello is held vertically with its body supported by the player's knees and an adjustable metal endpin that reached down to the floor. Its four strings, made of wire-wound gut or metal cores, are stretched over a waisted wood resonator and a neck with a fretless fingerboard. The tension of each individual string is adjusted with a tuning peg that is mounted in the peg box at the end of the instrument's neck. The cello pictured at left has an additional fine-tuning device for each of its strings, located where the strings come in contact with the instrument's tailpiece. A high wood bridge situated on the upper face of the instrument's body transmits energy from the vibrating strings to the resonating chamber; this transmission is further aided by a wood sound post that is wedged between the upper and lower faces of the resonator, exactly below the bridge. Sound escapes from the resonating chamber via the two f-shaped sound holes carved into its upper face. The strings are generally set into vibration with a rosined horsehair bow, although they are sometimes plucked (called pizzicato) instead. The performer uses the fingers of her/his left hand to alter the lengths of the strings by pressing them against the fingerboard, thus producing numerous pitches on any given string. By lightly touching, instead of pressing, the strings at key points, the harmonics of a string's fundamental pitch are produced. The basic timbre of the instrument can be subdued by placing a comb-shaped mute over the instrument's bridge. The cello's lowest string is tuned to C two octaves below middle C, with the other strings successively tuned an interval of a fifth above the preceding one; its tuning is therefore one octave below that of the viola. Because the neck of the instrument has no frets, the performer can produce either chromatic intervals or microtonal ones over the cello's entire three-and-one-half-octave range. A considerable repertoire of solo (unaccompanied, sonata and concerto) literature exists for the cello. It is a mainstay both of the orchestra and of string and piano-and-string chamber ensembles.
" |
| 44 | Contrabass |  |
"The double bass (or “bass”, “string bass”, or “contrabass”), while being the lowest-register member of the modern violin family of string instruments, reveals in its resonator's drooping shoulders that its ancestry includes the viola da gamba family of early string instruments (see the Early Music Collection: Close-ups; Drawing Distinctions--Violins and Viola da Gambas). The bass is held vertically with its body kept off the ground by an adjustable metal endpin. The performer either stands to the side of the instrument or sits on a high stool with the instrument leaning against him/her. Its four strings, made of steel cores wound with aluminum wire, are stretched over a waisted wood resonator and a neck with a fretless fingerboard. The tension of each individual string is adjusted with a metal tuning mechanism that is attached to the peg box at the end of the instrument's neck. The bass pictured at left has an additional fine-tuning device for its lowest-pitched string, located where the string comes in contact with the instrument's tailpiece. A high wood bridge situated on the upper face of the instrument's body transmits energy from the vibrating strings to the resonating chamber; this transmission is further aided by a wood sound post that is wedged between the upper and lower faces of the resonator, exactly below the bridge. Sound escapes from the resonating chamber via the two f-shaped sound holes carved into its upper face. The strings are generally set into vibration with a rosined horsehair bow, although they are sometimes plucked (called pizzicato) instead. The performer uses the fingers of her/his left hand to alter the lengths of the strings by pressing them against the fingerboard, thus producing numerous pitches on any given string. By lightly touching, instead of pressing, the strings at key points, the harmonics of a string's fundamental pitch are produced. The basic timbre of the instrument can be subdued by placing a comb-shaped mute over the instrument's bridge. The bass' lowest string is tuned to E two-and-two-thirds octaves below middle C, with the other strings successively tuned an interval of a fourth above the preceding one. Because the neck of the instrument has no frets, the performer can produce either chromatic intervals or microtonal ones over the bass' entire three-octave-plus range. A substantial repertoire of solo (unaccompanied, sonata and concerto) literature exists for the bass. It is a mainstay of the orchestra, but not of the string and piano-and-string chamber repertoire. It is not uncommon for concert bands to include a double bass in their instrumentation; in the jazz idiom, the instrument is a standard member of the rhythm section and a solo instrument in both combos and big bands." |
| 45 | Tremolo Strings |  |
"Tremolo - (music) a tremulous effect produced by rapid repetition of a single tone or rapid alternation of two tones.
(n.) The rapid reiteration of tones without any apparent cessation, so as to produce a tremulous effect.
(n.) A certain contrivance in an organ or strings, which causes the notes to sound with rapid pulses or beats, producing a tremulous effect; -- called also tremolant, and tremulant.
" |
| 46 | Pizzicato Strings |  |
"A direction to violinists to pluck the string with the finger, instead of using the bow. " |
| 47 | Orchestral Harp |  |
"The modern concert harp has a complex, and largely invisible, mechanism developed in the early nineteenth century that allows an otherwise diatonic (seven pitches/stings to the octave) instrument to be a fully chromatic one. Its basic structural features include a resonator, a curved neck, strings that emerge perpendicularly from the face of the resonator and that attach at their other end to tuning pegs mounted on the neck, and a sturdy support pillar that links the end of the neck to the base of the resonator (making it a “frame” as opposed to “open” harp). In addition to these basic structural components, the concert harp includes seven foot pedals each of which is linked--through a remarkable system of levers, rods, springs, mechanical actions and axles--to a pair of rotating metal discs with pins (called “forks”) that can simultaneously raise all of the instrument's strings tuned to one of the diatonic scale steps by one or two semitones. Detail photograph # 1 provides a close-up look at the results of bringing various combinations of these discs into action. The top end of each string is wrapped around a tuning peg (the top row of pegs imbedded in the wood frame), but it is a second row of pins (mounted on the brass plate and called “bridge-pins”) that determine the full vibrating length of each string (note that, for the first two strings at the far left, there is no further way to alter their acoustical length). We can see that, beginning with the third string from the left, each string is outfitted with two rotating discs. The pedals for the first two of these have been positioned so that both discs for these two strings (and all their octave counterparts) have been engaged. This shortens the full length of the string by two increments and raises its pitch by two semitones. The next two strings to the right (the fifth and sixth from the left) have their pedals positioned so that only the top discs are in play, thus shortening the length of the full string by one increment and raising its pitch by one semitone. Finally, the next three strings (the seventh, eighth and ninth from the left) have their respective pedals positioned so that neither of their discs are activated, leaving them to vibrate at their full length. After this point, the above described pattern for the third through ninth strings repeats itself again and again throughout the rest of the instrument's range. The modern concert harp has 47 nylon, metal wound or gut strings covering a range of six-and-one-half octaves. The player plucks or strums (to produce the characteristic sweeping effect called a “glissando”) these strings with the fingers of both hands. Harmonics can be produce by plucking with one hand and lightly touching a string at the acoustically appropriate spot with the other. Most of the harp's solo literature postdates the development of the elaborate mechanical system described above, which made the harp a fully chromatic instrument. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, composers began to incorporate the harp into their orchestral compositions with greater regularity.
" |
| 48 | Timpani |  |
"Timpani (also referred to as “kettledrums”) are membranophones that are designed in such a way as to produce definite-pitched sounds. The large metal (copper) bowl-shaped shells of these drums provide the resonating space for the single plastic (or calfskin) membranes that cover their tops. The drumheads are themselves stretched over a hoop with a slightly larger diameter than that of the shell's opening. A metal ring (with attached screw and rod hardware), the diameter of which is also slightly greater than that of the shell's opening, fits around the opening of the shell while catching the hoop of the membrane and, with downward force applied by a series of rods and cables controlled by a foot pedal, introduces varying degrees of tension to the drumhead as pressure on its hoop is increased and decreased. Each constituent drum in a set of timpani has a narrow range of about a fifth, and depending on the needs of the work being performed, two to five (four is today considered standard) timpani of graduated size and overlapping ranges will be used. Each of the five timpani pictured at left has a tuning gauge attached to its side that informs the performer of its approximate pitch as determined by the position of the pedal; fine tuning, however, must be done by ear. The drum heads are struck with sticks, one held in each of the player's hands. A tremendous variety of timpani sticks are manufactured, ranging from ones with large balls of felt (very soft, resulting in a soft attack) to ones with wood balls (very hard, resulting in a sharp attack and greater volume). The timbre of the instrument is also determined in part by where on the drumhead's radius the player strikes it. A player must also work into their technique the ability to damp the sound of a ringing head. Historically, it is generally believed that the inspiration for the European timpani came from the Middle East in the form or horse-mounted kettledrums associated with military units. Timpani parts begin to appear in compositions around the beginning of the seventeenth century, usually in tandem with the trumpet. But it wasn't until the latter half of the eighteenth century that the timpani became an established member of the orchestra. It continues, up to the present, to be a part of the orchestra's instrumentation, and is also found the typical concert band. Percussion ensemble compositions often require several timpani, and there has even developed a small repertoire of unaccompanied timpani solos. " |
|
| 49 | String Ensemble 1 |  |
"Ensemble - a group of musicians playing or singing together; ""a string ensemble""" |
| 50 | String Ensemble 2 |  |
"Ensemble - a group of musicians playing or singing together; ""a string ensemble""" |
| 51 | SynthStrings 1 |  |
"Synth ( P ) Pronunciation Key (snth) A synthesizer. Music made with electronic synthesizers as compared to the traditional instrument. In this case a stringed instrument.
" |
| 52 | SynthStrings 2 |  |
"Synth ( P ) Pronunciation Key (snth) A synthesizer. Music made with electronic synthesizers as compared to the traditional instrument. In this case a stringed instrument.
" |
| 53 | Choir Aahs |  |
A choir voice. |
| 54 | Voice Oohs |  |
A choir voice. |
| 55 | Synth Voice |  |
A Synthesized Voice. |
| 56 | Orchestra Hit |  |
A Full Orchestra. |
|
| 57 | Trumpet |  |
"The modern trumpet (pictured at left) evolved out of the natural trumpet (see Close-ups; Then and Now--The Trumpet). The pivotal mechanical invention that brought about the transition from the harmonic-producing natural trumpet to the fully chromatic modern trumpet was the valve, invented in 1814. This mechanism allowed for the rapid addition and subtraction of extra pipe length with a spring-loaded piston. The actual design of the mechanism continued to be refined throughout the nineteenth century. The modern trumpet includes three piston valves each adding a specific additional length of pipe to the instrument's tube. The trumpet has a predominantly cylindrical bore, retaining the bore diameter at the cup mouthpiece end of the tube for much of its length until it flares out into a bell at the other end. The handling of the instrument is made more manageable by having the tube fold back twice on itself and positioning the valves in the middle of the instrument's rectangular shape. The trumpet pictured on this page has a length that produces a fundamental pitch of B-flat; it is the most common type of trumpet in use today. It has a range of approximately two-and-one-half octaves, although some jazz trumpeters specialize in extending the upper register of the instrument. The trumpet has associated with it an extensive solo repertoire and is a mainstay in the orchestra, military/marching and concert bands, jazz big bands and combos, and in mixed brass ensembles. Variation in the timbre of the instrument is achieved through the use of mutes placed in or held in front of the bell of the instrument (in the photo at the left, four mutes are seen--from left to right, plunger, Harmon, cup and straight). " |
| 58 | Trombone |  |
"The modern tenor trombone has evolved, with only subtle design modifications, from the Renaissance sackbut (see Close-ups: Then and Now--The Trombone). It consists of a tube about 2.75 meters/9 feet in length (which produces a fundamental pitch of B-flat) with two U-shaped bends and a mostly cylindrical bore. The bend nearest the cup mouthpiece end of the tube takes the form of a telescoping slide; the other bend terminates in a flared bell. The slide allows the instrument's performer to increase the tube length beyond its shortest one (as pictured at left). With any given length of tubing, the performer may produce a fundamental pitch and the notes in the harmonic series above it. A player must develop a sense of specific slide lengths (called “positions”) to produce pitches with desired frequencies. Subtle and not so subtle pitch inflections (from slight bends to exaggerated “smears” over a wide range) made possible by the slide mechanism are explored to varying degrees in the different musical idioms in which the trombone is found. The basic range of the tenor trombone is about two-and-one-half octaves. There exists a considerable solo repertoire of original pieces for the trombone as well as transcribed works, and it is a standard member of the orchestra, all sorts of military, marching and concert bands, mixed brass ensembles, and jazz bands. Variation in the timbre of the instrument is achieved through the use of mutes placed in or held in front of the bell of the instrument (in the photo at the left, four mutes are seen--from left to right, metal straight, plunger, straight, and cup). " |
| 59 | Tuba |  |
"The tuba is the largest and lowest-register instrument in the cup mouthpiece brass family of Western aerophones. Although it comes in a variety of lengths, the instrument pictured at left is perhaps the most common model in use today. It is a 5.5 meter-/18 foot-long tube with a conical bore that wraps around itself a few times into an oval shape encircling four rotor valves with varying lengths of attached additional tubing. It has a fundamental pitch of B-flat, one octave lower than the trombone and two octaves below the trumpet. The tuba has associated with it a solo repertoire of original and transcribed works, and is found in the symphony orchestra, concert bands, and brass ensembles. The tuba pictured at left is inverted; in its normal playing position the bell is facing upwards. " |
| 60 | Muted Trumpet |  |
"The modern trumpet (pictured at left) evolved out of the natural trumpet (see Close-ups; Then and Now--The Trumpet). The pivotal mechanical invention that brought about the transition from the harmonic-producing natural trumpet to the fully chromatic modern trumpet was the valve, invented in 1814. This mechanism allowed for the rapid addition and subtraction of extra pipe length with a spring-loaded piston. The actual design of the mechanism continued to be refined throughout the nineteenth century. The modern trumpet includes three piston valves each adding a specific additional length of pipe to the instrument's tube. The trumpet has a predominantly cylindrical bore, retaining the bore diameter at the cup mouthpiece end of the tube for much of its length until it flares out into a bell at the other end. The handling of the instrument is made more manageable by having the tube fold back twice on itself and positioning the valves in the middle of the instrument's rectangular shape. The trumpet pictured on this page has a length that produces a fundamental pitch of B-flat; it is the most common type of trumpet in use today. It has a range of approximately two-and-one-half octaves, although some jazz trumpeters specialize in extending the upper register of the instrument. The trumpet has associated with it an extensive solo repertoire and is a mainstay in the orchestra, military/marching and concert bands, jazz big bands and combos, and in mixed brass ensembles. Variation in the timbre of the instrument is achieved through the use of mutes placed in or held in front of the bell of the instrument (in the photo at the left, four mutes are seen--from left to right, plunger, Harmon, cup and straight).
" |
| 61 | French Horn |  |
"The modern double or french horn with rotor valves pictured at left evolved from the hunting horn (a signaling instrument capable of producing a fundamental tone and the notes in the harmonic series above it). Its use in musical circles began in the late seventeenth century. An early development applied to the horn was the use of crooks--extra segments (usually circular) of tubing used to modify the length, and thus the fundamental pitch, of the tube. In the early nineteenth century, piston valves were invented and added to the horn, making it a chromatic instrument. The rotor valves now most commonly found on double horns were developed around 1830. The final major design development for the horn took place in 1898 when a fourth rotor valve and a second set of tuning slides were added to the instrument. The basic length of the instrument's tube (with its mostly cylindrical bore) produces the pitch F, but with the fourth rotor activated extra tubing is added to lower the fundamental pitch to B-flat--thus the term “double horn” (F and B-flat) for this instrument. Its range can approach four octaves. A thin-rimmed cup mouthpiece is inserted at one end of the instrument's tube, which flares dramatically at its other end. The instrument has associated with it an extensive solo repertoire, and it is a mainstay of the symphony orchestra, military/marching and concert bands, and chamber music ensembles such as the woodwind quintet and the brass ensemble. Variation in the timbre of the instrument is achieved through changes in the position of the player's right hand in the bell cavity and by the use of mutes placed in the bell of the instrument (in the photo at the left, three varieties of horn mutes are seen).
" |
| 62 | Brass Section |  |
"The section of a band or orchestra that plays brass instruments. Brass instruments or their players considered as a group. Often used in the plural.
" 1 |
| 63 | SynthBrass 1 |  |
"Synth ( P ) Pronunciation Key (snth) A synthesizer. Music made with electronic synthesizers as compared to the traditional instrument. In this case a brass instrument.
" |
| 64 | SynthBrass 2 |  |
"Synth ( P ) Pronunciation Key (snth) A synthesizer. Music made with electronic synthesizers as compared to the traditional instrument. In this case a brass instrument.
" |
|
| 65 | Soprano Sax |  |
"The soprano saxophone is a member of a family of like instruments invented in the 1840s by the Belgium instrument maker Adolphe Sax. He designed two lines of saxophones each in seven registers, one set for orchestral use (all but one model in this line are obsolete) and the other for military band use (of which four registers, including the soprano saxophone seen at left, remain in common use today). Saxophones have: bodies made from thin metal (usually of brass); a conical bore; an elaborate key and pad system to cover and uncover the 18 to 21 holes of varying size that are distributed along the tube; a distinctive profile that for most models (except for some soprano saxes such as the one seen at left) has a U-shaped bend near the bell-end of the tube and a bent-back neck (which takes a distinctive shape for each register of saxophone) at the mouthpiece end; and a mouthpiece (of wood, ebonite, metal or plastic) to which is affixed, with the aid of a ligature, a single beating reed. The soprano saxophone is heard today primarily in the following contexts: as a solo instrument in recital settings or with a concert band, in mixed saxophone ensembles, and as an auxiliary solo instrument in jazz combos and jazz big bands. It is pitched in B-flat and has a fully chromatic range of at least two-and-one-half octaves. Jazz saxophonists and avant-garde musicians in particular often challenge the conventional limits of sound production by extending the instrument's upper register, through the bending of pitches, and by producing expressive timbral effects achieved through over blowing, multiphonics and other forms of intentional distortion.
" |
| 66 | Alto Sax |  |
"The alto saxophone is a member of a family of like instruments invented in the 1840s by the Belgium instrument maker Adolphe Sax. He designed two lines of saxophones each in seven registers, one set for orchestral use (all but one model in this line are obsolete) and the other for military band use (of which four registers, including the alto saxophone seen at left, remain in common use today). Saxophones have: bodies made from thin metal (usually of brass); a conical bore; an elaborate key and pad system to cover and uncover the 18 to 21 holes of varying size that are distributed along the tube; a distinctive profile that for most models (except for some soprano saxes) has a U-shaped bend near the bell-end of the tube and a bent-back neck (which takes a distinctive shape for each register of saxophone) at the mouthpiece end; and a mouthpiece (of wood, ebonite, metal or plastic) to which is affixed, with the aid of a ligature, a single beating reed. The alto saxophone is heard today primarily in the following contexts: military/marching bands, concert bands, as a solo instrument in recital settings or with a concert band, in mixed saxophone ensembles, and as a solo instrument in jazz combos or section instrument in jazz big bands. It is pitched in E-flat and has a fully chromatic range of at least two-and-one-half octaves. Jazz saxophonists and avant-garde musicians in particular often challenge the conventional limits of sound production by extending the instrument's upper register, through the bending of pitches, and by producing expressive timbral effects achieved through over blowing, multiphonics and other forms of intentional distortion.
" |
| 67 | Tenor Sax |  |
"The tenor saxophone is a member of a family of like instruments invented in the 1840s by the Belgium instrument maker Adolphe Sax. He designed two lines of saxophones each in seven registers, one set for orchestral use (all but one model in this line are obsolete) and the other for military band use (of which four registers, including the tenor saxophone seen at left, remain in common use today). Saxophones have: bodies made from thin metal (usually of brass); a conical bore; an elaborate key and pad system to cover and uncover the 18 to 21 holes of varying size that are distributed along the tube; a distinctive profile that for most models (except for some soprano saxes) has a U-shaped bend near the bell-end of the tube and a bent-back neck (which takes a distinctive shape for each register of saxophone) at the mouthpiece end; and a mouthpiece (of wood, ebonite, metal or plastic) to which is affixed, with the aid of a ligature, a single beating reed. The tenor saxophone is heard today primarily in the following contexts: military/marching bands, concert bands, as a solo instrument in recital settings or with a concert band, in mixed saxophone ensembles, and as a solo instrument in jazz combos or section instrument in jazz big bands. It is pitched in B-flat and has a fully chromatic range of at least two-and-one-half octaves. Jazz saxophonists and avant-garde musicians in particular often challenge the conventional limits of sound production by extending the instrument's upper register, through the bending of pitches, and by producing expressive timbral effects achieved through over blowing, multiphonics and other forms of intentional distortion. " |
| 68 | Baritone Sax |  |
"The baritone saxophone is a member of a family of like instruments invented in the 1840s by the Belgium instrument maker Adolphe Sax. He designed two lines of saxophones each in seven registers, one set for orchestral use (all but one model in this line are obsolete) and the other for military band use (of which four registers, including the baritone saxophone seen at left, remain in common use today). Saxophones have: bodies made from thin metal (usually of brass); a conical bore; an elaborate key and pad system to cover and uncover the 18 to 21 holes of varying size that are distributed along the tube; a distinctive profile that for most models (except for some soprano saxes) has a U-shaped bend near the bell-end of the tube and a bent-back neck (which takes a distinctive shape for each register of saxophone) at the mouthpiece end; and a mouthpiece (of wood, ebonite, metal or plastic) to which is affixed, with the aid of a ligature, a single beating reed. The baritone saxophone is heard today primarily in the following contexts: military/marching bands, concert bands, in mixed saxophone ensembles, and as a section instrument in jazz big bands. It is pitched in E-flat and has a fully chromatic range of at least two-and-one-half octaves. Jazz saxophonists and avant-garde musicians in particular often challenge the conventional limits of sound production by extending the instrument's upper register, through the bending of pitches, and by producing expressive timbral effects achieved through over blowing, multiphonics and other forms of intentional distortion.
" |
| 69 | Oboe |  |
"The modern oboe pitched in C, a descendent of the Medieval shawm and the Baroque oboe (see Close-ups; Then and Now--The Oboe), reached its current design by the 1880s in France with the adoption of the systeme A6 mechanism by the maker Trieberts (this mechanism itself was influenced by the Boehm flute mechanism which oboe makers began to experiment with in the 1840s). Its body is typically made from dark fruit wood or from plastic, has a conical bore, and is constructed in three jointed sections. The instrument's double reed is tied to a metal tube (called a staple) the base of which is wrapped with cork and inserted into the top end of the instrument's bore. A solo, chamber music and concerto repertoire of considerable size, dating back to the Baroque era, exists for this instrument. It is a standard member of the orchestra, concert band and the woodwind quintet. The range of the modern oboe is three octaves and it is fully chromatic. Recently, composers and oboe players have experimented with new techniques of sound production such as multiphonics.
" |
| 70 | English Horn |  |
"A relative of the oboe, the english horn (also called the cor anglais) is pitched in F a fifth below the oboe. Like the oboe, it attained its modern form in the 1880s in France. It has a wood or plastic body made in three jointed sections. Besides being longer than the oboe, the english horn has two other visually distinguishing features. At the bell-end of the instrument there is a pronounced bulb-like bulge (otherwise the instrument has a conical bore), a feature that possibly contributes to the english horn's distinctively rich sound in its lower register. At the reed-end of the instrument there is found a curved metal bocal (tube) to which a double reed is attached. There does not exist a significant repertoire of solo or chamber music written expressly for the english horn. It is more of an auxiliary instrument played by one of the oboists in an orchestra, concert band or chamber ensemble, used only when a composer has written a passage specifically for the instrument. The range of the english horn is about two-and-one-half octaves and it is fully chromatic.
" |
| 71 | Bassoon |  |
"The bassoon is a double reed instrument with a conical bore, a wood body (recently, plastic has been used for inexpensive models) comprised of four joints, and a hook-shaped bocal (metal-tube reed holder). The bassoon may also be thought of as a folded-bore instrument; its bore doubles back on itself with a tight U-shaped turn in the base (bottom) joint of the instrument. Historically, the bassoon's precursors date back to the Renaissance period (see Close-ups: Then and Now--The Bassoon). Two modern models--the German (see image on this page) and French--of the bassoon exist, differing from one another in terms of hole measurements and keywork. The instrument has quite an extensive solo, chamber music and concerto repertoire associated with it dating back to the Baroque era. It is a standard instrument in the orchestra, the concert band and the woodwind quintet. It has a fully chromatic, three-and-one-half octave range. In recent decades some composers have incorporated in their compositions for the bassoon new demands such as the production of multiphonics. The image at left shows the bassoon from the player's side, Detail 1 from the back side.
" |
| 72 | Clarinet |  |
"The modern clarinet family has several members, but by far the most commonly encountered are the soprano-register ones tuned to B-flat and A. Of these two, the one tuned to B-flat may be considered the standard, with mainly orchestral players possessing a second instrument tuned in A. Structurally, the B-flat and A clarinets are identical; they differ only in their length with the A clarinet being four or five centimeters longer than the B-flat. Both are made, typically, of grenadilla wood (although other materials such as metal and plastic can be used) in four jointed sections plus a mouthpiece to which the instrument's single reed is attached. Like all clarinets, the soprano-register instruments have a basically cylindrical bore with a complex system of keys and pads that was developed around 1840 in France by Louis-August Buffet as a modification of the flute fingering system of Boehm. The range of the clarinet is about three-and-one-half octaves. An interesting feature of all clarinets is that, acoustically, they act as closed-pipes and therefore do not overblow at the octave like other woodwind instruments. The clarinet, in earlier forms, started to be incorporated in the orchestra with some regularity in the middle of the eighteenth century, and by the early nineteenth century it had become a standard member of the orchestra's wind section. Concertos featuring the clarinet were written beginning in the eighteenth century, and this repertoire has continued to be added to right up to the present. Composers have also produced a substantial repertoire of sonatas for the clarinet, and have incorporated it into a wide variety of chamber works (one chamber ensemble in which the clarinet is a standard member is the woodwind quintet). As military and concert bands developed in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the clarinet became a standard member of these ensembles as well. In the twentieth century it has also been absorbed into jazz idioms. In the latter part of the twentieth century, composers and performers have experimented with new techniques for the clarinet, most importantly the production of multiphonics.
" |
|
| 73 | Piccolo |  |
"The most typical version of the piccolo found today is made in two interlocking joints, has a cylindrical bore, is made from wood or metal or both (as is the instrument pictured at left), and uses the Boehm-system of keys and fingering. It is pitched an octave higher than the concert flute but, because it lacks a foot joint, its lowest sounding pitch is a d. It has a three octave range and is fully chromatic. It has been a standard member of the symphony orchestra since the turn of the nineteenth century, although it is typically performed by the second flautist for restricted passages. Many concert band works also call for the piccolo. If there is a solo repertoire for the instrument, it is extremely small and obscure. It is, however, written for with some regularity in the relatively new genre of the mixed flute ensemble.
" |
| 74 | Flute |  |
"The standard flute of today, with its cylindrical bore, metal body and elaborate key-and-pad fingering system, dates from right around the middle of the nineteenth century with the design efforts of the German scientist Theobald Boehm. Wooden flutes with from one to several keys preceded and coexisted with Boehm's innovations (see Close-ups, Then and Now, Flute), but Boehm's design would eventually win out. The standard concert flute of today is built in three interlocking sections, is pitched in C, has a range of three octaves or more, and is fully chromatic. Its contexts of use are numerous--there exists a vast repertoire of solo works (unaccompanied and accompanied) dating from the Baroque to the present written expressly for the flute; it has been a standard instrument in the symphony orchestra since the latter half of the eighteenth century and, in addition, a number of concertos featuring the flute have been composed; it is found in various chamber ensemble configurations such as the woodwind quintet and, more recently, in various flute ensemble combinations; it is a standard instrument in the concert band and other sorts of wind ensembles; can be used as either a solo or section instrument in jazz ensembles, and has been incorporated in various folk and popular music idioms both in Europe and America and beyond. During the latter half of the twentieth century, some composers and performers experimented with alternate playing techniques that allowed for the production of microtonal intervals and multiphonics; these new sounds have, however, remained peripheral and exceptional to the more standard tone production on the instrument.
" |
| 75 | Recorder |  |
"Which family of instruments does the recorder belong to? The recorder, which is an end-blown tubular flute, belongs to the woodwind family.
What material is it usually made of ? It is usually made of wood and ivory, and later of plastic.
How many members are there in the recorder family? Six in all. Starting from the highest in pitch (smallest in size) to the lowest(largest in size). They are the Sopranino , Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass and Contra-bass.
What is a""Descant"" and ""Treble"" recorder? In Great Britain, the Soprano recorder is also known as Descant recorder, and the Tenor recorder is known as Treble recorder.
What is Baroque fingering and German fingering? Generally, these are the two systems of fingerings. Some German instruments have a lowered fifth hole. Although German fingering is relatively easier to learn, the instruments designed for it are less useful in their higher rehisters. Baroque or English fingering is more common.
How are the fingerings different? The main difference is the F and the F-sharp in the Soprano and Tenor instrument and the B and B-flat in the Alto and Bass instrument.
Why do some recorders sound higher than others? Modern recorders are tuned to A440Hz. Some Japanese models are tuned to A443Hz.(higher) Renaissance recorders are tuned even higher at A446Hz while the Baroque recorders are tuned to one semi-tone lower at A415Hz. The French Baroque ones are tuned to A392Hz.
Since when did people start to play the recorder? It became very popular in many European countries from the early Middle Ages. Between the 16th and 18th century, it was the leading flute in the Renaissance and Baroque music. The word ""recorder"" first appeared in a document in 1388, and a recorder tutor was published in Venice, in 1535.
What happened after that? After about 1750 the recorder was largely replace by the flute (tranverse flute).
Why is that so ? This is because the flute is a much more expressive instrument, with greater dynamic range (from very soft to quite loud) and a slightly larger range (of pitches). These are factors important in the music of the Classical and Romantic period (1785-1900).
Is the recorder a popular musical instrument now ?
Yes. In the early 20th Century, an Englishman called Arnold Dolmetsch, who was very interested in early music and early instruments, revived the recorder. He was also a maker of the instrument.
Why is it so popular in school music today?
1. It's easy to learn.
2. It's quite inexpensive.
3. Its closely spaced finger holes are within reach of young children (very young ones can choose to play the Sopranino recorder).
4. It's suitable for solo music and ensemble music.
5. It's portable
6. There's quite a wide repertoire of music available for Soprano recorder.
" |
| 76 | Pan Flute |  |
"The deeper pitched bass notes are located to the player's right (longer tubes), in its diatonic tuning. A professional model would include twenty tubes rather than the twelve found on this instrument. The cylindrical bore cane tubes, are stopped at their bottom end, and have a slight notch cut out of their top opening to make sound production more effortless.
" |
| 77 | Blown Bottle |  |
"""Woodwind"" instrument sound made by blowing across the top of a bottle." |
| 78 | Shakuhachi |  |
"The shakuhachi is a testament to the elegance of traditional Japanese culture. Made from the root of the bamboo, its aesthetic is organic and simple. Hidden inside this rustic form, however, is a bore that is carefully crafted with the utmost precision. This instrument produces a sound that is said to replicate the full range of natural life on earth.
The shakuhachi is an end-blown flute tuned to a pentatonic (5-note) scale. By various fingerings -- half- and quarter-holings -- and by controlling the angle of mouthpiece against the lip, all twelve tones of the western chromatic scale can be produced. The mouthpiece consists of an oblique blowing edge whose design is unique in that it enables the player to control the pitch produced by changing the angle at which the flute is being blown. This, in turn, produces a delicate change of intonation -- a swelling or bending of notes characteristic of the traditional music. Alterations in embouchure, intensity of blowing and cross fingerings allow the player to create a wide variety of subtle and incredible sounds. The timbre of the instrument is mellow in its low tones, although it is equally capable of producing loud, penetrating and breathy tones in its middle and upper registers. Little can be said of the sound of the shakuhachi without first hearing its hauntingly beautiful ring. With this in mind, noted ethnomusicologist Fumio Koizumi concluded: ""Because of the religious origin of its music, the sound of the bamboo flute leads the mind directly into spiritual thought. Thus a single tone of the shakuhachi can sometimes bring one to the world of Nirvana.""
Traditional Japanese music played on this instrument reflects the many voices of nature. Gentle and warm, the summer rain. Frayed and gusty, the autumn breeze through the bamboos. Shrill and honking, the cry of a wild duck, winter on its tail. Quiet and sweet, a mountain lake fed by early spring runoff.
The shakuhachi flute is used as a tool for zen Buddhist meditation as well as playing classical, jazz & traditional Japanese folk music.
" |
| 79 | Whistle |  |
"Just one example of a whistle: A six-fingerhole cylindrical bore duct flute used in Celtic music (although it has, historically, traveled with sailors; a remarkable penny whistle tradition is found in South Africa, for example). This tin whistle is made very inexpensively from metal tubing and a molded plastic whistle mouthpiece. " |
| 80 | Ocarina |  |
"What has become the generalized form of the European ocarina was invented in Italy in the nineteenth century, however, the basic idea of the ocarina is much older and has been realized in a multitude of forms around the world. The ocarina pictured at left was made in France and is typical of modern-day European ocarinas. It: is made from terra-cotta; is shaped like an elongated egg; has eight fingerholes on the top side and two thumbholes on the reverse side; and has a mouthpiece extension which includes a duct that directs the airstream against a beveled edge to produce the sound. An additional feature of this ocarina is metal screw mechanism modifies the volume of the resonating cavity and, as a result, the the fundamental pitch of the instrument. The ocarina is basically a novelty instrument most often played by children.
" |
|
| 81 | Lead 1(square) |  |
"A square wave is a kind of basic waveform. Ideally a square wave has instantaneous alternation between a maximum and a minimum (which can be zero or negative) amplitude level. In musical terms, it is often described as sounding hollow, and is therefore used as the basis for wind instrument sounds created using subtractive synthesis.
" |
| 82 | Lead 2 (sawtooth) |  |
"The sawtooth wave is a kind of basic waveform. It is named a sawtooth based on its resemblance to the teeth on the blade of a saw. A sawtooth wave's sound is harsh and clear and its spectrum contains both even and odd harmonics of the fundamental frequency. Because it contains all the integer harmonics, it is one of the best waveforms to use for constructing other sounds, particularly strings, using subtractive synthesis.
" |
| 83 | Lead 3 (calliope) |  |
"Cal`li´o`pe Pronunciation: k?l`l?´ō`p? A musical instrument consisting of a series of steam whistles, toned to the notes of the scale, and played by keys arranged like those of an organ. Callipoes are high-pressure instruments that virtually explode their music through brass pipes. Invented in America in the mid-19th century, they were originally powered by steam but eventually converted to compressed air. " |
| 84 | Lead 4 (chiff) |  |
A chirplike sound especially from flute pipes on an organ. |
| 85 | Lead 5 (charang) |  |
A similar sound to the distorted guitar |
| 86 | Lead 6 (voice) |  |
Sound Effect |
| 87 | Lead 7 (fifths) |  |
Sound Effect |
| 88 | Lead 8 (bass+lead) |  |
The Two Primary Guitar Positions |
|
| 89 | Pad 1 (new age) |  |
Style of Sound |
| 90 | Pad 2 (warm) |  |
Style of Sound |
| 91 | Pad 3 (polysynth) |  |
Multiple instrument voices playing in unison. |
| 92 | Pad 4 (choir) |  |
Sound Effect |
| 93 | Pad 5 (bowed) |  |
Sound Effect of playing with a bow rather than plucked. |
| 94 | Pad 6 (metallic) |  |
Metal ring to the music. |
| 95 | Pad 7 (halo) |  |
Sound from the Electronic Game Halo |
| 96 | Pad 8 (sweep) |  |
Sound Effect |
|
| 97 | FX 1 (rain) |  |
Sound Effect |
| 98 | FX 2 (soundtrack) |  |
Sound Effect |
| 99 | FX 3 (crystal) |  |
Sound Effect |
| 100 | FX 4 (atmosphere) |  |
Sound Effect |
| 101 | FX 5 (brightness) |  |
Sound Effect |
| 102 | FX 6 (goblins) |  |
Sound Effect |
| 103 | FX 7 (echoes) |  |
Sound Effect |
| 104 | FX 8 (sci-fi) |  |
Sound Effect |
|
| 105 | Sitar |  |
"A lute with a long (hollow) wooden neck, movable arch-shaped metal frets (see Detail photo), and ivory binding, the sitar makes use of two gourd resonating chambers, one of which is overlaid by a convex wooden soundboard. The modern sitar features four melody strings, three drone (chikari) strings, and between twelve and twenty sympathetic strings, which are tuned to the scale of the raga being performed, and add a metallic shimmer to the notes played (occasionally, the sitarist runs his or her finger across the sympathetic strings, adding a lush accent to the piece). All the strings on the sitar are made of wire. It is held with the neck tilted upward at approximately a 45 degree angle, and played with a wire plectrum on the tip of the index finger of the right hand. Although the frets are positioned according to the scale of the raga being played, the sitarist can (and often does) add embellishing semitones through careful use of string bends and vibrato.
" |
| 106 | Banjo |  |
"The banjo is a plucked lute with a membrane-covered resonator--in fact, the instrument's resonator can be thought of as similar in structure to a frame drum (membrane tension can even be adjusted with a ring-and-tension-screw mechanism on the resonator that is also found on drums such as tambourines). The distinctive timbre and considerable volume of the banjo are largely due to the responsiveness of its taut membrane soundtable. The banjo pictured at left, like most modern banjos, has five metal wire strings attached at the bottom end to a tailpiece and at their other end to mechanical tuning pegs; four of these pegs are back-mounted into the instrument's headpiece, the fifth on its neck. The strings are set into vibration by plucking them with fingerpicks on the player's thumb and first two or three fingers. Energy is transmitted from the vibrating strings to the resonator by a low flat bridge that is positioned on the soundtable. The neck of the banjo has twenty-two permanently mounted frets against which the player presses the strings to achieve different pitches. The banjo as we know it today probably developed from West African prototypes brought to the New World by slaves. It is used in a wide variety of vernacular forms of American music.
" |
| 107 | Shamisen |  |
"A Japanese plucked lute, alternately known as the samisen (Kyoto and Osaka) and the sangen (when played in koto chamber music). The instrument has three strings, a long neck, and a rounded-square body with a back and soundtable of cat or dog skin, held on by glue and natural contraction. The fretless neck is constructed of several joined segments of wood, and can be disassembled for transportation. Loops of silk cord connect the strings to the tailpiece. A plectrum of ivory, bone or plastic is used to strike both the soundtable and the string simultaneously, producting a very sharp tone – however, the skilled shamisen player also employs gentle slides and vibrato, filling shamisen music with a certain elegant contrast between immediacy and contemplative grace. The shamisen has associated with it a large repertoire of music and, in addition to being used as a solo instrument, is also found in ensembles such as the instrumental trio called sankyoku.
" |
| 108 | Koto |  |
"A Japanese zither with thirteen synthetic strings of equal length, thickness, and tension, stretched over two fixed bridges (about 10 cm from either end of the instrument) and thirteen movable bridges (one bridge is placed under each string), the position of which determines tuning. The strings' general tension is adjusted via metal pegs accessible through a hole (covered by an embroidered cloth endcap) in the left-hand end of the instrument (as seen in the photo); on the right-hand end of the instrument, the strings are wound into two circles and bound by threads of silk (or nylon). The body, made of wood, has a slight convex longitudinal curve, and a sharper convex lateral curve. The player wears plectra, called tsume, made from ivory, bone or plastic on the thumb and first two fingers of her or his right hand. With these, the lengths of string to the right (from the player's perspective) of the movable bridges are plucked. Pitch modifications can be produced by depressing the strings on the left side of the movable bridges. The koto has associated with it a large repertoire of music and, in addition to being used as a solo instrument, is also found in ensembles such as the instrumental trio called sankyoku.
" |
| 109 | Kalimba |  |
"SYLLABICATION: ka·lim·ba NOUN: An African musical instrument in the shape of a wooden box set with metal bars that are plucked with the fingers.ETYMOLOGY: Of Bantu origin; akin to Bemba ka-limba, diminutive of ci-limba, any musical instrument : ci-, noun classifier + -limba, musical instrument
" |
| 110 | Bag Pipe |  |
"Although, due in part to colonial-era contacts, the particular instrument pictured here was made in Pakistan, it is nonetheless an instrument type the origin of which is clearly situated in the British Isles. The Grinnell collection instrument is a simple form of the Scottish Highland bagpipe. It is constructed around a sheepskin bag (covered with cloth) with four openings to accommodate: 1) a blowpipe (through which the player directs air from his/her mouth into the sack); a chanter (a conical bore tube with seven fingerholes; its top end, situated inside the sack, is outfitted with a double reed); and 3) two cylindrical bore drone pipes (each outfitted with a single reed mounted at its top end and situated inside the sack; each drone pipe produces a single pitch). The sack serves as an air reservoir for the chanter and drone pipes; a valve at the base of the blowpipe allows air only to be introduced to the sack but not escape back through it. In the picture at left, from left to right, are seen the chanter, the blowpipe, a shorter (higher pitch) drone pipe, and a longer (lower pitch) drone pipe. In the lower left-hand corner are seen the reeds, from top to bottom, the single reed for the longer drone pipe, the single reed for the shorter drone pipe, and the double reed for the chanter. The Highland bagpipe is basically a martial instrument meant for out-of-doors performance.
" |
| 111 | Fiddle |  |
"The violin (also known as a fiddle) is the soprano member of the violin family of string instruments. It is held horizontally with the bottom end of the resonator (as viewed in the picture at the left) pinched lightly between the player's left shoulder and chin so that the top face of the resonator is facing upwards. Its four strings, made of steel wire (for the highest-pitched string) or wire-wound gut (for the other three strings), are stretched over a waisted wood resonator and a neck with a fretless fingerboard. The tension of each individual string is adjusted with a tuning peg that is mounted in the peg box at the end of the instrument's neck. The violin pictured at left has an additional fine-tuning device for its highest string located where that string comes in contact with the instrument's tailpiece. A high, thin bridge situated on the upper face of the instrument's body transmits energy from the vibrating strings to the resonating chamber; this transmission is further aided by a wood sound post that is wedged between the upper and lower faces of the resonator, exactly below the bridge. Sound escapes from the resonating chamber via the two f-shaped sound holes carved into its upper face. The strings are generally set into vibration with a rosined horsehair bow, although they are sometimes plucked (called pizzicato) instead. The performer uses the fingers of her/his left hand to alter the lengths of the strings by pressing them against the fingerboard, thus producing numerous pitches on any given string. By lightly touching, instead of pressing, the strings at key points, the harmonics of a string's fundamental pitch are produced. The basic timbre of the instrument can be subdued by placing a comb-shaped mute over the instrument's bridge. The violin developed from a variety of other string instruments into a form recognizable to us today in sixteenth century Italy (see Close-ups: Then and Now--The Violin). Its lowest string is tuned to G below middle C, with the other strings successively tuned an interval of a fifth above the preceding one. Because the neck of the instrument has no frets, the performer can produce either chromatic intervals or microtonal ones over the violin's entire four-octave range. A vast repertoire of solo (unaccompanied, sonata and concerto) literature exists for the violin. It is a mainstay both of the orchestra and of string and piano-and-string chamber music. Musicians from genres outside of the classical music establishment and from a variety of music cultures around the world have adapted the violin to their traditions--folk fiddling, bluegrass, country and western, jazz (listen to the second audio example on this page), Mexican mariachi, European Gypsy, Yiddish Klezmer, South Indian classical music, and many others.
" |
| 112 | Shanai |  |
"A powerful sounding small shawm (oboe) from Pakistan and India. Made of a dark wood, possibly tilt, it has a conical bore with the bell painted brown, yellow, and orange. There are seven fingerholes on the frontal plane and one thumbhole on the dorsal plane. The double reed, which is made from a single stalk of natural reed, is attached to the bore by means of a brass tube protuding from the bore. This shawm is found throughout central-south Asia, the Middle East, and Southern Europe, where it is known as the shanai (India), surnai (Afghanistan), zurna (Central Asia and Turkey), and zurla (Macedonia). It is often played in conjunction with another surnai and either a single-headed drum (such as the daira) or a double-headed drum (such as the dhol). In this case one plays a drone while the other plays the melody, and they usually accompany the dance. From Logar Valley. 40 cm. long.
" |
|
| 113 | Tinkle Bell |  |
Sound Effect |
| 114 | Agogo |  |
"A struck clapperless bell of Afro-Brazilian origin. Agogo is originally an African word, used by the Yoruba, Igala, and Edo peoples of Nigeria to signify a single or double clapperless bell. Among the Yoruba, agogo are played to accompany social dancing and ceremonies, while the similar (but larger) enu is kept in an ancestral shrine, to be used exclusively in kingmaking ceremonies. The African diaspora brought the word agogo to the Americas, where it has found new meanings. In Cuba, agogo can refer to any number of struck idiophones, from bells to hoe blades, played by members of the Lucumi cult. Brazilian agogos, like this one, are double bells used alongside the berimbau and other instruments to accompany capoeira.
" |
| 115 | Steel Drums |  |
" A concave percussion instrument made from the metal top of an oil drum; has an array of flattened areas that produce different tones when struck (of Caribbean origin). The Steel Drum, or Pan, is a unique instrument, and one of the most recently invented. It is a skillfully hammered 55-gallon oil drum which has been carefully tuned to produce tones. A Steel Drum carries the full chromatic range of notes, and can produce just about any type of music you can think of!
" |
| 116 | Woodblock |  |
"Woodblocks such as the two pictured here are small “slit drums” used as rhythmic instruments in both Latin American dance band styles and as an auxiliary percussion instrument in Western concert music. The block on the left is actually made from wood, while the one on the right is made from blue plastic. Typically struck with one or two wood sticks or, as pictured, with hard-tipped mallets" |
| 117 | Taiko Drum |  |
"""Taiko"" in general is often used to mean the relatively modern art of Japanese drum performances (kumi-daiko), but the word actually refers to the taiko drums themselves. Literally, taiko means ""big/fat drum,"" although there are many shapes and sizes of taiko. People are sometimes confused by the frequent usage of the word ""daiko"", which is a suffix used to indicate a type of drum, a taiko group, or a style of taiko playing in a compound word. When used in a compound word, the ""T"" sound in ""taiko"" changes to a ""D"" sound. Thus, a taiko in the nagado style is a nagado-daiko, for example.
Although traditionally, taiko have been used in very specific ways and in certain combinations of instruments, modern kumi-daiko groups do not suffer such restrictions. Taiko selection is based on the style of taiko music you are playing as well as personal style. However, the nagado-daiko is overwhelmingly the most common style of taiko used. Most taiko groups will also have one or more shime-daiko as well. Other taiko styles such as hira-daiko, oke-daiko are also freely used.
A variety of other instruments are also used in kumi-daiko to fill out the sound. Small hand cymbols (called chappa or tebyoushi), small hand held gongs (call atarigane or chanchiki), flutes (fue or shakuhachi), gongs, and various clappers and rattles are all used to wonderful effect. The high, bright sounds of these instruments add great contrast to the sound and are easily heard above the roar of the big drums.
As a general rule, all taiko are struck with some sort of stick called bachi. The only hand drums in Japan seems to be the kotsuzumi and ootsuzumi used in Japanese classical music. All other taiko are hit with bachi, and there is a tremendous variety of bachi to choose from. Hard oak bachi are typically used for nagado-daiko. Larger bachi made of softwood are used for odaiko, and smaller, lighter bachi are used for shime-daiko. Beyond that, there are bachi made from bamboo, bachi with shiny decorations and tassels, and bachi with jingles and rattles. The proper selection of bachi can add great aural and visual interest to a performance.
Most taiko are measured in the traditional Japanese measure of shaku and sun. One shaku is 30.3 cm (about twelve inches), and is divided into ten sun. Usually only the diameter of the head is measured.
There are many kinds of Taiko drums in Japan, but they can be broadly divided into two catagories: Taiko with a nailed head (byou-daiko), and Taiko with heads stretched over a hoop and tensioned with ropes (shime-daiko).
" |
| 118 | Melodic Tom |  |
A drumming style |
| 119 | Synth Drum |  |
"Synth ( P ) Pronunciation Key (snth) A synthesizer. Music made with electronic synthesizers as compared to the traditional instrument. In this case a drun.
" |
| 120 | Reverse Cymbal |  |
"Some electronic music audio editors have a Reverse function. Ideally, this works best with a percussive sound with a long decay period - such as a cymbal. A reverse effect can be made for almost any sound by applying a Fade In function. The attached picture is the electronic amplitued envelope for a reverse cymbal sound. Custom whooshes by creating a reverse sound from any audio sample. The ""secret"" is in the amplitude envelope. Most ""normal"" sounds (that is, most musical instruments and naturally-occurring sounds) build up to its maximum volume and then die away.
" |
|
| 121 | Guitar Fret Noise |  |
Sound Effect |
| 122 | Breath Noise |  |
Sound Effect |
| 123 | Seashore |  |
Type of Sound and Mood |
| 124 | Bird Tweet |  |
Sound Effect |
| 125 | Telephone Ring |  |
Sound Effect |
| 126 | Helicopter |  |
Sound Effect |
| 127 | Applause |  |
Sound Effect |
| 128 | Gunshot |  |
Sound Effect |
