Main Instrument in Orchestra - Keyboards

Hello! Another orchestral instrument article - now is keyboards.

Keyboards

1. Piano (Klavier in German, Pianoforte in Italian) - The most important instrument in orchestra.

Top view of piano

Side view

It invented around 1709 by Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655-1731), a harpsichord builder and keeper of the royal musical instruments in Florence. He developed it from harpsichord. However it wasn't popular until 18th century, along with better building techinques. It got this name because pianist can control dynamic by stamping on pedals. (Piano means "soft, quiet" and Forte means "strong, loud, hard" in Italian.)
There are two kinds of piano - grand piano (Also divided to grand and a smaller baby grand.) and vertical upright piano. A grand is good for concert while an upright is suit for practice, also save a lot of house space.
Almost of pianos have 52 white keys and 36 black keys for a total of 88 keys.
Each piano has three pedals:
(1) Una Corda or Soft pedal. It's on the left side on piano. When you stamp on this pedal, it makes hammers move left (in concert piano) or move closer to strings (in upright) struck only one string for each note, so a note is softer.
(2) Sostenuto pedal. It's on the middle on paino. When you use this pedal, you can sustain selected notes, while other notes uneffected. This pedal is rarely found in European made piano because it is not popular.
(3) Sustaining pedal, the right side on piano. "Sustains" all keys by move the dampers (which are on strings) away from the strings.
Piano is not played in symphony.

2. Harpsichord - Very old keyboard instrument. Shape like piano but, to compare them, piano is string striking hammer harpsichord, while harpsichord is string plucking piano.

You cannot control volume of this instrument but it has two manual for acoustic quality, the lower one is loud choir, while the upper is soft choir.
Very popular in Baroque era but decline in 18th century. However, it made a resurgence in 20th century and still be played for Baroque music nowadays.

3. Organ -  The oldest key board instrument. Imagine that you play piano connected with big and long pipe. It uses wind moving through pipes to make sound. Its sound is suitable for playing alone, without any instrument.

It is supposed that it devised in Alexandria in the 3rd century BC.
Organs are roughly divided to:
(1) Pipe organ - church organ (see above picture) and theater organ for examples.

(2) Reed organ or pump organ

The most-known organ song is Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor, as I said in article of Bach's biography.

Musician's Biography No. 1 - Johann Sebastian Bach 

Note: "Organ' Symphony (Symphony No. 3 in C minor), composed by Camille Saint-Saëns, using organ in second movement, though it is not really song for organ.

I have to tell you that I will pick only widely played instrument in orchestra, to make content simple.

The end. See you later in next article!

Note: These pictures are public domain.

Musician's Biography No. 1 - Johann Sebastian Bach

Hello again! Now this article is about musicians and artists's biography. The first one I'm going to introduce is Johann Sebastian Bach, the well-known Baroque composer.

Pictures of Bach by Elias Gottlob Haussman, 1748.

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) born in Eisenach (in the modern-day Thuringia), Germany, in court chamber musician family. He was also known as organist. He wrote many famous sacred musics, organ, keyboards and orchestral works like the Well-Tempered Clavier, Brandenburg Concertos, etc. After his death, his music was old-fashioned and forgot together with the end of the Baroque Era until Felix Mendelssohn revived Bach's reputation.
About his personality, he was stubborn and strongly believed in the God (He was Lutheran), so he composed a lot of scared songs like cantatas, etc.
Bach's works is widely known by his brilliant melody, music style and techniques,so the works are influence to many musicians in further period, include Rock, Jazz and Pop musics.

This is young Bach picture by J. E. Rentsch, the Elder, 1715.

List of Bach's famous works:
- Brandenburg Concertos (BWV* 1046-1051), concertos Bach presented to Margrave** of Brandenburg.
- The Well-Tempered Clavier (BWV 846-893), contains 24 preludes and fugues.
- Toccata and Fugue in D minor (BWV 565), the most famous Bach's work.
- Coffee Cantata (BWV 211)
- Mass in B minor (BWV 232)
- The Art of Fugue (BWV 1080), an unfinished fugal work.

If you have any comment, please feel free to leave it on this blog.

* BWV - Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis - Bach Works Catalogue
**Margrave - a mediaval title of the military commander for maintaining the defense in the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire. 

http://astore.amazon.com/classical-music-newbies-20

Main Instruments in Orchestra-Brasswinds

Hello again! Here is an article about instruments in orchestra again. Now this one is about...

Brasswinds

1.Horn (Also known as corno and French horn) Very old valved brass instrument. It has this name because it evolved from animal horns, which human used in ancient time. It has a curve shape since 17th century and has valves since 1815. Trivia: Mozart wrote four notable horn concertos.

2. Trumpet - Another very old valved instrument. It also used very often in military band, jazz music, etc.

3. Trombone - Telescopic slide instrument, often used in jazz and military band, like trumpet.

4. Tuba- A very big and deep-pitched instrument. The "Bass" of brass instrument.

5. Cornet- its shape is similar to trumpet but shorter shape and higher pitch.

6. Euphonium - a "Tenor" tuba. It sometimes is play instead of tuba. Mainly found in military band.

7. Flugelhorn - Another valved brasswind. Its sound is "fatter" and "darker" than trumpet and cornet.

This kind of instruments are often used in military band.

This is all of this article. See you in next article.

Note: These pictures are public domain.

Main Music Instruments in Orchestra-Woodwinds

Hello! I'm Nat. Let's continue from last article. Now this article is about...

Woodwinds

1. Flute - included in woodwinds instrument although it is made from metal, because it was made from wood before. An very old instrument.

This photo is from U.S. Navy. Public domain.

2. Piccolo - its shape is like flute but smaller and has higher pitch.

3. Oboe - A very-hard-to-play instrument. Double-reed woodwind. It has sweet and lamentably sound.

4. Cor Anglais or English Horn (Neither related to English nor the horn) - its shape is similar to oboe but deeper sound and lower pitch.

5. Bassoon (Many countries don't call this name.) -  Very big instrument. It has very low and funny pitch so it is called "The clown of orchestra". There is a bassoon's relative instrument called Contrabassoon or Double bassoon. It is larger than bassoon.

6. Clarinet - Another important instrument. Single-reed woodwind. There are many keys of clarinet like A-flat, B-flat, E-flat, etc.

 7. Recorder - whistle-like woodwinds. It has been popular in Baroque era. Now it is known as child's instrument. Recorder, however, is played in Baroque era songs sometimes.

In fact there is another woodwind instrument, that is saxophone. But I think I'll tell you about it later because this instrument merely played in orchestra due to its loud, unique sound. Also, an important reason is saxophone has too long story to post here.

End of this article. Bye for now!

Note: These pictures are public domain.

Main Music Instruments in Orchestra-Strings

Hello again! Here’s an article about guiding to classical music, now it’s main music instruments in orchestra. First, I’ll introduce string instruments first. They are divided to two groups.

Bowed string instruments

1. Violin – Main character of orchestra. The smallest string instrument.

2. Viola - its shape is like violin but a little bigger and has a deeper sound.

3. Cello (Some countries call its full name-Violoncello) - a big string instrument. Sometimes it is played in jazz, blues and some pop songs.

4. Double bass (Many countries call Contrabass) - the biggest string instrument. You have to stand to play it. Very often played in jazz.

The left string instrument is double bass, the right one is cello.

These string instruments are called “Violin family instruments”, very,very  important in orchestra.

Plucked string instruments

Harp – very old instrument, played in some song. Its sound is similar to piano but brighter.

In fact I want to post article about guitar because it is also string instrument, but there are many kinds of guitar so I have to separate it and tell you about them later.

End of this article, Next article will be woodwind instruments.

Note: These photos are public domain.

Sunday Morning with Bach