Elements: InstrumentsStrings

Music Appreciation

Unit 2

Instruments

• When one thinks of timbre one thinks of an instrument or voice producing sound.

• Once an instrument produces sound and the sound waves are carried through the air, the listener hears the sound and turns it into something meaningful.

• The types and kinds of musical instruments of the world are many and varied.

• In Western Classical music there are six categories and at least four instruments from each.

Instruments

• Most of the instruments from the following categories cover the range from high to low SATB (soprano, alto, tenor, bass):– Strings

– Woodwinds

– Brass

– Percussion

– Plucked Strings

– Keyboard

Strings

• Instruments on which tones are produced by the vibrations of tightly stretched strings.

• The strings are long-drawn-out across a wooden resonator to increase the volume.

• When playing string instruments they can be either bowed, plucked or strummed.

• In western music the term “strings” refers to the bowed instruments of the symphony orchestra.

Strings

• From high to low they are:

– Violin

– Viola

– Cello (violoncello)

– Double Bass

Violin

• The highest pitched member of the bowed string family. It consists of a wooden body in an outline of a figure eight.

• With f shape sound holes, the length of the violin was determined by the average length of the human arm from the shoulder to the palm of the hand.

• More solo and orchestra works in the classical literature have been written for the violin then any other instrument.

• The 4 strings were originally made of pig gut or sheep intestine, today the are metal or less common nylon.

Violin

• The bow which helps grab the strings while they are being played is made of a wooden stick strung end to end with horse hair.

• Resin is applied to help grip the hair of the bow onto the violin string.

• The notes are produced by drawing the bow across the strings.

• The right hand holds the bow while the left hand holds the strings down by placing it on the fingerboard to effectively shorten the string length and make the notes higher.

Violin

• http://www.musicappreciation.com/violin.mp3

• http://www.musicappreciation.com/violinexcerpt.mp3

Viola

• The alto or midrange member of the string family of instruments.

• It is longer and larger than the violin and it is tuned a fifth lower than the violin (5 scale steps).

• Because it is longer it is often said that an ideal violist should have long arms.

• The viola produces a thicker and perhaps warmer tone than it’s brighter sibling the violin.

• Violists play most often in middle parts as accompaniment.

Viola

• http://www.musicappreciation.com/viola.mp3

• http://www.musicappreciation.com/violaexcerpt.mp3

Cello

• The tenor of the string family. Much larger than the violin or viola.

• So large that it’s performer sits with the cello resting on his or her knees.

• A spike at the end of the cello supports the instrument from the floor up.

• Having the same proportions as the violin and viola the larger cello requires a greater stretch of the left hand fingers but it can still play arpeggios, chords, scales, etc.

Cello

• The cello is noted for its lush, vocal like qualities and consequently has some of classical music’s most expressive pieces are written for it.

• It’s nick name “violoncello” means “little bass viol or small double bass.”

• http://www.musicappreciation.com/cello.mp3

• http://www.musicappreciation.com/celloexcerpt.mp3

Double Bass

• The lowest of the string instrument family. • Known also as the “bass” (pronounced “base”) or the “bull

fiddle.” • Because of it’s low register the double bass almost never

plays the main theme in a symphony orchestra setting but instead provides the foundation for an orchestras tone.

• An average height of a double bass is six feet tall and the bass player has to stand or sit on a high stool while playing.

• The strings of a double bass are very thick and the hands of a player must be large and strong to play it comfortably.

Double Bass

• http://www.musicappreciation.com/doublebass.mp3

• http://www.musicappreciation.com/doublebassexcerpt.mp3