Musical Instruments
Music has heterogeneous origins spanning every culture over the history of mankind. Instruments are the tools of musicians and as with any craft, the musician becomes more capable of producing great works with experience. What we know about music and its performance tends to decrease, as we look farther back in time. Factors complicating our understanding of musical statements made by ancient musicians and their vintage instruments include less writing of original sources, greater chance for destruction of written sources, and the temporal distance between ancient and contemporary musicians.
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Brass InstrumentsPrior to the advent of metals, ancient peoples created brass-like instruments from natural materials such as ram horn and conch shell, which were primarily use for distant communications rather than music making. Modern brass instruments have a separate mouthpiece that fits into the lead pipe. The musician propels air through the mouthpiece while buzzing the lips against it. As with all instruments, faster vibration creates a higher pitch, shorter tubing will also result in higher pitch. Most modern brass instruments have valves to help create various pitches, which are assisted by changes in the air speed, muscle tension and inflections in the lips. In the early 1800s when valves were invented, brass instruments were suddenly able to produce every note in the chromatic scale, putting them on a more equal footing with strings and woodwind instruments.
Percussion InstrumentsPercussion instruments have been used in every culture around the world for thousands of years. Employed in various tasks, such as communication with neighboring communities, accompanying dance as well as facilitating ceremonies and rituals. The word Percussion comes from the Latin derivative percutere meaning to strike, however not all percussion instruments are designed to be struck. Percussion instruments can be shaken, clapped together, or even scraped. Some percussion instruments are pitched, and others are non-pitched. What the vast majority of percussion instruments have in common is that they are performing a rhythmic function in music.
String InstrumentsString instruments are all chordophones according to the classification system developed by E.M. von Hornbostel and C. Sachs. Chordophones are instruments with strings under tension, and causing strings to vibrate produces sound. This vibration may be initiated by any number of methods including plucking, strumming, striking, or bowing the strings. String instruments are routinely divided into four categories; harps, zithers, lutes, and lyres. Due to the diversity of these instruments, it is sometimes difficult to assign a string instrument to one category.
Woodwind InstrumentsMost woodwind instruments are tubes that were once exclusively made from wood that musicians propelled their breath through to make music. Some woodwinds are conical, featuring a graduated shape, while other woodwinds are cylindrical, maintaining an even diameter throughout the length of the instrument. The length of a woodwind instrument’s tube is related to the pitch produced. If a tube has a hole halfway up, the length of resonating tube is only as long as the tube down to the hole. Covering the hole increases the length of resonating tube and lowers the pitch. Musicians playing woodwind instruments change pitch by changing the length of the resonating tube. There are five families of woodwind instruments; flute, clarinet, saxophone, oboe, and bassoon.
