Transcript instruments_of_the_orchestra

Timbre
Instruments of the Orchestra
The Instruments
 There are four groups of instruments:
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A)
B)
C)
D)
Strings
Woodwinds
Brass
Percussion
The Orchestra
Strings
 String instruments in the orchestra:
Violins, Violas, Cellos, Double
basses
 All are made of wood but the sizes are
different.
 Nylon or steel strings are stretched over
them.
 Stringed instruments are played by
using a bow or plucking/strumming
the strings with the fingers.
The Violin and Viola
 The violin is the smallest
member of the string family.
 Because its strings are the
shortest, it produces the
highest sound.
 The viola is a harmony
instrument and is not often
heard by itself.
 Because it is bigger than the
violin, with longer strings, it
makes a sound that is lower
in pitch.
Cello
 The cello plays an octave lower
than the viola.
 To support its longer strings, it's
more than twice as big as the
viola.
 To play, cellists sit down and
rest the instrument upright
against their bodies.
 They use an endpin to keep it in
place.
Double Bass
 The double bass is the largest
of all the stringed instruments,
and play the lowest notes.
 At six feet or even more, it's
often taller than the person
who plays it.
 Some double bassists sit on a
high stool to play.
 http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v
=Vs3yHJO_nT0
Woodwinds
 Woodwinds can be made of wood, plastic,
or metal.
 Except for the flute, they all use reeds to
make sound.
 All woodwinds are used in the orchestra
except for the saxophone.
 Saxes were invented later so they are only
used in modern pieces.
The Flute
 Flutes are usually made of
metal, but sometimes you will
see flutes made of wood.
 The very highest-pitched
instrument in the orchestra is
a kind of flute, but it plays an
octave higher. It's called the
piccolo.
 It does not have a reed.
The Clarinet
 Clarinets are made of wood
or molded plastic.
 The standard clarinet is a
little more than two feet
long.
 It uses a single bamboo reed
to create a sound.
Bass Clarinet
 A bass clarinet is shaped differently
and is larger than the standard
clarinet.
 It plays lower notes.
 It is played in the same way as the
standard clarinet but has an endpin
that slides out of the bottom of the
instrument to help prop it up on the
floor.
 http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=ai3h
6jxAM74
The Saxophone
 The saxophone is classified as
a woodwind because it is
played using a reed, but looks
like a brass instrument.
 There are four major types of
saxophones, each playing a
different range of notes:
Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and
Baritone.
 http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=
N47_Q33PqJ4
The Oboe
 The oboe looks very
similar to the clarinet,
but sounds very
different.
 Oboes are made of
wood, and their sound
is produced by blowing
air through a thin
double reed at the
upper end of the
instrument.
The Bassoon
 The bassoon is a double-reed
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woodwind instrument.
It has almost 8 feet of wooden
tubing, bent into a narrow Ushape.
The reed is secured in a curved
metal tube.
Bassoons are the largest
woodwind instruments in the
orchestra.
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=
WPV1WrVUCRs
Brass
 Brass players produce sound by
buzzing their lips together into the
mouthpiece of the instrument.
 Their lips act like the reeds of the
woodwinds.
 Some brass instruments in the
orchestra are: Trumpet, French
Horn, Trombone and Tuba.
Trumpet
 To play, a trumpeter can press down
on the keys that control the trumpet's
three valves, and he can change the
shape of his lips against the
mouthpiece.
 A trumpet is 18 inches long - but if it
were unwound it would be 4.5 feet
long!
 Trumpets are at least 3,500 years old
 Early versions of the trumpet have
been found in ancient Egyptian tombs.
French Horn
 The French horn is balanced on the
legs.
 The left hand works the valves that
help to change the horn's pitch, and
the right hand is held inside the bell.
 The very first horns were made from
the horns of animals.
 These horns were used during
hunts.
Trombone
 Most brass instruments use
valves to produce different
pitches, but the trombone uses
a slide instead.
 The player pushes and pulls
the slide back and forth to
change the length of tubing which changes the pitch.
Tuba
 The tuba is the largest member of
the brass family and plays the
lowest notes.
 It's also the youngest brass
instrument.
 It was first used in military bands
in the 1800s and joined the
orchestra about 100 years ago.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=zR_GVUWllP4
Percussion
 The percussion family includes any
instrument that produces sounds when it
is struck, scraped or shaken.
 Struck percussion instruments include the
piano, the timpani, and the xylophone.
 Scraped percussion instruments are less
common in the orchestra.
 Shaken percussion instruments include
tambourines and rattles.
 http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=TkamVRYBkf
g