They each have rows of holes that are covered by metal caps called keys. Pressing on different keys produces different musical notes — the sound changes depending on where the air leaves the instrument through one of the key holes or out the far end. There are three ways in which the woodwind family creates sound: by blowing air across the edge of or into the mouthpiece flute or piccolo , by blowing air between a single reed and a fixed surface clarinet and bass clarinet , or by blowing air between two reeds oboe, English horn, bassoon, and contrabassoon.
The flute is a narrow metal tube about two feet long, with a row of holes covered by keys. Early flutes were often made of wood. The player blows air across the small hole in the mouthpiece to produce a sound that can be either soft and mellow or high and piercing. Like the violin, the flute may often carry the melody line as it is easy to hear above the other instruments. The piccolo , usually made from metal or wood, is like a small flute.
Because the length of the instrument is shorter than the flute, the pitch is higher, but it operates the same way. It is more of a specialty instrument, used when the part to be played is especially high. The oboe does not have a mouthpiece like the flute and the piccolo. It is a double-reed instrument, with two reeds tied together for the mouthpiece.
When the player places the reeds between her or his lips and blows air through them into the oboe, the reeds vibrate and produce the sound. Many oboists make their own reeds, or at least tailor them to suit their specific playing style.
The oboe is made of wood. It has a more mellow sound than the flute, but still has a bright treble sound and is often expected to carry the melody in an orchestral work. The English horn cor anglais is a perfect fifth below the oboe, which requires it to be one and one-half times as long!
It also has a curved metal neck for the reed and a bulbous bell. The fingering and playing techniques are very similar to the oboe, and many performers play both instruments. It is thought to have a more mellow sound than the oboe. Another wooden instrument, the clarinet , produces a fluid sound when air is blown between a single reed and the mouthpiece. As air passes through, the reed vibrates and creates sound. It has a large range of nearly four octaves so is a very versatile instrument.
The tone quality can vary greatly depending on the musician, the instrument, the mouthpiece, and the reed. The bass clarinet is a larger, lower relative of the clarinet. Most bass clarinets today are straight instruments like a clarinet but with a small upturned silver-colored metal bell and a curved metal neck. The bass clarinet has a usable range of over four octaves, quite close to the range of the bassoon, and many bass clarinetists perform works originally intended for bassoon or even cello.
The bassoon is a large double-reed instrument with a sound that is deeper than the other woodwind instruments.
When the player blows air between the reeds, the vibrating column of air inside the instrument travels over nine feet to the bottom of the instrument, then up to the top where the sound comes out!
Luckily, the bassoon comes apart into pieces for easy transport. There is a complex key work system to allow this large instrument to utilize its three-octave range with considerable agility. The contrabassoon is twice as long as the standard bassoon, curves around on itself twice, and, due to its weight and shape, is supported by an end pin.
It is a very deep-sounding woodwind instrument. The contrabassoon is mainly a supplementary rather than a core orchestral instrument and is most frequently found in larger symphonic works. The saxophone , while made of brass, is actually a woodwind instrument! It uses a single-reed mouthpiece much like the clarinet. It is more powerful than most woodwinds, and more versatile than most brass instruments.
The saxophone is used extensively in jazz, as well as in military, marching, and concert bands. There is also chamber and symphonic music written for sax, though it is less common.
Still, there are some wonderful orchestral works that use the sax, so you will probably find a sax in our midst at some point every season! Brass instruments are essentially very long pipes that widen at their ends into a bell-like shape.
The pipes have been curved and twisted into different shapes to make them easier to hold and play. Most brass instruments have valves attached to their long pipes. When the player presses down on the valves, they open and close different parts of the pipe, increasing or decreasing the length of the pipe when played and creating a lower sound.
In addition to the valves, the player can select the pitch from a range of overtones or harmonics by changing his or her lip aperture and tension known as the embouchure. The mouthpiece can also make a big difference in tone. Brass musicians can also insert mutes into the bell of their instrument to change the timbre of its sound. The trumpet has been around since about years BCE!
Air travels through six and a half feet of tubing bent into an oblong shape. The modern trumpet has three valves to change pitches, added in the early 19th century. The trombone has a more mellow sound than the trumpet.
Instead of valves or keys, the trombone uses a slide with seven positions to change the length of its approximately nine feet of tubing in order to reach different pitches. The longer the column of air, the lower the pitch. It also has a short tuning slide to adjust intonation.
It has a clear, mellow sound, and is played with the bell pointing away from the audience, providing contrast to the other brass instruments. The player produces different notes on the horn by pressing valves with the left hand and by moving the right hand inside of the bell. The bass trombone is identical in length to the tenor trombone but has a wider bore and a larger bell to create a fuller tone in the low register. The oboe, with its rich harmonics in the upper range, has a timbre than can project above the orchestra: so why not tune to the harp or even glockenspiel?
The glockenspiel, being made of metal, is one of the most constant and audible of instruments like the older tuning fork. Tradition: the oboe was incorporated to the orchestra quite early.
Most symphonic pieces include an oboe or two. And their seating location right in the middle , makes them easy to hear for the whole orchestra. In fact, as many musicians tune with portable electronic tuners well before the oboe note, it is debatable whether such a ritual holds any practical value. Want more updates on classical music and opera news and reviews? Follow us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter for all the latest. The revenue we earn by the advertisements is used to manage this website.
Please whitelist our website in your adblocking plugin. Toronto Montreal. Pitch Standard The concept of pitch standard involves a few different things: audio frequency, note-name and standard. For instance, the local tuning pitch of the principal oboe: A , refers to two separate concepts: 1. We mostly set this particular A A4 at Hz meaning it oscillates times in a second. The Expanding Orchestra The first Viennese composers extended their orchestral development from the Mannheim Orchestra.
But later musicians, including Quantz, worried that playing and tuning simultaneously would just put the instrument out of tune, and by the midth-century, there were a few different thoughts on tuning protocol: 1. There are a few speculations, but none outstanding. Author Recent Posts. Follow me. Hye Won Cecilia Lee. Cecilia tumbled into 'serious' music study when she decided to avoid attending medical school. Currently working in the field of classical music, recording, and Korean-English interpretation, she tends to get her nose dirty in many different things in the city.
Latest posts by Hye Won Cecilia Lee see all. Share this article. Sign up for our Newsletter Daily Weekly Monthly. Continue reading. Read the full story Comments. The lower instruments are usually the ones who have to compensate the most, since the A is given directly to the concertmaster in the same octave. The concert band genre has had some traditional conflict when it comes to tuning procedure. Some university bands in the Southern United States tune with an A for the woodwinds and a B-flat for the brass.
Some bands have the clarinet tune the group even when an oboe is available. The protocol is at the discretion of the band director or conductor and should be respected. Large ensembles tend to be conservative in their tuning procedures, so the oboist should be aware of their tuning traditions and be ready to adjust if needed. In general, pitch centers have risen since the twentieth century. Playing the tuning a for the orchestra is a point of pride among many oboists and real thought and consideration should be applied to the seemingly simple task.
It is after all the first note of every concert and rehearsal, so keep practicing those long tones and remember the long history of the tradition. Bate, Phillip. Burgges, Geoffery and Haynes, Bruce. The Oboe. Worldprint, Yalle University Print, Sachs, Curt and Enich M. And how to do it right. Keyboards, Tuning Systems, and Headaches.
How to play the tuning note. Orchestral Tuning Order. Concert Band. Rising pitch centers. Bibliography Bate, Phillip. How to tell if your oboe reed is broken or needs replacing September 17, Why is the oboe hard to play?
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