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Musical Instruments of the Orchestra in the Western Tradition

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Title: Musical Instruments of the Orchestra in the Western Tradition


1
Musical Instruments of the Orchestrain the
Western Tradition
2
What is an Orchestra ?
  • Orchestra is an old Greek word which means a
    dancing place.
  • In Greece, during the 5th century B.C., orchestra
    was the name given to the space in front of the
    main acting area which was used by the chorus,
    who danced as well as sang, and by the
    instrumentalists of open air theatres.
  • Today we use the word orchestra to mean a
    reasonably large clooection of instruments
    playing together as a group.

Greek Theatre
3
The orchestra has grown up gradually from early
17th century and is now a very wonderful and
varied combination of instruments, which falls
into four group.
The Orchestra
4
Woodwind Instruments
  • As the name woodwind suggests, the instruments
    of this section of the orchestra are mostly made
    of wood, though flutes are now often made of
    metal istead.
  • In each woodwind instruments there is a series of
    holes bored along the length of the tube. When
    alll the holes are covered, the instrument sounds
    its lowest note. But if the player uncovers the
    bottom hole, a higer note is sounded.

Flute
Oboe
Clarinet
Bassoon
5
Woodwind Instrument
Flute
  • Nowadays, it is made of metal.
  • It is easy to recognize the flute among the
    intruments of the woodwind section, as it is held
    sideways rather than straight in front of the
    player.
  • The low notes are soft and mellow, but higher
    notes become brighter and more brillant.

6
Woodwind Instrument
Oboe
  • It is a double-reed instrument.
  • It has reedy sound and can express pastoral
    feeling.

7
Woodwind Instrument
Clarinet
  • Of the four main woodwind instruments, the
    clarinet was last to join the orchestra.
  • The clarinet has a single reed -- a flat piece of
    cane.
  • The lastest part of its range has a hollow but
    rich sound. The middle part of the range is
    smooth. High up, the clarinet sounds rather
    sharp.

8
Woodwind Instrument
Bassoon
  • It is a double-reed instrument with a conical
    tube 9 feet long.
  • The low notes are very reddy. The higher notes
    are more flute-like and sound lovely.

9
Brass Instruments
  • The sounds of the brass section, like those of
    the woodwind, are made by blowing.
  • Brass instruments are long, hollow brass tubes
    blown from one end. They are curred or bent into
    various shapes.

Trumpet
French Horn
Trombone
Tuba
10
Brass Instrument
Trumpet
  • Of the instruments in the brass section, the
    trumpet is the most ancient.
  • It is one of the most powerful and colorful
    musical instruments in the orchestra.
  • The tone quality is really brilliant.

11
Brass Instrument
French Horn
  • It is a long conical tube coiled into a circular
    shape and ends in a large bell shape.
  • It has a beautiful mellow tone of pure and lofty
    character.

12
Brass Instrument
Trombone
  • The Italian name means big trumpet, and the
    trombone is in fact a long, folded trumpet with a
    more deeply cupped mouth-piece.
  • It has a rich, noble tone.

13
Brass Instrument
Trombone
  • The Italian name means big trumpet, and the
    trombone is in fact a long, folded trumpet with a
    more deeply cupped mouth-piece.
  • It has a rich, noble tone.

14
String Instruments
  • The strings are the backbone of the orchestra.
    More than half the members of an orchestra play
    string instruments.
  • The sound is produced by bowing, plucking or
    striking the string.
  • Violin, viola, cello and double bass are similar
    in shape and each has four strings, but in
    different sizes all tuned in fifth except the
    double bass that is fourth.

Violin
Viola
Cello
Double Bass
15
String Instrument
Violin
  • It is about 23.5 inches long.
  • The violins of the orchestra are divided into two
    groups first vioins and second violins. The
    difference is not in the music they play -- the
    first vilins usually playing higher notes than
    the seconds.

16
String Instrument
Viola
  • It is about 25 inches long and is pitched a fifth
    lower than violin.

17
String Instrument
Cello
  • The correct name for this instrument is really,
    as in Italian, violoncello -- but it is always
    called cello for short.
  • It is around 5 feet in height and is pitched one
    octave lower than the viola.

18
String Instrument
Double Bass
  • The double bass, sometimes just called bass for
    short.
  • It is the largest in size (around 6.5 feet in
    height) and has the deepest tone (one octave
    below the cello) in the string family.

19
Percussion Instruments
  • Percussion instruments are those which are struck
    or shaken.
  • Percussion instruments can be divided into two
    groups. They are tuned and non-tuned.

Tuned
Non-tuned
Timpani
Xylophone
Tambourine
Castanets
20
Percussion Instrument
Timpani
  • It can also be called kettle drum.
  • These are often used in sets of two, three, or
    four each tuned to a different note.
  • The instrument is played with two sticks.
  • The player can tighten or loosen the parchment
    with pedals for tuning.

21
Percussion Instrument
Xylophone
  • It consists of blocks of hard wood, each tuned to
    a note.
  • The player strikes the wooden blocks with wooden
    beaters to produce a bright, dry, hard sound.

22
Percussion Instrument
Tambourine
  • Small metal plates are loosely inserted around
    the shell.
  • When the player hits or shakes it with his hand,
    the mental plates give a jingling effect.

23
Percussion Instrument
Castanets
  • These consist of little wooden clappers moved by
    the thumb and forefinger of the player.
  • In the orchestra, they are placed on a stick.

24
Seating Plan
  • Because of their family likenesses, the
    instruments of each section are grouped together.
    The platform is usually terraced, and the
    sections are positioned in such instrumental
    sounds and tone-colors.

25
Orchestra
Instruments
Brass
Strings
Percussion
Woodwind
With pitch
Without pitch
French Horn
Double Bass
Flute
Oboe
Clarinet
Bassoon
Trumpet
Trombone
Tuba
Violin
Viola
Cello
Timpani
Xylophone
Tambourine
Castanets
26
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Faculty of Education
EDD5161S
Educational Communication Technology
Lecturer Dr. Lee Fong Lok
Lee Chui Ling (97029520)
Students
Cheung Kwan Fu (96077630)
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