Organ Building in Germany During

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Organ Building in Germany During This dissertation has been microfilmed exactly as received 67-6327 JACKISCH, Frederick Frank, 1922- ORGAN BUILDING IN GERMANY DURING THE BAROQUE ERA ACCORDING TO THE TREATISES DATING FROM PRAETORIUS’ SYNTAGMA MUSICUM (1619) TO ADLUNG’S MUSICA MECHANICA ORGANOEDI (1768). The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1966 Music University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan ORGAN BUILDING IN GERMANY DURING THE BAROQUE ERA ACCORDING TO THE TREATISES DATING FROM PRAETORIUS' SYNTAGMA MUSICUM (I619) TO ADLUNG'S MUSICA MECHANICA ORGANOEDI (1?68) DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Frederick Frank Jackisch, B.S. Ed., M. Mus ****** The Ohio State University 1966 Approved by Advise] Department of Music ORGAN BUILDING IN GERMANY DURING THE BAROQUE ERA ACCORDING TO THE TREATISES DATING FROM PRAETORIUS' SYNTAGMA MUSICUM (l6l9) TO ADLUNG'S MUSICA MECHANICA ORGANOEDI (1768) By Frederick Frank Jackisch, Ph.D. The Ohio State University, I966 Dr. Herbert Livingston, Adviser In recent years a number of important studies of extant Baroque organs have been made in an effort to gain a fuller understanding of those instruments. Although most of these organs have long since undergone numerous alterations, they nevertheless disclose much of the world of the organ builders of that past age. Such disclosures, however, form only a part of what may be learned of Baroque organ build­ ing. The processes, the concepts, the ideas, and ideals which led ultimately to the finished product may be known more fully by an examination of the contemporaneous treatises on organ building. 1 Two definitive treatises, Praetorius' Syntagma Musicum (1619) and Adlung’s Musiea Mechanics, Organoedi (1768), have long occupied important positions among the historic writings on Baroque organs. In the century and a half between these two definitive treatises, however, a sizeable body of literature on organ building was published. Included among these writings are: Johann Philipp Bendeler, Organopoeia (I690); Andreas Werckmeister, Orgel-Probe (1698); Werner Fabricius, Unterricht (1756); Johann Caspar Trost, Ausfiihrliche Beschreibung des neuen Orgelwerks auf der Augustus-Burg zu Weisenfels (1677); Christian Ludwig Boxberg, Ausfiihrliche Beschreibung der Orgel zu St. Petri und Paul zu Gôrlitz (1704); Friedrich Niedt, Musikalischer Handleitung, Dritter Theil, "Anhang" (1717); Johann Biermann, Organographia Hildesiensis specialis (1738); and Jacob Adlung, Anleitung zu der musikalischen Gelahrtheit (1758). This intervenient body of literature forms an im­ portant bridge between the treatises of Praetorius and Adlung because it provides a great deal of information about the craft of organ building of its own time, and clarifies the stages of development in organ building which occurred during that period. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the treatises which lie between Praetorius and Adlung, to dis­ close and collate the data provided by the various writings. to analyze the theories and practices contained therein, and to structure this information into a systematic deline­ ation of the craft of organ building as it relates to the musical milieu of that particular time in history. In this study, consideration is given to such aspects of organ con­ struction as the wind distribution system, the wind chest, the pipes (with particular attention to Bendeler's system o f ’scaling), the organ case, tonal design (with an analysis of the eighty-three organ specifications of Niedt and Biermann), tuning, and temperament. In addition, some attention is devoted to certain aspects of performance practices as they relate to the organs of this period. Not only do the treatises disclose a wealth of important information regarding the methods employed by builders in the construction of the various portions of the organ, but they also reveal that organ building and organ playing underwent a number of significant changes throughout the Baroque era. In the latter part of this era organists tended to forsake older registrational practices, such as the combination of stops of broad and narrow scale, while organ builders designed their instruments to be consider­ ably different both in concept and construction from earlier Praetorian models. PREFACE In recent years a numlDer of important studies have been undertaken in an effort to gain a fuller understanding of the organs of the Baroque era. Included among such studies are those which have grown out of the now forty- year-old Orgelbewegung in Germany, a movement that has fostered continuing research in the tonal and construc­ tional aspects of Baroque organs, as well as in the music written for those instruments. Many of the Orgelbewegung studies are based on direct and detailed examinations of the extant organs dating from the Baroque era. Although most of these organs have long since undergone numerous alterations, they never­ theless disclose much of the world of the organ builders of that past age. These disclosures, however, form only a part of what may be learned of Baroque organ building. The processes, the concepts, the ideas, and ideals which led ultimately to the finished product may be known more fully by an examination of the contemporaneous treatises on organ building. A number of these treatises were published con­ currently with the vigorous renewal of interest in the building and renovation of organs following the devasta­ tions of the Thirty-Years War. ii Christhard Mahrenholzj viewing the writings of this period; observes: What the second volume of Praetorius' Syntagma Musicum [1619] is to the knowledge of organs of the early seventeenth century, Adlung's Musica Mechanica Organoedi [1768] is to the under­ standing of organs of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.1 In the century and a half between these two defini­ tive treatises a sizeable body of literature on organ building was written. This intervenient body of literature forms an important bridge between the treatises of Praetorius and Adlung because it provides a great deal of information about the craft of organ building of its own time, and clarifies the stages of development in organ building which occurred during that period. No study has yet been made of the German treatises which form this intervenient body of literature. The purpose of this dissertation, therefore, is to examine these treatises, to disclose and collate the data provided by the various writings, to analyze the theories and practices con­ tained therein, and to structure this information into a systematic delineation of the craft of organ building as it relates to the musical milieu of that particular time in history. In this study, consideration is given to such aspects of organ construction as the wind distribution ^Ghristhard Mahrenholz, "Nachwort" to the facsimile edition of Jakob Adlung's Musica Mechanica Organoedi (Berlin, 1768), Kassel: Bârerireiter, I961, p. H 111 system, the wind chest, the pipes, the case, as well as tonal design, tuning, and temperament. In addition, some attention is devoted to certain aspects of performance practices as they relate to the organs of this period. The present study could not have been completed without the direct aid of certain individuals and agencies. The writer therefore proffers his deep gratitude to the Lutheran World Federation for a study grant awarded him in the spring and summer of 1964, and to the Lutheran Brother­ hood Insurance Company of Minneapolis. Both agencies provided assistance which made possible the acquisition of microfilms needed for this study. In spite of countless removals and relocations of library resources occasioned by the deprivations of World War II, several needed documents were obtained through the special efforts of Ruth E. Froriep, librarian of the Kirchenmusikschule in Hannover, and Dr. Hedwig Mittringer, librarian of the Archiv der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna. To them is extended a deep debt of gratitude. Acknowledgment is also accorded Dr. Herbert S. Livingston of the graduate music faculty of The Ohio State University, whose direction of this study has proven at all times to be of great value. Finally, the writer proffers a profound debt of gratitude to his wife not only for her aid in typing the finished document, but for her uncommon patience as well as iv her countless and timely expressions of encouragement throughout the course of this study. V VITA November l6, 1922 Born - Chicago, Illinois 1944 ............ B.S. Ed., Concordia Teachers College, River Forest, Illinois 1944 - 1948 . Teacher and Director of Music, St. John Lutheran Church, New Orleans, Louisiana 1948 - 1957 . Teacher and Director of Music, Eiranaus Lutheran Church, Port Wayne, Indiana 1950 ............ M. Mus., Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 1957 - 1966 . Professor of Organ and Church Music, Wittenberg School of Music, Wittenberg University, Springfield, Ohio 1966 ............ Director of Graduate Study, Wittenberg School of Music, Wittenberg University, Springfield, Ohio PUBLICATIONS Articles in The Journal of Church Music: "Music to Sleep By?," Vol. 2, No. 3j pp. 2-4, March I96O "On Preludes," Vol. 3, No. 5, pp. 9-13, May I96I "Service Music for Organ," Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 1-3, January I962 "Those Short Responses," Vol. 7, No. 4, pp. 5-8, April 1965 Book Reviews in The Lutheran Quarterly; E. S. Brown, "Living the Liturgy," Vol. 15, No. 1, pp. 95-98, February I983 H. Grady Davis, "Why We
Recommended publications
  • Allen Organ Technology
    Perfection Sound | Technology | Sustainability An Allen Organ offers perfection throughout. This begins with the finest pipe organ sounds and masterful build quality, and flows into all aspects of the instrument. The Art of Organ Building – “To my eyes and ears the organ will ever be the King of Instruments.” Majestic Sound – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Allen Organs Sound Better Superior organ sound comes from a combination of advanced technology and years of artistic experience sampling pipe organs. Throughout history the organ has been a remarkable combination of technology and traditional music. With hundreds of pipes, early pipe organs were the most advanced products in a community. Modern electronics have enabled the production of pipe organ sound without requiring pipes. Today’s finest digital instruments reproduce the grandeur of pipe organs, at significantly lower costs. Allen’s 7th-generation GeniSys™ technology includes dozens of advanced Digital Signal Processors working in parallel, supercomputer power, offering the most realistic pipe organ sound available from a digital organ. Coupled with a two-decade lead in digital sampling experience over other digital organ builders, Allen Organ Company is the acknowledged leader. Pipe Organ Sound Reproducing realistic pipe organ sound requires advanced technology. Allen’s technology is proven weekly through its many combination organs that include both digital voices and windblown pipes played in the same building. Proof statement: Listeners have difficulty determining the source of the sounds. A recent Allen combination organ installation in Stockholm, Sweden, is an example comparing, in real-time, Allen’s digitally produced voices alongside of windblown pipes. Click the photo to hear for yourself.
    [Show full text]
  • Electrophonic Musical Instruments
    G10H CPC COOPERATIVE PATENT CLASSIFICATION G PHYSICS (NOTES omitted) INSTRUMENTS G10 MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; ACOUSTICS (NOTES omitted) G10H ELECTROPHONIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS (electronic circuits in general H03) NOTE This subclass covers musical instruments in which individual notes are constituted as electric oscillations under the control of a performer and the oscillations are converted to sound-vibrations by a loud-speaker or equivalent instrument. WARNING In this subclass non-limiting references (in the sense of paragraph 39 of the Guide to the IPC) may still be displayed in the scheme. 1/00 Details of electrophonic musical instruments 1/053 . during execution only {(voice controlled (keyboards applicable also to other musical instruments G10H 5/005)} instruments G10B, G10C; arrangements for producing 1/0535 . {by switches incorporating a mechanical a reverberation or echo sound G10K 15/08) vibrator, the envelope of the mechanical 1/0008 . {Associated control or indicating means (teaching vibration being used as modulating signal} of music per se G09B 15/00)} 1/055 . by switches with variable impedance 1/0016 . {Means for indicating which keys, frets or strings elements are to be actuated, e.g. using lights or leds} 1/0551 . {using variable capacitors} 1/0025 . {Automatic or semi-automatic music 1/0553 . {using optical or light-responsive means} composition, e.g. producing random music, 1/0555 . {using magnetic or electromagnetic applying rules from music theory or modifying a means} musical piece (automatically producing a series of 1/0556 . {using piezo-electric means} tones G10H 1/26)} 1/0558 . {using variable resistors} 1/0033 . {Recording/reproducing or transmission of 1/057 . by envelope-forming circuits music for electrophonic musical instruments (of 1/0575 .
    [Show full text]
  • International Touring Organ - March 19
    ABOUT THE ARTIST CAMERON CARPENTER AND THE INTERNATIONAL TOURING ORGAN - MARCH 19 piano works by Chopin, Godowsky, Grainger, Ives, Liszt, Medtner, Rachmaninoff, Schumann and others. Mr. Carpenter received a Master’s Degree from The Juilliard School in New York in 2006. The same year, he began his worldwide organ concert tours, giving numerous debuts at venues including Royal Albert Hall, the Leipzig Gewandhaus, Melbourne Town Hall, Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, Davies Hall in San Francisco and many others. His first album for Telarc®, the Grammy®-nominated CAMERON CARPENTER, ORGAN Revolutionary (2008), was followed in THE INTERNATIONAL TOURING ORGAN 2010 by the critically acclaimed full length AMERON CARPENTER is having DVD and CD Cameron Live! Edition Peters of years with a single instrument. Therefore a ball smashing the stereotypes became his publisher in 2010, beginning Marshall & Ogletree has sampled sounds of organists and organ music – all the ongoing release of his original works from many traditional pipe organs, C with Aria, Op. 1 (2010). His first major the while generating worldwide acclaim including many of Cameron’s favorite work for organ and orchestra, The Scandal, and controversy. His repertoire – from instruments – from the cathedral to the Op. 3, was commissioned by the Cologne the complete works of J. S. Bach to film Wurlitzer. These come together in an organ Philharmonie (KölnMusic GmbH) and scores, his original works and hundreds designed not for size, limitless variety or to premiered on New Year’s Day 2011 by the of transcriptions and arrangements – is model any particular pipe organ, but rather Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie under the probably the most diverse of any organist.
    [Show full text]
  • THE CHANCEL ORGAN AUSTIN ORGAN, OPUS 2290, 1959 and 1989 CORNEL ZIMMER ORGAN BUILDERS, OPUS 137, 2015 4 Divisions 91 Ranks
    THE CHANCEL ORGAN AUSTIN ORGAN, OPUS 2290, 1959 and 1989 CORNEL ZIMMER ORGAN BUILDERS, OPUS 137, 2015 4 Divisions 91 Ranks GREAT Unenclosed Manual II Violone 16' Spitzflute 16' Principal 8' Violone 8' Harmonic Flute 8' Doppel Flute 8’ Bourdon 8' Spitzflute 8' Octave 4' Nachthorn 4' Twelfth 2 2/3' Fifteenth 2' Cornet III Mixture III Sharp Mixture III Trumpet 8' Chimes Great to Great 16' Great Unison Off Great to Great 4' Festival Trumpet (Ant) 16' Tuba Mirabilis (Ch) 16' Festival Trumpet (Ant) 8' Tuba Mirabilis (Ch) 8' SWELL Expressive Manual III Gedeckt 16' English Diapason 8' Hohl Flute 8' Gedeckt 8' Viola 8' Viola Celeste 8' Salicional 8' Voix Celeste 8' Flute Celeste II 8' Principal 4' Wald Flute 4' Flute Celeste II 4' Nazard 2 2/3' Flautino 2' Mixture III Double Trumpet 16' Fagotto 16' Trumpet 8' Oboe 8' Vox Humana 8' Clarion 4' Vox Humana Tremulant Tremulant Swell to Swell 16' Swell Unison Off Swell to Swell 4' CHOIR Expressive Manual I Gamba 16' Spitz Principal 8' Concert Flute 8' Nason Gedeckt 8' Gamba 8' Gamba Celeste 8' Dolce 8' Dolce Celeste 8' Prestant 4' Koppel Flute 4' Nazard 2 2/3' Block Flute 2' Tierce 1 3/5' Larigot 1 1/3' Sifflute 1' French Horn 8' English Horn 8' Clarinet 8' Tremulant Harp 8' Celesta 4' Choir to Choir 16' Choir to Choir 4' Festival Trumpet (Ant) 16' Tuba Mirabilis 16' Extension of Tuba Mirabilis 8' Festival Trumpet (Ant) 8' Tuba Mirabilis 8' Bombarde (Ped) 8' ANTIPHONAL Expressive Floating Diapason 8' Lieblich Flute 8' Echo Salicional 8' Voix Celeste 8' Kleine Erzhalers II 8' Principal 4' Harmonic Flute
    [Show full text]
  • 3 the Invention of the Concertina
    3 The Invention of the Concertina Introduction Having outlined the concertina’s place within the broad history of modern free-reed instruments, I now discuss in detail the circumstances surrounding its appearance and first commercial production. I seek to identify the intentions of its creator, the influences upon its form and the degree of innovation involved. In doing so I hope to address two popular, yet contrasting, views on the invention of the concertina. Firstly, I wish to challenge the view commonly held by enthusiasts of the instrument, including many of my informants, that its invention was the one-off, brilliant creation of an eccentric scientific genius. The concertina was first produced some time during the 1830s by Wheatstone and Co. of London and it is clear that its conception and design were the responsibility of Charles Wheatstone. It is, however, too easy to apply a “heroic” view of invention which clouds proper understanding of innovation in the nineteenth century and over-elevates individual achievements. As the previous chapter described, the concertina was just one of a number of new free-reed products to emerge from an extended period of research and innovation in musical instrument design and manufacture. I wish to emphasise here that it was also just one part of a line of innovations by its creator, who was also an outstanding teacher, experimenter and pioneering inventor in acoustics, optics, electricity, telegraphy and other fields. Secondly, while popular tradition privileges this single aspect of Wheatstone’s work, writers on scientific matters have tended to regard his activities in the musical field as an interesting sideline, engaged in while bearing early responsibility for the family music business but abandoned on maturity for pressing work in other, more important fields.
    [Show full text]
  • Basic Organ Registration by Margot Ann Woolard
    Basic Organ Registration By Margot Ann Woolard Example 1 Introduction and Pitches Great: Spitzprincipal 8’ Swell: Rohrflöte 16’ & Great: Praestant 4’ Swell: Nazard 2-2/3’ & Swell: Blockflöte 2′ Swell: Tierce 1 – 3/5’ & Positiv: Larigot 1–1/3’ Positiv: Sifflöte 1′ Example 2 Principal (Diapason) Chord Progression and Scale Great: Spitzprincipal 8’ Praestant 4’ Spitzprincipal 8’ & Praestant 4’ Example 3 Flutes (open and stopped) Chord Progression and Scale Open Flute - Choir: Hohlflöte 8’ Stopped Flute – Swell: Rohrflöte 8’ Example 4 String Stops Chord Progression and Scale Swell: Viole de Gambe 8’ Example 5 Reed Stops Chord Progression and Scale Solo Reed – Choir: Cromorne 8’ Chorus Reed – Swell: Trompette 8’ Example 6 Principal Chorus Prelude in C Major (Eight Preludes and Fugues), J.S. Bach Great: Spitzprincipal 8’, Praestant 4’, Octave 2’ Pedal: Principal 16’, Octave 8’, Choral Bass 4’ Example 7 Stopped Flutes Number Six (Seven Pieces in E flat Major and E flat Minor, L’Organiste) Franck 1. Great : Bourdon 8’ 2. Swell: Viole de Gambe 8’ 3. Great: Bourdon 8’ Swell: Viole de Gambe 8’, Swell to Great coupler Example 8 Open Flutes Minuet (Musical Clocks), Haydn Positiv: Nachthorn 4’ Allein Gott in der höh sei Her, Zachau 1 Open Flute Chorus – Choir: Hohlflöte 8’, Positiv: Nachthorn 4’ Swell: Blockflöte 2’ Swell to Choir coupler Example 9 String Stops All Glory be to God on High (79 Chorales), Marcel Dupré Swell: Viole de Gambe 8’ (accompaniment) Great: Bourdon 8’ (melody) Pedal : Rohrflöte 16’. Rohrflöte 8’ (bass) Example 10 Voix Celeste
    [Show full text]
  • Theatre Owner's Manual
    TH-202/TH-302 Theatre Models IMPORTANT! Organs which contain GeniSys™ technology no longer include the GeniSys™ Controller Guide within the model specific Owner’s Manual. The correct GeniSys™ Controller Guide must be downloaded and/or printed separately. Please check the CODE version of the software installed within the organ to determine which version of the GeniSys™ Controller Guide is required. The CODE version is briefly displayed within the GeniSys™ Controller’s LCD display when the organ starts up. Copyright © 2016 Allen Organ Company All Rights Reserved AOC P/N 033-00221-1 Revised 10/2016 ALLEN ORGAN COMPANY For more than sixty years--practically the entire history of electronic organs-- Allen Organ Company has built the finest organs that technology would allow. In 1939, Allen built and marketed the world’s first electronic oscillator organ. The tone generators for this instrument used two hundred forty-four vacuum tubes, contained about five thousand components, and weighed nearly three hundred pounds. Even with all this equipment, the specification included relatively few stops. By 1959, Allen had replaced vacuum tubes in oscillator organs with transistors. Thousands of transistorized instruments were built, including some of the largest, most sophisticated oscillator organs ever designed. Only a radical technological breakthrough could improve upon the performance of Allen’s oscillator organs. Such a breakthrough came in conjunction with the United States Space Program in the form of highly advanced digital microcircuits. In 1971, Allen produced and sold the world’s first musical instrument utilizing digitally sampled voices! Your organ is significantly advanced since the first generation Allen digital instrument.
    [Show full text]
  • The Rodgers 579Is the Most Full-Featured 2 Manual Organ You'll
    The Rodgers 579 is the most full-featured 2 manual organ you’ll find in its class, built with the same high-quality cabinet and extra features that come in larger models, including double expression, crescendo pedal, 10 toe pistons, expanded voicing capability and powerful tone generation system. Organists will appreciate the useful Organ Type piston that instantly calls up any of four sets of stops, while still allowing the selection of any desired alternative from Voice Palette™ or User Voices. Manual I (Great) Couplers: II/I (SW to GT) Specifications Tablet VP1 VP2 VP3 29 stops / 241 total voices Bourdon 16’ Violone 16’ Principal 16’ Quintaton 16’ 29 primary voices Principal 8’ Open Diapason 8’ Montre 8’ Prinzipal 8’ 87 Voice Palette™ voices Gemshorn 8’ 2nd Diapason 8’ Voce Umana II 8’ Aeoline 8’ 92 User pipe organ voices Gedackt 8’ Clarabella 8’ Flûte Harmonique 8’ Bourdon 8’ 32 User orchestral voices Octava 4’ Principal 4’ Flûte à Bec 4’ Fugara 4’ Chimes Rohrflöte 4’ Open Flute 4’ Lieblichflöte 4’ Kleine Gedackt 4’ General Pistons: 10 Quinte 2-2/3’ Twelfth 2-2/3’ Nazard 2-2/3’ Quintaden 8’ Divisional Pistons: 5 Great, 5 Swell Superoctav 2’ Fifteenth 2’ Doublette 2’ Piccolo 2’ Toe Pistons: 10 configurable Mixtur IV Tierce Mixture V Cornet V Rauschquint IV Couplers: 3 plus 6 User/MIDI Controls Trumpet 8’ Waldhorn 8’ Trompette 8’ Cromorne 8’ Bass and Melody Couplers Chimes Tremulant: 2 Tremulant Shoes: 2 Expression, Crescendo Manual II (Swell) Memory: 20 levels x 20 pistons (400) Tablet VP1 VP2 VP3 Console dimensions: Spitz Geigen 8’
    [Show full text]
  • From Basement to Barcheston Paul Hale
    something old, something new FROM BASEMENT TO BARCHESTON Paul Hale This is the story of the organ now to be found in the delightful Warwickshire church at Barcheston. It begins in 1973, when Longstaff & Jones (Telford-based organ-builders and maintainers) advertised in the organ press that they would like to build a new, small pipe organ. Geoffrey Holroyde had yearned for some time for a small house organ for regular practice, so Longstaff & Jones were soon engaged to build for him a compact instrument, using direct-electric action. The successful design consisted of four ranks of pipes (and a quiet electronic pedal Bourdon) providing two manuals and pedals, with no couplers thereby avoiding too much extension with its attendant ‘missing notes’. Tickell case design for Barcheston The carefully chosen vintage ranks of pipes were: A Wooden stopped Gedackt 8ft extended to 4ft 68 pipes B Open metal (stopped from TC down) 8ft 56 pipes C Smaller scale open metal 4ft extended to 2ft 68 pipes D Oboe (for the Pedal Organ) 8ft 30 pipes Specification: Lower manual B8ft A8ft C4ft A4ft C2ft Upper manual C8ft (bottom octave from B) A8ft C4ft A4ft Barcheston Church looking East Pedal 16ft D8ft B8ft A8ft B4ft A4ft C2ft 48 • March 2020 something old, something new The opening recital in Geoffrey’s house was given by the youthful Edward Higginbottom, who before Cambridge had played for Geoffrey’s flourishing choir at St Mary’s Collegiate Church, Warwick. In 1979, Geoffrey and his, by then, large family moved to a spacious Victorian four-storey house.
    [Show full text]
  • Brass Instruments
    Course Content - Brass Instruments Introduction to Brass Instruments • Instruments are considered to belong in the Brass family if they make their sounds because of vibrations from the mouth and a mouthpiece. • Brass instruments are not necessarily made of brass. For example, the Digeridoo is a brass instrument made of wood. • The shape of the tube in a brass instrument is called a bore. The size and shape of the bore creates the sound of the instrument. • There are two shapes of bores: Cylindrical and Conical. • A Cylindrical bore stays the same width from beginning to end. A Conical bore gets wider as it progresses. • The very end of a brass instrument is called the Bell. • The two brass families are the Valved and Slide families. The only instrument in the slide family is the Trombone. • Valves on brass instruments are used to change the note by changing the size or length of the tube. Large and Medium Sized Brass Instruments • The largest instrument in the brass family is the Tuba. It plays the lowest notes. • The Sousaphone was invented to replace the Tuba in a marching band. It is designed to be carried. • Sousaphones are often made of lightweight fiberglass. • One of the oldest brass instruments is the Trombone. The slide of the trombone controls the notes instead of valves. • The French horn is the only brass instrument that is played left-handed. Music in Life Lesson: The Music in Life lesson is a moment to engage in active listening. The Music in Life lesson song for this course is "Flight of the Bumblebee” by Canadian Brass.
    [Show full text]
  • The Composer's Guide to the Tuba
    THE COMPOSER’S GUIDE TO THE TUBA: CREATING A NEW RESOURCE ON THE CAPABILITIES OF THE TUBA FAMILY Aaron Michael Hynds A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS August 2019 Committee: David Saltzman, Advisor Marco Nardone Graduate Faculty Representative Mikel Kuehn Andrew Pelletier © 2019 Aaron Michael Hynds All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT David Saltzman, Advisor The solo repertoire of the tuba and euphonium has grown exponentially since the middle of the 20th century, due in large part to the pioneering work of several artist-performers on those instruments. These performers sought out and collaborated directly with composers, helping to produce works that sensibly and musically used the tuba and euphonium. However, not every composer who wishes to write for the tuba and euphonium has access to world-class tubists and euphonists, and the body of available literature concerning the capabilities of the tuba family is both small in number and lacking in comprehensiveness. This document seeks to remedy this situation by producing a comprehensive and accessible guide on the capabilities of the tuba family. An analysis of the currently-available materials concerning the tuba family will give direction on the structure and content of this new guide, as will the dissemination of a survey to the North American composition community. The end result, the Composer’s Guide to the Tuba, is a practical, accessible, and composer-centric guide to the modern capabilities of the tuba family of instruments. iv To Sara and Dad, who both kept me going with their never-ending love.
    [Show full text]
  • Tuning Ancient Keyboard Instruments - a Rough Guide for Amateur Owners
    Tuning Ancient Keyboard Instruments - A Rough Guide for Amateur Owners. Piano tuning is of course a specialized and noble art, requiring considerable skill and training. So it is presumptuous for me to offer any sort of Pocket Guide. However, it needs to be recognized that old instruments (and replicas) are not as stable as modern iron-framed pianos, and few of us can afford to retain the services of a professional tuner on a frequent basis. Also, some of us may be restoring old instruments, or making new ones, and we need to do something. So, with apologies to the professionals, here is a short guide for amateurs. If you know how to set a temperament by ear, and know what that means, please read no further. But if not, a short introductory background might be useful. Some Theory We have got used to music played in (or at least based around) the major and minor scales, which are in turn descended from the ancient modes. In these, there are simple mathematical ratios between the notes of the scale, which are the basis of our perception of harmony. For example, the frequency of the note we call G is 3/2 that of the C below. This interval is a pure, or perfect fifth. When ratios are not exact, we hear ‘beats’, as the two notes come in and out of phase. For example, if we have one string tuned to A415 (cycles per second, or ‘Hertz’ and its neighbour a bit flat at A413, we will hear ‘wow-wow-wow’ beats at two per second.
    [Show full text]