Take a deep breath and puff out your cheeks. Now blow out the air. Does the air make a sound as it rushes out of your mouth? It probably made a noise like rushing wind. You can make a louder sound with your breath if you blow into a tube. (More…)
According to ancient Greek legend, the god Pan had the horns, ears and legs of a goat and the face and body of a man. Pan often fell in love. One day, he was chasing a beautiful nymph called Syrinx. The gods took pity on Syrinx, and turned her into a reed so that she could escape from the god. (More…)
A long, deep, vibrating growl is followed by a gruff boom. A throttled scream is quickly replaced by explosive barks. High squeaks seem to mix with strange and muffled voices. And all the time there is the long, deep growl .. . (More…)
Do you have a whistle at home? If you have, you know that it is a narrow pipe topped with a special part to blow into, called a mouthpiece. Just below the mouthpiece there is a narrow hole cut out of the pipe. When you blow into the mouthpiece, (More…)
Late one evening in 1919, the Dolmetsch family joined a huge crowd of people waiting for a train at Waterloo Station in London. The family was returning home from a concert at which they had performed. Inside one of their bags was an old kind of duct flute called a recorder. (More…)
Early trumpets and horns were made from natural materials in just the same way as early pipes. However, unlike pipes, trumpets and horns have a thin end to blow through and a thicker, cone- shaped end to carry the sound out into the air. It’s often difficult to tell the difference between an early trumpet and an early horn. Trumpets are usually straight and horns are usually curved. (More…)
In 1939, a rare silver trumpet with a long, straight tube was blown for the first time in 3,000 years. It was a tense and exciting moment. The effect was shattering. The trumpet broke into several pieces! The trumpet was one of two discovered in the tomb of the Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun. (More…)
23 Nov, 2008