Repertoire

According to Berlioz the flute ‘is an instrument well-nigh devoid of expression, but which may be introduced anywhere and everywhere, on account of its facility in executing groups of rapid notes, and in sustaining high sounds useful in the orchestra for adding fullness to the upper harmonies.’ This is a fair description of the way the flute is generally written for in orchestral works, but there are many exceptions. The sounds of the middle and upper registers combine well with any ensemble and add lustre. The lower register lacks penetration but has a soft and seductive quality. ‘These low sounds‘, wrote Berlioz in his Treatise on Instrumentation, `are seldom, or else ill, employed by the majority of composers.’ All the great orchestrators have however always known how to write for the low register. (More…)

dodoAmplifier, Bose, Drums, Folk Music, Headphones, Microphone, Music Box, Music Equipments, Sony, Yamaha31 Aug, 20083 Comments

The compass of the flute is three octaves from middle C, but a good player can obtain a few notes above this. The piccolo sounds an octave above, but from b.

The flute is the only woodwind instrument held crosswise, parallel to the shoulders. Sometimes it is made of dart wood, sometimes of glittering silver. The sound, which is produced by blowing across the embouchure or blow hole, has a relatively simple and uncoloured quality due to the small number of harmonics present in it. When the breath strikes the sharp edge of the embouchure it enters the tube, sets the column of air in motion and this in its turn agitates the body of the instrument. (More…)

dodoMusic Box, Music Equipments, Woodwinds31 Aug, 20086 Comments

The timbre of the oboe can be identified more easily and quickly than that of any other instrument of the orchestra because during tuning up it can be heard sounding long, steady As to which the whole orchestra, in what seems like a total chaos of sound, tune their strings, pipes and percussion.

Made of grenadilla, rose or’ cocus wood, the oboe has a narrow conical bore terminating in a slight flare or bell. It is held vertically and the double reed, which is mounted in the top, is held in the ‘player’s mouth,. When blown the lips of the double reed start beating; this drives beaten air into the pipe which then becomes alive with sound. The quality of sound or timbre depends to a major degree on the dimensions of the reed, the grain and its density. (More…)

dodoGuitar, Piano31 Aug, 20085 Comments