Chapter 10 Western Musical Instruments

CHAPTER 10
Western Musical Instruments
Copyright © 2020 W. W. Norton & Co., Inc.

Copyright © 2020, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
String Instruments (Chordophones), Part 1
I. String Instruments (Chordophones)
A. Bowed
1. violin, viola, violoncello (cello), double bass (contrabass, bass viol)
2. bow held in right hand, left hand fingers press down strings
changing length and pitch
3. special effects:
a. legato: smooth, connected
b. staccato: notes short, detached
c. pizzicato: plucking the strings with a finger

d. vibrato: rapid wrist-and-finger movement, slightly alters pitch
e. glissando: left hand slides along the string, right hand draws the bow
f. tremolo: rapid repetition of a tone
g. trill: rapid alternation of two adjacent notes
h. double-stopping: playing two strings at once, creates harmony
i. triple- or quadruple-stopping: playing three or four strings together
j. mute: attachment over the bridge, muffles the sound
k. harmonics: lightly touching the string, high-pitch tones

B. Plucked
1. harp: one of the oldest instruments
a. pitches changed by pedals
b. arpeggios: chords in broken form
2. guitar: dates back to Middle Ages, probably originated in the Middle East
a. acoustic: wood, fretted fingerboard, nylon strings
b. electric: electronically amplified
3. banjo, mandolin: related to the guitar

Woodwind Instruments (Aerophones), Part 1
II. Woodwind Instruments (Aerophones)
A. Sound produced by air, finger holes change pitch
1. not necessarily made of wood
2. flute family: blow across a mouth hole
a. flute (metal), piccolo
3. single reed: thin piece of cane fastened against a mouthpiece
a. clarinet

4. double reeds: two thin strips of bound cane
a. oboe, pastoral effects, nostalgic moods
b. English horn (alto oboe), soft expressive timbre
c. bassoon, humorous or expressive instrument
d. contrabassoon, lowest tone of the woodwinds
5. saxophone, invented in 1840
a. combined single reed with metal body of the brass instruments

Woodwinds: Interesting Information
Modern flutes are not made of wood
They are played by blowing air across the hole (transverse
flutes)
Earlier versions of the flute were wooden and were played by
blowing into the tube (recorders)
Saxophones aren’t usually found in an orchestra
Orchestras may have an even lower woodwind
instrument called contrabassoon

Many woodwind Instruments are transposing
The notes written on the page are NOT the notes that are
sounded when played
These include clarinets and saxophones
Others are non-transposing: the notes written are
what sound
These include piccolos, flutes, oboes, English horns, and
bassoons

Early woodwind instruments had holes that were
covered with the fingers
Theobald Boehm developed a keying system for
woodwind instruments that made them much more
versatile and easier to play
Opening and closing the holes with the keys makes the tubes
longer or shorter, creating different pitches
Many woodwind instruments come in a variety of sizes

Brass Instruments (Aerophones), Part 1
III. Brass Instruments (Aerophones)
III. Cup-shaped mouthpiece attached to metal tubing, flares at end into a bell
1. pitch changed by slide or valves, pressure of lips and breath
a. embouchure: oral mechanism of lips, lower facial muscles, and
jaw
2. trumpet, French horn, trombone, tuba
a. trumpets and horns: prevalent in ancient world
b. French horn: descended from ancient hunting horn
3. other brass: concert and marching bands
a. cornet, bugle, fluegelhorn, euphonium, sousaphone

Families of Instruments: Valved Brass Instruments
How Valves Work: Player depresses piston valves and
releases them, opening and closing off parts of the
tube;
The longer the tube, the lower the sound
The shorter the tube, the higher the sound
Trumpet: players’ lips vibrate air in brass tube,
“buzzing”; valves open and close
French Horn: players lips vibrate air in brass tube;
rotary valves open and close

Families of Instruments: A Unique Brass Instrument
Trombone: has no valves
Player pulls slide in an out to lengthen and shorten the
tube; longer tube = lower pitches; shorter tube = higher
pitches
Trombone is considered a “low brass” instrument, but not
as low as the baritone horn or tuba

Some brass instruments are transposing
(trumpet, French horn); some are not
(trombone, tuba)
All brass instruments have “mutes” which can
soften the sound, double/triple tounging
Brasses: Interesting Information

Brass Instruments

Anything you can
beat on, shake,
rattle, roll
Percussion

Percussion Instruments (Idiophones and Membranophones), Part 1
IV. Percussion Instruments (Idiophones and Membranophones)
A. Pitched
1. timpani, kettledrums: large copper bowls, stretched calfskin or
plastic heads
a. pitch changed by pedals
2. xylophone: tuned blocks of wood, struck with mallets
a. marimba: mellow xylophone, African origin
b. vibraphone: metal blocks with resonators, exaggerated vibrato

3. glockenspiel (“set of bells”): tuned steel bars, struck with mallets
a. celesta: glockenspiel operated by a keyboard
4. chimes/tubular bells: tuned metal tubes suspended from a frame,
struck with a hammer
B. Indefinite pitch
1. snare drum (side drum): two heads, taut snares (strings) run across
lower head
2. bass drum: large drum played with large soft mallet
3. other instruments: tom-tom, tambourine, castanets, triangle, cymbals,
tam-tam

Percussion: Interesting Information
Most Percussionists (except the timpani player) usually
play many instruments.
Watch the percussion section during a concert; they
are always running around!
Percussion instruments can be played in more than
one way.
Percussionists tend to be experts in one of three areas:
drums, timpani, or “mallets.”

Keyboard Instruments
V. Keyboard Instruments
A. Piano: strings struck with hammers
B. Organ: wind instrument
1. airflow to pipes controlled by keyboards and pedal board
C. Harpsichord: quills pluck metal strings

The Keyboard Instruments: The Organ
Largest and most powerful keyboard instrument
Air pumped through “ranks” of pipes which are
opened closed by depressing keys on keyboard
Pipes create sounds that mimic many other
instruments: woodwinds, brasses, strings.
Early organs used people to pump bellows.
Modern organs used electricity to move air.

• Accordion
• Free steel rods controlled by treble keyboard
• Bass keyboard with buttons
• Air from bellows make reed vibrate
Organ
Has several manuals
Pedalboard played with feet
“Stops”-knobs that change tone colors
Dynamics changed by adding or reducing number of pipes

The Keyboard Instruments: The Harpsichord
Small, delicate instrument
Has two keyboards or “manuals”
Black & white keys opposite of piano
Keys operate a plectrum (a pick-like device made of leather or
a bird quill), which plucks the string.
The plectrum produces a twang-like sound.
Knobs that affect coupling of strings
The player cannot vary the dynamics of the sound on a
harpsichord.
Lost popularity around 1750

Larger and more robust
than the harpsichord
Keys activate hammers
that strike strings
Full range of dynamics
Pianos became very
popular instruments for
the home; all “educated”
women could play.
The Keyboard Instruments:
The Piano

Piano
1st constructed about 1709
Soundboard underneath strings amplifies sound
88 keys
Grand vs upright
Three pedals(damper, soft pedal, sostenuto)
Very versatile

Electronic Instruments
Keyboards: can produce a large variety of sounds
Played like regular piano
Usually have about 66 keys, rather than standard 88
Can produce rhythms, harmonies, etc. because of built in
computers

Electronic Instruments
Synthesizers: created to imitate the sounds of
acoustic instruments electronically
Very sophisticated, appeared 1955
Can be hooked up to computers with MIDI
(standardized computer interface for music)
Analog synthesis
Digital Frequency modulation
Sampling
Effects Devices

Instruments of the Orchestra
Instruments of the Orchestra

Credits
This concludes the Lecture PowerPoint presentation for “The Enjoyment of Music, 4th Edition, Chapter 10: Western Musical
Instruments”
For more resources, please visit https://digital.wwnorton.com/enjmusic4ess

Chapter 10 Western Musical Instruments

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