BASIC VOCABULARYmusic1.ieslasencinas.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/mus...WOODWIND INSTRUMENTS A...
Transcript of BASIC VOCABULARYmusic1.ieslasencinas.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/mus...WOODWIND INSTRUMENTS A...
BASIC VOCABULARY
Bow: arco
To bow: frotar.
Brass instrument: instrumentos de viento metal.
Double bass: contrabajo.
Edge: bisel.
Electrophones: electrófonos.
Embouchure: embocadura.
Feathers: plumas.
Guitar: guitarra.
Hammer: martillo.
Harp: arpa.
Horn: trompa.
To join: unir, juntar.
Lute: laúd.
Slide brass instruments: instrumentos de viento metal de varas.
Stick: palo.
To strike: golpear.
String instruments: instrumentos de cuerda.
To stretch: extender.
Reed: lengüeta (single-reed: lengüeta simple; double-reed: lengüeta doble).
Trumpet: trompeta.
Trombone: trombón.
To rub: frotar.
Valved brass: instrumentos de viento metal de válvulas.
Woodwind instrument: instrumentos de viento madera.
INSTRUMENTS FAMILIES
There are different ways to classify musical instruments. One way is to group
them as they are in a Western orchestra: strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion.
STRING FAMILY
A string instrument is a
musical instrument that produces
sound by strings that vibrate. The
most common string instruments
are the violin, cello, viola, double
bass, guitar and harp.
All string instruments
produce sound from one or more
vibrating strings. The pitch of the
sound depends on the length, the
thickness and the tension of the
strings, which is adjusted with tuners, allowing the tuning of the instrument. The body of
the instrument then transmits the sound to the surrounding air. They are usually
categorized by the technique used to make the strings vibrate. The three most common
techniques are bowing, plucking and striking.
B O W E D S T R I N G
Bowing is a method used in some string instruments, including the violin, viola,
cello and the double bass. The bow consists of a stick with many hairs stretched
between its ends that make the string vibrate.
Violin Viola Cello Double bass
Bow
PLUCKED S T R I N G
Plucking is the method of playing by using a finger or some type of plectrum on
instruments such as the guitar, harp or lute. This category includes keyboard instruments
such as the harpsichord, which uses feathers (now plastic plectra) to pluck the strings.
Classical guitar Harp
STRUCK S T R I N G
The third common method of sound production in string instruments is to strike
the string with a hammer. The most well-known instrument to use this method, by far, is
the piano.
All pianos have two pedals.
The soft pedal (the left one)
changes the trajectory of the
hammers so that they hit the
strings softer. The damper pedal
(the right one) raises all the
dampers so that the strings can
continue to vibrate when the keys
have been released.
WIND FAMILY
The sound is produced by the vibration of the air column inside the tube of the
instrument. In wind instruments, the pitch of sound is determined by the length of the air
column and the thickness of the tubes. The longer and thicker an instrument is, the lower
the sound is. The shorter and the thinner an instrument is, the higher the sound is. Most
wind instruments have different mechanisms (holes, keys, pistons, etc.) which allow the
modification of the length of the tubes and, therefore, their tuning.
Within the wind family we distinguish between woodwind instruments and brass
instruments.
WOODWIND INSTRUMENTS
A woodwind instrument is a musical instrument which produces sound when the
player blows air against an edge (lip plate in the case of the flute) or a thin piece of wood
called a reed. Most of these instruments were originally made of wood, but some, such
as the saxophone and some flutes, are now commonly made of other materials like
metals or plastics.
Types of woodwind instruments:
• Single-reed instruments use just one reed. When air is
forced between the reed and the mouthpiece, the reed
vibrates, creating the sound. Single reed instruments
include the clarinet and saxophone families.
• Double-reed instruments use two small pieces of cane
joined together at the base. The air vibrates between
the two pieces of cane. Double-reed instruments
include the oboe, the cor anglais and the bassoon.
• Flutes produce sound when air is blown across a hole. Flutes include transverse
flutes and the recorder family.
Transverse flute
Clarinet Oboe
BRASS INSTRUMENTS
A brass instrument is a musical instrument whose tone is produced by the
vibration of the player’s lips into an "embouchure". Modern brass instruments generally
come in one of two families: valved brass instruments which use a set of valves to
change the pitch and slide brass instruments which use a slide to change the length of
tubing. The main brass instruments are the horn, the trumpet, the trombone and the tuba.
Trumpet Horn
Tuba Trombone
Piston valve in trumpet Embouchures
PERCUSSION INSTRUMENTS
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound by being hit with
an implement, shaken, rubbed, scraped, or by any other action which makes the object
vibrate.
When classifying instruments by function it is useful to note if a percussion
instrument makes a definite pitch or indefinite pitch. For example, some percussion
instruments (such as the marimba and timpani) can produce pitched notes and,
therefore, can perform melodies. Other instruments (such as drum and crash cymbal)
produce unpitched sounds and, therefore, can only perform rhythms, not melodies.
Some of the main percussion instruments are the drum, the timpani, the xylophone, the
vibraphone, the marimba and the triangle.
ELECTROPHONES
Finally, electrophones are instruments that keep their acoustic resonators but are
also amplified and altered electronically, for instance the electric guitar.
Electric guitar Synthesizer
INSTRUMENTAL GROUPS
The same as with voices,
instruments can either intervene as
soloists or form groups of different sizes:
■ Small groups that don´t usually
have more than 10 performers are
called chamber groups (in
reference to the rooms or halls
where this music used to be
performed). These are small
groups of soloists in which each
part of the composition is performed by a single instrumentalist.
■ �In relation to big groups, the most important one is the orchestra. An orchestra is
an instrumental ensemble, usually with string, brass, woodwind sections, and
possibly a percussion section as well. A smaller orchestra (of about fifty musicians
or fewer) is called a chamber orchestra. A full size orchestra (about 100 musicians)
may sometimes be called a symphony orchestra.
Conducting is the act of directing a musical performance by using visible gestures.
Orchestras, choirs, concert bands and other musical ensembles often have conductors.
TO SUM UP
The world of
orchestra conducting is
still a difficult territory for
women. They are usually
most in the studies, but
few achieve recognition.
Among the ten most
famous directors in the
world there are no women
and the fact that two of
the most prestigious
orchestras in the world,
Berlin and Vienna, have not accepted the integration of female instrumentalists, reflects
how slow are the advances in this speciality.
In Spain we emphasize names like Inma Shara or Isabel López Calzada, creator
and director of the Symphonic Orchestra of Women of Madrid. Other important names
are Virginia Martínez or Pilar Jurado.
At the world level, the last important appointment of an woman conductor was
the Lithuanian Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla (Vilna, 1986) at the head of the Birmingham City
Symphony. This orchestra has served as a springboard for great batons such as Simon
Rattle and Andris Nelsons, currently conductors (respectively) of two of the best
orchestras on the planet: the Berlin Philharmonic and the Boston Symphony.
Unfortunately, male chauvinism is still very present in the world of conducting.
Currently it is estimated that only 10% of the world's conductors are women. Being aware
of this reality is the first step to change it.
RHYTHMIC DICTATION
INSTRUMENTAL PRACTICE