Banjo Fiddle Ukulele Folk String Instruments

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Banjo Fiddle Ukulele Folk String Instruments Folk String Instruments A folk instrument is a musical instrument that developed among common people and usually does not have a known inventor. A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. Banjo A stringed instrument in the guitar family with a long neck, five strings and a round body like a tambourine with an open back. A banjo's strings are strummed or plucked with the fingers. Fiddle The highest pitched member of the string instrument family. It has a shallow wooden body, four strings that are tuned with pegs, and it is played with a bow. Ukulele A small wooden instrument with four strings, similar to a guitar. The ukulele was brought to Hawaii by Portuguese settlers in the 1870’ s, and quickly became popular with native Hawaiians. Mandolin A small, stringed instrument of the lute family. It has a pear shaped body, strings in four pairs and a neck similar to a guitar. Guitar A stringed instrument with a long neck and a flat, hollow body. Its strings are plucked or strummed with the fingers. Appalachian Dulcimer A fretted string instrument, typically with three or four strings, originally played in the Appalachian region of the United States. The instrument is typically played on the lap. The left hand presses the frets (much like a guitar) and the right hand strums. Hammered Dulcimer An early stringed instrument whose strings are stretched across a wooden sound box and hit with small hammers. Kayagum Kayagum is a Korean national string instrument. The gayageum is traditionally played when sitting on the floor with crossed legs, the head of the instrument resting on the right knee and the tail resting on the floor. Sitar A stringed instrument from India. The sitar is a member of the lute family with a long neck and a pear shaped body. Most sitar’s have seven strings, five of them are usually used for melody, and the other two provide a continuous drone. Lute The lute looks like a small, pear- shaped guitar. It has a bent neck and a fretted fingerboard. It is played mainly by plucking the strings, rather than strumming them. .
Recommended publications
  • The Science of String Instruments
    The Science of String Instruments Thomas D. Rossing Editor The Science of String Instruments Editor Thomas D. Rossing Stanford University Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA) Stanford, CA 94302-8180, USA [email protected] ISBN 978-1-4419-7109-8 e-ISBN 978-1-4419-7110-4 DOI 10.1007/978-1-4419-7110-4 Springer New York Dordrecht Heidelberg London # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010 All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher (Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed is forbidden. The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks, and similar terms, even if they are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to proprietary rights. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer ScienceþBusiness Media (www.springer.com) Contents 1 Introduction............................................................... 1 Thomas D. Rossing 2 Plucked Strings ........................................................... 11 Thomas D. Rossing 3 Guitars and Lutes ........................................................ 19 Thomas D. Rossing and Graham Caldersmith 4 Portuguese Guitar ........................................................ 47 Octavio Inacio 5 Banjo ...................................................................... 59 James Rae 6 Mandolin Family Instruments........................................... 77 David J. Cohen and Thomas D. Rossing 7 Psalteries and Zithers .................................................... 99 Andres Peekna and Thomas D.
    [Show full text]
  • WORKSHOP: Around the World in 30 Instruments Educator’S Guide [email protected]
    WORKSHOP: Around The World In 30 Instruments Educator’s Guide www.4shillingsshort.com [email protected] AROUND THE WORLD IN 30 INSTRUMENTS A MULTI-CULTURAL EDUCATIONAL CONCERT for ALL AGES Four Shillings Short are the husband-wife duo of Aodh Og O’Tuama, from Cork, Ireland and Christy Martin, from San Diego, California. We have been touring in the United States and Ireland since 1997. We are multi-instrumentalists and vocalists who play a variety of musical styles on over 30 instruments from around the World. Around the World in 30 Instruments is a multi-cultural educational concert presenting Traditional music from Ireland, Scotland, England, Medieval & Renaissance Europe, the Americas and India on a variety of musical instruments including hammered & mountain dulcimer, mandolin, mandola, bouzouki, Medieval and Renaissance woodwinds, recorders, tinwhistles, banjo, North Indian Sitar, Medieval Psaltery, the Andean Charango, Irish Bodhran, African Doumbek, Spoons and vocals. Our program lasts 1 to 2 hours and is tailored to fit the audience and specific music educational curriculum where appropriate. We have performed for libraries, schools & museums all around the country and have presented in individual classrooms, full school assemblies, auditoriums and community rooms as well as smaller more intimate settings. During the program we introduce each instrument, talk about its history, introduce musical concepts and follow with a demonstration in the form of a song or an instrumental piece. Our main objective is to create an opportunity to expand people’s understanding of music through direct expe- rience of traditional folk and world music. ABOUT THE MUSICIANS: Aodh Og O’Tuama grew up in a family of poets, musicians and writers.
    [Show full text]
  • Traditional Irish Music Presentation
    Traditional Irish Music Topics Covered: 1. Traditional Irish Music Instruments 2 Traditional Irish tunes 3. Music notation & Theory Related to Traditional Irish Music Trad Irish Instruments ● Fiddle ● Bodhrán ● Irish Flute ● Button Accordian ● Tin/Penny Whistle ● Guitar ● Uilleann Pipes ● Mandolin ● Harp ● Bouzouki Fiddle ● A fiddle is the same as a violin. For Irish music, it is tuned the same, low to high string: G, D, A, E. ● The medieval fiddle originated in Europe in ● The term “fiddle” is used the 10th century, which when referring to was relatively square traditional or folk music. shaped and held in the ● The fiddle is one of the arms. primarily used instruments for traditional Irish music and has been used for over 200 years in Ireland. Fiddle (cont.) ● The violin in its current form was first created in the early 16th century (early 1500s) in Northern Italy. ● When fiddlers play traditional Irish music, they ornament the music with slides, cuts (upper grace note), taps (lower grace note), rolls, drones (also known as a double stop), accents, staccato and sometimes trills. ● Irish fiddlers tend to make little use of vibrato, except for slow airs and waltzes, which is also used sparingly. Irish Flute ● Flutes have been played in Ireland for over a thousand years. ● There are two types of flutes: Irish flute and classical flute. ● Irish flute is typically used ● This flute originated when playing Irish music. in England by flautist ● Irish flutes are made of wood Charles Nicholson and have a conical bore, for concert players, giving it an airy tone that is but was adapted by softer than classical flute and Irish flautists as tin whistle.
    [Show full text]
  • The Applachian Mountain Dulcimer: Examining the Creation of an “American Tradition”
    CFA MU 755, Boston University Steve Eulberg The Applachian Mountain Dulcimer: Examining the Creation of an “American Tradition” In a nation composed dominantly of immigrants, or people who are not “from” here, one can expect the cultural heritage in general, and the musical heritage in particular, to be based on the many strands of immigrant tradition. At some point, however, that which was brought from the old country begins to “belong” to the children of the immigrants, who pass this heritage on to their children. These strands are the woof that is woven into the warp of the new land—a process that continues until the tradition rightly belongs to the new setting as well. This is the case for the Applachian Mountain (or fretted, lap, plucked, strummed1) dulcimer. This instrument has been called by some “The Original American Folk Instrument.”2 Because other instruments have also laid claim to this appellation (most notably the banjo), this paper will explore whether or not it deserves such a name by describing the dulcimer, exploring its antecedent instruments, or “cousins”, tracing its construction and use by some people associated with the dulcimer, and examining samples of the music played on the instrument from 3 distinct periods of its use in the 20th century. What is the dulcimer? The Appalachian Mountain Dulcimer3 consists of a diatonic fretboard which is mounted on top of a soundbox. It is generally strung with three or four strings arranged in a pattern of three (with one pair of strings doubled and close together, to be played as one.) Its strings are strummed or plucked either with the fingers or a plectrum while the other hand is fretting the strings at different frets using either fingers or a wooden stick called a “noter.” The shape of the body or soundbox varies from hourglass, boat, diamond and lozenge, to teardrop and rectangular box style.
    [Show full text]
  • Off the Beaten Track
    Off the Beaten Track To have your recording considered for review in Sing Out!, please submit two copies (one for one of our reviewers and one for in- house editorial work, song selection for the magazine and eventual inclusion in the Sing Out! Resource Center). All recordings received are included in “Publication Noted” (which follows “Off the Beaten Track”). Send two copies of your recording, and the appropriate background material, to Sing Out!, P.O. Box 5460 (for shipping: 512 E. Fourth St.), Bethlehem, PA 18015, Attention “Off The Beaten Track.” Sincere thanks to this issue’s panel of musical experts: Richard Dorsett, Tom Druckenmiller, Mark Greenberg, Victor K. Heyman, Stephanie P. Ledgin, John Lupton, Angela Page, Mike Regenstreif, Seth Rogovoy, Ken Roseman, Peter Spencer, Michael Tearson, Theodoros Toskos, Rich Warren, Matt Watroba, Rob Weir and Sule Greg Wilson. that led to a career traveling across coun- the two keyboard instruments. How I try as “The Singing Troubadour.” He per- would have loved to hear some of the more formed in a variety of settings with a rep- unusual groupings of instruments as pic- ertoire that ranged from opera to traditional tured in the notes. The sound of saxo- songs. He also began an investigation of phones, trumpets, violins and cellos must the music of various utopian societies in have been glorious! The singing is strong America. and sincere with nary a hint of sophistica- With his investigation of the music of tion, as of course it should be, as the Shak- VARIOUS the Shakers he found a sect which both ers were hardly ostentatious.
    [Show full text]
  • The Open Back of the Open-Back Banjo
    HDP: 13 { 02 glasswork by M. Desy The Open Back of the Open-Back Banjo David Politzer∗ California Institute of Technology (Dated: December 2, 2013) ...in which a simple question turned into a great adventure and even got answered. (Of course, you might already know the answer yourself.) In a triumph of elementary physics, six measured numbers receive a satisfactory account using two adjustable parameters. ∗[email protected]; http://www.its.caltech.edu/~politzer; 452-48 Caltech, Pasadena CA 91125 2 The Open Back of the Open-Back Banjo I. THE RIM QUESTION The question seemed straightforward. What is the impact of rim height on the sound of an open-back banjo? FIG. 1. an open-back banjo's open back 3 mylar (or skin) head metal flange rim height drum rim wall open back resonator back (Which head is bigger? Auditory (as opposed to optical) illusions only came into their own with the development of digital sound.) FIG. 2. schematic banjo pot cross sections There are a great many choices in banjo design, construction, and set-up. For almost all of them, there is consensus among players and builders on the qualitative effect of possible choices. Just a few of the many are: string material and gauge; drum head material, thickness, and tension; neck wood and design; rim material and weight; tailpiece design and height; tone ring design and material. However, there is no universal ideal of banjo perfection. Virtually every design that has ever existed is still played with gusto, and new ones of those designs are still in production.
    [Show full text]
  • Scottish and Irish Elements of Appalachian Fiddle Music
    Butler University Digital Commons @ Butler University Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection Undergraduate Scholarship 3-1995 Scottish and Irish Elements of Appalachian Fiddle Music Matthew S. Emmick Butler University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/ugtheses Part of the Ethnomusicology Commons, and the Musicology Commons Recommended Citation Emmick, Matthew S., "Scottish and Irish Elements of Appalachian Fiddle Music" (1995). Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection. 21. https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/ugtheses/21 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Undergraduate Scholarship at Digital Commons @ Butler University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Butler University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. BUTLER UNIVERSITY HONORS PROGRAM Honors Thesis Certification Matthew S. Emmick Applicant (Name as It Is to appear on dtplomo) Scottish and Irish Elements of Appalachian Fiddle M'-Isic Thesis title _ May, 1995 lnter'lded date of commencemenf ­ _ Read and approved by: ' -4~, <~ /~.~~ Thesis adviser(s)/ /,J _ 3-,;13- [.>­ Date / / - ­ ( /'--/-----­ --",,-..-­ Commltte~ ;'h~"'h=j.R C~.16b Honors t-,\- t'-­ ~/ Flrst~ ~ Date Second Reader Date Accepied and certified: JU).adr/tJ, _ 2111c<vt) Director DiJe For Honors Program use: Level of Honors conferred: University Magna Cum Laude Departmental Honors in Music and High Honors in Spanish Scottish and Irish Elements of Appalachian Fiddle Music A Thesis Presented to the Departmt!nt of Music Jordan College of Fine Arts and The Committee on Honors Butler University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Graduation Honors Matthew S. Emmick March, 24, 1995 -l _ -- -"-".,---.
    [Show full text]
  • The Musical Kinetic Shape: a Variable Tension String Instrument
    The Musical Kinetic Shape: AVariableTensionStringInstrument Ismet Handˇzi´c, Kyle B. Reed University of South Florida, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tampa, Florida Abstract In this article we present a novel variable tension string instrument which relies on a kinetic shape to actively alter the tension of a fixed length taut string. We derived a mathematical model that relates the two-dimensional kinetic shape equation to the string’s physical and dynamic parameters. With this model we designed and constructed an automated instrument that is able to play frequencies within predicted and recognizable frequencies. This prototype instrument is also able to play programmed melodies. Keywords: musical instrument, variable tension, kinetic shape, string vibration 1. Introduction It is possible to vary the fundamental natural oscillation frequency of a taut and uniform string by either changing the string’s length, linear density, or tension. Most string musical instruments produce di↵erent tones by either altering string length (fretting) or playing preset and di↵erent string gages and string tensions. Although tension can be used to adjust the frequency of a string, it is typically only used in this way for fine tuning the preset tension needed to generate a specific note frequency. In this article, we present a novel string instrument concept that is able to continuously change the fundamental oscillation frequency of a plucked (or bowed) string by altering string tension in a controlled and predicted Email addresses: [email protected] (Ismet Handˇzi´c), [email protected] (Kyle B. Reed) URL: http://reedlab.eng.usf.edu/ () Preprint submitted to Applied Acoustics April 19, 2014 Figure 1: The musical kinetic shape variable tension string instrument prototype.
    [Show full text]
  • The Mathematics of Musical Instruments
    The Mathematics of Musical Instruments Rachel W. Hall and Kreˇsimir Josi´c August 29, 2000 Abstract This article highlights several applications of mathematics to the design of musical instru- ments. In particular, we consider the physical properties of a Norwegian folk instrument called the willow flute. The willow flute relies on harmonics, rather than finger holes, to produce a scale which is related to a major scale. The pitches correspond to fundamental solutions of the one-dimensional wave equation. This \natural" scale is the jumping-off point for a discussion of several systems of scale construction|just, Pythagorean, and equal temperament|which have connections to number theory and dynamical systems and are crucial in the design of keyboard instruments. The willow flute example also provides a nice introduction to the spectral theory of partial differential equations, which explains the differences between the sounds of wind or stringed instruments and drums. 1 Introduction The history of musical instruments goes back tens of thousands of years. Fragments of bone flutes and whistles have been found at Neanderthal sites. Recently, a 9; 000-year-old flute found in China was shown to be the world's oldest playable instrument.1 These early instruments show that humans have long been concerned with producing pitched sound|that is, sound containing predominantly a single frequency. Indeed, finger holes on the flutes indicate that these prehistoric musicians had some concept of a musical scale. The study of the mathematics of musical instruments dates back at least to the Pythagoreans, who discovered that certain combinations of pitches which they considered pleasing corresponded to simple ratios of frequencies such as 2:1 and 3:2.
    [Show full text]
  • Extension Activity
    Extension Activity - How the Banjo Became White Rhiannon Giddens is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, and found- ing member of the old-time music group Carolina Chocolate Drops. In 2017 she was awarded the Macarthur “Genius” Grant. Below are excerpts from a keynote address she gave at the 2017 International Bluegrass Music Association Conference, where she discusses the erasure of African Americans in the history of bluegrass, a genre that predominantly features the banjo. So more and more of late, the question has been asked: how do we get more diversity in bluegrass? Which of course, behind the hand, is really, why is bluegrass so white??? But the answer doesn’t lie in right now. Before we can look to the future, we need to understand the past. To understand how the banjo, which was once the ultimate symbol of African American musical expression, has done a 180 in popular understanding and become the emblem of the mythical white mountaineer—even now, in the age of Mumford and Sons, and Béla Fleck in Africa, and Taj Mahal’s “Colored Aristocracy,” the average person on the street sees a banjo and still thinks Deliverance, or The Beverly Hillbillies. In order to understand the history of the banjo and the history of bluegrass music, we need to move beyond the narratives we’ve inherited, beyond generalizations that bluegrass is mostly derived from a Scots-Irish tradition, with “influences” from Africa. It is actually a complex creole music that comes from multiple cultures, African and European and Native; the full truth that is so much more interesting, and American.
    [Show full text]
  • Gestural Patterns in Kujaw Folk Performing Traditions: Implications for the Performer of Chopin's Mazurkas by Monika Zaborowsk
    Gestural Patterns in Kujaw Folk Performing Traditions: Implications for the Performer of Chopin’s Mazurkas by Monika Zaborowski BMUS, University of Victoria, 2009 A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS in the School of Music Monika Zaborowski, 2013 University of Victoria All rights reserved. This thesis may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without the permission of the author. ii Supervisory Committee Gestural Patterns in Kujaw Folk Performing Traditions: Implications for the Performer of Chopin’s Mazurkas by Monika Zaborowski BMUS, University of Victoria, 2009 Supervisory Committee Susan Lewis-Hammond, (School of Music) Co-Supervisor Bruce Vogt, (School of Music) Co-Supervisor Michelle Fillion, (School of Music) Departmental Member iii Abstract Supervisory Committee Susan Lewis-Hammond, (School of Music) Co-Supervisor Bruce Vogt, (School of Music) Co-Supervisor Michelle Fillion, (School of Music) Departmental Member One of the major problems faced by performers of Chopin’s mazurkas is recapturing the elements that Chopin drew from Polish folk music. Although scholars from around 1900 exaggerated Chopin’s quotation of Polish folk tunes in their mixed agendas that related ‘Polishness’ to Chopin, many of the rudimentary and more complex elements of Polish folk music are present in his compositions. These elements affect such issues as rhythm and meter, tempo and tempo fluctuation, repetitive motives, undulating melodies, function of I and V harmonies. During his vacations in Szafarnia in the Kujawy region of Central Poland in his late teens, Chopin absorbed aspects of Kujaw performing traditions which served as impulses for his compositions.
    [Show full text]
  • Suggested Repertoire
    THE LEINSTER SCHOOL OF RATE YOUR ABILITY REPERTOIRE LIST MUSIC & DRAMA Level 1 Repertoire List Bog Down in the Valley Garryowen Polka Level 2 Repertoire List Maggie in the Woods Planxty Fanny Power Level 3 Repertoire List Jigs Learn to Play Irish Trad Fiddle The Kesh Jig (Tom Morley) The Hag’s Purse Blarney Pilgrim The Merry Blacksmith The Swallowtail Jig Tobin’s Favourite Double Jigs: (two, and three part jigs) The Hag at the Churn I Buried My Wife and Danced on her Grave The Carraroe Jig The Bride’s Favourite Saddle the Pony Rambling Pitchfork The Geese in the Bog (Key of C or D) The Lilting Banshee The Mist Covered Meadow (Junior Crehan Tune) Strike the Gay Harp Trip it Upstairs Slip Jigs: (two, and three part jigs) The Butterfly Éilish Kelly’s Delight Drops of Brandy The Foxhunter’s Deirdre’s Fancy Fig for a Kiss The Snowy Path (Altan) Drops of Spring Water Hornpipes Learn to Play Irish Trad Fiddle Napoleon Crossing the Alps (Tom Morley) The Harvest Home Murphys Hornpipes: (two part tunes) The Boys of Bluehill The Homeruler The Pride of Petravore Cornin’s The Galway Hornpipe Off to Chicago The Harvest Home Slides Slides (Two and three Parts) The Brosna Slides 1&2 Dan O’Keefes The Kerry Slide Merrily Kiss the Quaker Reels Learn to Play Irish Trad Fiddle The Raven’s Wing (Tom Morley) The Maid Behind the Bar Miss Monaghan The Silver Spear The Abbey Reel Castle Kelly Reels: (two part reels) The Crooked Rd to Dublin The Earl’s Chair The Silver Spear The Merry Blacksmith The Morning Star Martin Wynne’s No 1 Paddy Fahy’s No 1 Fr.
    [Show full text]