Music instrument technology

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Music instrument technology refers to the construction of instruments and the way they have changed over time. Such change has produced modern instruments that are considerably different from their historical antecedents.

An example is the way in which many instruments commonly associated with a modern symphony orchestra are markedly different from the same instruments for which European composers were composing music centuries ago.

Such changes include the addition of piston valves to brass instruments, the design of more complex fingering systems for woodwind instruments such as the flute, and the standardization of the family of orchestral string instruments.

Many advancements were made in music instrument technology during the Middle Ages and 19th Century. The introduction of copper smelting allowed for trumpets, organ pipes, and slides to be constructed with sheet metal which had a smooth texture and consistency in thickness, allowing for more range of tones and sounds. Improvements in molding and casting during the 19th Century allowed for technological advancement to pianos. While originally constructed with wooden frames, limiting the amount of sound that could be produced, pianos began to be constructed of one-piece iron frames. This provided a more amplified volume from the instrument and allowed musicians to use less force when playing the instrument. Improvements in drum tuning were also established at this time. The "Dresden" model of tuning, involving steel technology and employing a foot petal with ratchet in order to attach the device to the timpani, was invented by Carl Pittrich. This technology allowed for timpani to be tuned much faster by the musician. The Dresden tuners could also be added onto existing timpani, allowing symphonies to continue using their existing instruments while still employing this new technology. Lastly, the 19th century also lead to the development of valves, and when added in to the construction of trumpets and horns, they allowed for the instruments to express a broader range to the harmonic series of notes being produced. [1]

Some of this technology represents patentable advancements in the musical instrument industry. [2]

See also

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A brass instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips. Brass instruments are also called labrosones or labrophones, from Latin and Greek elements meaning 'lip' and 'sound'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornet</span> Brass instrument

The cornet is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. There is also a soprano cornet in E and cornets in A and C. All are unrelated to the Renaissance and early Baroque cornett.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">French horn</span> Type of brass instrument

The French horn is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B is the horn most often used by players in professional orchestras and bands, although the descant and triple horn have become increasingly popular. A musician who plays a horn is known as a horn player or hornist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Musical ensemble</span> Instrumental and/or vocal music group

A musical ensemble, also known as a music group or musical group, is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrumentalists, such as the jazz quartet or the orchestra. Other music ensembles consist solely of singers, such as choirs and doo wop groups. In both popular music and classical music, there are ensembles in which both instrumentalists and singers perform, such as the rock band or the Baroque chamber group for basso continuo and one or more singers. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles. Some ensembles blend the sounds of a variety of instrument families, such as the orchestra, which uses a string section, brass instruments, woodwinds and percussion instruments, or the concert band, which uses brass, woodwinds and percussion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piano</span> Keyboard instrument

The piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when pressed on the keys. Most modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys: 52 white keys for the notes of the C major scale and 36 shorter black keys raised above the white keys and set further back, for sharps and flats. This means that the piano can play 88 different pitches, spanning a range of a bit over seven octaves. The black keys are for the "accidentals", which are needed to play in all twelve keys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trombone</span> Brass instrument played with a slide

The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate. Nearly all trombones use a telescoping slide mechanism to alter the pitch instead of the valves used by other brass instruments. The valve trombone is an exception, using three valves similar to those on a trumpet, and the superbone has valves and a slide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trumpet</span> Brass instrument

The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard B or C trumpet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tuba</span> Brass instrument

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transposing instrument</span> Musical instrument for which notated pitch differs from sounding pitch

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timpani</span> Pitched percussion instrument

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Organ (music)</span> Keyboard instrument

In music, the organ is a keyboard instrument of one or more pipe divisions or other means for producing tones. The organs have usually two or three, up to five manuals, for playing with the hands, and pedalboard, with the feet. With the use of registers, several groups of pipes can be connected to one manual.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quarter tone</span> Musical interval

A quarter tone is a pitch halfway between the usual notes of a chromatic scale or an interval about half as wide as a semitone, which itself is half a whole tone. Quarter tones divide the octave by 50 cents each, and have 24 different pitches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natural trumpet</span> Early form of trumpet preceding the invention of keys or valves

A natural trumpet is a valveless brass instrument that is able to play the notes of the harmonic series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crook (music)</span>

A crook, also sometimes called a shank, is an exchangeable segment of tubing in a natural horn which is used to change the length of the pipe, altering the fundamental pitch and harmonic series which the instrument can sound, and thus the key in which it plays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Symphony No. 1 (Schumann)</span>

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Nicola Gomirato is an Italian artist involved in music, history and literature. He is an eclectic musician that writes, creates, and performs musical shows combining words, music, history, instruments and poetry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evolution of timpani in the 18th and 19th centuries</span>

The modern timpani evolved in the 18th and 19th centuries from the simple 12th-century membranophone of the Naker to a complex instrument, consisting of a suspended kettle with a foot-operated clutch, capable of rapid tuning. The technological evolution of the instrument led to increased interest in its capabilities and sound among such composers as Joseph Haydn, Ludwig van Beethoven, Robert Schumann, and Hector Berlioz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brass instrument valve</span> Pitch change method in many instruments

Brass instrument valves are valves used to change the length of tubing of a brass instrument allowing the player to reach the notes of various harmonic series. Each valve pressed diverts the air stream through additional tubing, individually or in conjunction with other valves. This lengthens the vibrating air column thus lowering the fundamental tone and associated harmonic series produced by the instrument. Valves in brass instruments require regular maintenance and lubrication to ensure fast and reliable movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music technology</span> Use of technology by musicians

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music technology (mechanical)</span>

Mechanical music technology is the use of any device, mechanism, machine or tool by a musician or composer to make or perform music; to compose, notate, play back or record songs or pieces; or to analyze or edit music. The earliest known applications of technology to music was prehistoric peoples' use of a tool to hand-drill holes in bones to make simple flutes. Ancient Egyptians developed stringed instruments, such as harps, lyres and lutes, which required making thin strings and some type of peg system for adjusting the pitch of the strings. Ancient Egyptians also used wind instruments such as double clarinets and percussion instruments such as cymbals. In Ancient Greece, instruments included the double-reed aulos and the lyre. Numerous instruments are referred to in the Bible, including the horn, pipe, lyre, harp, and bagpipe. During Biblical times, the cornet, flute, horn, organ, pipe, and trumpet were also used. During the Middle Ages, hand-written music notation was developed to write down the notes of religious Plainchant melodies; this notation enabled the Catholic church to disseminate the same chant melodies across its entire empire.

References

  1. Bowles, Edmund. "The Impact of Technology on Musical Instruments". Cosmos Club. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  2. "Musical Instrument Patent of Week". May 11, 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-05-11.