Instrumentation (Medium)

Sonority (Timbre)

Sonority is another word for timbre. The timbre or sonority of an instrument or voice is the color, character or quality of sound it produces.

In the Baroque and Classical periods, conventions dictated how composers would use the instruments. In the Romantic period, composers began to move away from these conventions. By the end of the Romantic period and into the 20th century, instruments were increasingly selected for the qualities of their sounds. Debussy and Ravel were particularly well known for this.

Timbres were often chosen by Romantic composers to create a specific effect. This video shows how Saints-Saëns uses timbre in his Danse Macabre.

It is important to learn the differences between sonority, instrumentation and orchestration.

Instrumentation

Instrumentation refers to the instruments or voices used in a composition. It also refers to specific instrumental techniques. Specific instrumental techniques are often used to create different timbres.

Techniques

Instrumental techniques are the ways in which an instrument can be played, such as pizzicato, glissando, tremolando, vibrato and a variety of other instrumental techniques.

Sonority - strings

Western music

Go listen to some string music on youtube. You probably know what strings sound like.

String techniques

Pizzicato, glissando, staccato, tremolo, vibrato and a variety of other instrumental techniques are used on string instruments.

Orchestration

The orchestration of a piece of music is how the instruments are arranged together or scored, ie which instruments (or instrumental families) play the melody and which play the accompaniment.

The string section (violin, viola, cello and double bass) is the foundation of the orchestra. The string orchestra is also its own ensemble. String instruments have been used as solo instruments from the Baroque period through to the 20th century. You can hear a solo violin in the concerto here:

You can hear the strings being a key part of the orchestral texture in Mozart’s Symphony No. 40. Go find it on youtube.

Sonority - woodwind

Folk music features a range of wind instruments including bagpipes and whistles.

The use of woodwind instruments depends on the period of music. In the Baroque period woodwind instruments were generally independent from the strings and had their own melodic line. Woodwind instruments used in the Baroque period included oboes, recorders, flutes and occasionally bassoons. You can hear flutes accompanied by strings in the opening of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 4.

In the Classical period, woodwind instruments typically played more of an accompanying role. You can hear this in Mozart’s Symphony No. 40.

In the Romantic period and the 20th century, woodwind instruments became more individually important and composers often used single instruments for their particular sonorities.

Woodwind instruments were also used as solo instruments in concertos throughout in the Classical and Romantic periods, and in 20th century music.

Sonority - brass

Much like woodwind instruments, the use of brass instruments in the orchestra depends on the period of music.

In the Baroque period the high trumpet was used in a lot of orchestral music.

In the Classical period brass instruments (French horn, trumpets) mainly accompanied the strings. When the valved trumpet was developed by Anton Weidinger, Haydn wrote a trumpet concerto to explore the full range of this trumpet. Mozart also wrote five horn concertos.

In the Romantic period and beyond, brass instruments gained more independence in orchestral music. Brass instruments were often used by composers for their distinctive sonorities.

Techniques

As well as general instrumental techniques, brass writing often includes the use of mutes. A mute in a brass instrument makes the music quieter and changes the sonority of the instrument. You can hear this in the head section of Miles Davis’ All Blues:

The ‘wah wah’ effect of a brass instrument is created by the performer by moving a hand in and out of the bell of the instrument (usually a trumpet).

Sonority - percussion

In the Baroque and Classical periods the percussion section of the orchestra was limited to the timpani. During the Romantic period the percussion section grew. Cymbals, triangles and bass drums became important parts of the untuned percussion section. The xylophone, glockenspiel and related instruments formed the tuned percussion section. In the Romantic period and beyond, the percussion became a much larger part of orchestral music.

Popular music

The percussion in popular music is mostly provided by the drum kit. The main roles of the drum players are to maintain a steady beat and to add rhythmic interest to pop song.

Here is a labelled drum kit:

Drum terms and techniques

Four-to-the-floor

This term refers to the four crotchets in 4/4 time played on the bass drum. Four-to-the-floor is often used in disco music and electronic dance music.

Back beat

Back beat is when the snare drum plays on beats 2 and 4 of 4/4 time. This is often found in pop ballads.

Drum roll

A drum roll is a rapid succession of beats sounded on a drum. It is often used to introduce an announcement or event.

Rim shot

A rim shot is a drum stroke in which the stick strikes the rim and the head of the drum at the same time.

Sonority - electronic instruments

Electronic instruments were developed during the 20th century. They are an essential part of modern popular music.

Electric guitar and bass guitar

An electric guitar uses a pickup to convert the vibration of the strings into electrical signals. These signals are amplified when an instrument is connected to an amplifier. The electric guitar is common in rock music and can also be found in other types of popular music. Bass guitars have lower notes than regular electric guitars.

Guitar techniques

Electric guitarists and bassists are able to vary the sound by using a variety of guitar playing techniques.

Bottleneck

Bottleneck is a technique of playing guitar by sliding a tube made of metal or glass along the guitar strings to alter the pitch. This technique is often found in bluegrass music.

Distortion

Distortion happens when an amplified sound is changed to create a fuzzy or growling tone on a guitar. This is usually done using a pedal. Distortion is also called overdrive and is common in heavy metal and rock music.

Harmonics

There are two kinds of harmonic on the guitar:

Natural harmonic

A natural harmonic is a musical note produced by reducing or amplifying vibrations of overtones on a guitar string. A natural harmonic is usually played by lightly placing a finger on a string halfway or a quarter of the way along its length. When the string is picked it vibrates at a higher frequency than the fundamental tone. This produces a higher pitched overtone.

Pinch harmonic

A pinch harmonic is produced when the player's thumb or index finger slightly catches the string at a point near the pickups after it is picked. This cancels the fundamental tone of the string, but does not cancel its overtones. The result is a high pitch squeal.

Pitch bend

When a guitarist bends pitch they push a string across or over the fingerboard with the left hand. The string gets tighter and the pitch goes up. This is found in a number of different popular music styles.

Pull offs

This technique is used by guitarists to create a more legato sound. The guitarist picks one note on the string and then quickly uses a finger on their left hand to pull off the next note.

Palm mute

Palm mute is when a player places the side of the picking hand below the little finger across the strings to be plucked, very close to the bridge. The strings are then plucked while they are dampened. This produces a muted sound. Palm mute is often indicated with “PM” and then a line.

Synthesiser

A synthesiser is an electronic musical instrument. It is typically operated through a keyboard, and produces a wide variety of sounds by generating and combining signals of different frequencies. The band Kraftwerk popularised electronic music by using synthesisers, drum machines and vocoders.

Drum machine

A drum machine is a synthesiser designed to reproduce the sounds of a drum kit. It was often used in disco music and continues to be used in club dance music.

Vocoder

The vocoder is a machine that synthesises the human voice. Effects and transformations can be added afterwards.

Turntable

A turntable is a circular revolving plate on which records are placed. They are used by DJs and also known as decks.

Computer

Computers are a very important part of modern music technology, particularly for sampling.

Sonority - voices

There are many different forms of music composed for vocal performance.

Vocal range

Here are the main vocal ranges from highest to lowest.

Solos and ensembles

In classical music the soprano, alto, tenor and bass - SATB - choir is a key part of church music, madrigals and opera choruses.

Choral music

Different types of choir include mixed choirs - usually with parts for SATB - male voice choirs, female choirs and a cappella ensembles.

A church choir comprising soprano, alto, tenor and bass singers

A cappella ensembles are unaccompanied choruses. Ladysmith Black Mambazo are an a cappella Zulu male voice choir from South Africa. African songs are usually either strophic - split up into verses - or in call-and-response form.

In call-and-response form the leader sings a line - the call - and is answered by a chorus - the response. The chorus usually stays the same while the soloist improvises. There is often overlapping between the leader and the chorus. The chorus part is usually homophonic – in block chords.

Listen to the call and response used in The Star and the Wiseman sung by Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Notice the homophonic response parts.

Solo song

Different types of solo song include lieder, arias, ballads and folk songs.

The solo voice has been used in arias, solo songs and popular songs in all kinds of styles.

Lieder

Lieder - pronounced leeder - are German art songs from the Romantic period - roughly the 19th century.

Arias

Arias are solo songs found in operas and oratorio.

An opera is a drama set to music, acted and sung by solo singers and accompanied by an orchestra.

One of the most famous operatic tenor arias is “Nessun Dorma” - No one shall sleep - from Puccini’s opera Turandot. This impassioned lyrical aria famously ends on a high sustained B. The voice is accompanied by orchestra and choir.

An oratorio is a setting of religious words for solo singers, chorus and orchestra. Unlike an opera, an oratorio is not staged. Messiah, by Handel, is the most popular oratorio.

Da capo arias were common in the 18th century. A da capo aria is where the voice returns to the head of the score (da capo) and repeats the first section of the music. It was common for the soloist to add ornamentation when the first section was repeated.

Pop ballads

Stevie Wonder

Ballads

Are slow, often sentimental, love songs.
Sometimes tell a story.
Are usually in verse-chorus form.
Emphasise melody and lyrics - the accompaniment is often secondary.
Are often accompanied on guitar or keyboard.
Are found in many styles of pop music.

Some famous ballad singers are Frank Sinatra, eg My Way, Elvis Presley, eg Always on my Mind and Stevie Wonder, eg My Cherie Amour.

Folk song

British and American folk songs:

often have a simple strummed guitar accompaniment
are sometimes unaccompanied
are usually in verse form - strophic
sometimes, but not always, have choruses
emphasise lyrics that often tell a story and sometimes have a political message
place secondary importance on the accompaniment, with simple harmony and strummed chords

Examples of well-known folk songs are The Foggy Dew, She Moved Through the Fair and Freight Train – English, Irish and American respectively.

Vocal techniques

Different techniques are used to change the nature of the voice.

Vibrato

Vibrato is the pitch of the voice rapidly changing up and down. It gives notes warmth and richness. This technique is used a lot by opera singers.

Falsetto

When a male singer sings in the soprano or alto range he is singing falsetto. The voice type is known as countertenor.

Belting

Belting is when a singer uses their chest voice and pushes out the sound, often found in popular music and jazz. The effect can sometimes sound like shouting if not performed effectively.

Scat

Scat singing is a type of vocal improvisation using wordless or nonsense syllables. Ella Fitzgerald was known as a scat singer.

Rap

Rap is when an artist speaks words rhythmically and quickly over an instrumental or electronic backing.

Beatboxing

This is when a voice imitates the sounds of a drum machine. Beatboxing is popular in hip-hop music.

Medium / Instrumentation / Timbre of Different Instruments / What Instruments make up the Ensemble?

Learn about the different types of Ensembles (textbook)

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2XBMRkY9S4KQjFhNTIyVGdYYm8

Western Musical Instruments (textbook)

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B2XBMRkY9S4KT2pQSDNvcUotZDQ

Identify these 9 instruments from around the world:

https://www.fromthegrapevine.com/quizzes/arts/can-you-name-these-9-musical-instruments-around-world

Music Instruments from Renaissance to 19th Century - Text Book

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2XBMRkY9S4KcWx5cTNaWU9wN1U

Instrument Classifications According to the Manner in Which the Sound is Produced

If you want to find out more about this sort of classification, I recommend reading about the Hornbostel-Sac System, which classifies instruments in this way and then further according to how the player interacts with the instrument and how the instrument is constructed.

In an aerophone, the vibrating element is a column of air. Aerophones include most woodwind and brass instruments, as well as organ pipes.

In an idiophone, the vibrating element is the body of the instrument itself. Idiophones include woodblocks and cymbals.

In a membranophone, the vibrating element is a membrane or skin. Membranophones include drums of all shapes and sizes.

In a chordophone, the vibrating element is a string. Chordophones include the string instruments of the orchestra, pianos, harps and guitars.

A metallophone is any musical instrument consisting of tuned metal bars which are struck to make sound, usually with a mallet. Metallophones have been used in music in Asia for thousands of years.

The electrophone category was added to the Hornbostel-Sachs musical instrument classification system by Sachs in 1940, to describe instruments involving electricity. Sachs divided his 5th category into 3 subcategories:

51=electrically actuated acoustic instruments (e.g., pipe organ with electronic tracker action)

52=electrically amplified acoustic instruments (e.g., acoustic guitar with pickup)

53=instruments which make sound primarily by way of electrically driven oscillators

The last category includes instruments such as theremins or synthesizers, which he called radioelectric instruments.

Recently a number of instruments have been invented, designed, and made, that make sound from matter in its liquid state. This new class of instruments is called hydraulophones. Hydraulophones use an incompressible fluid, such as water, as the initial sound-producing medium, and they may also use the hydraulic fluid as a user-interface. See video here.

Another category of instruments has recently been invented that use matter in higher energy states, such as plasma, to produce the initial sound. These instruments are called plasmaphones. As flame is matter in a high energy state the class comprises the much older pyrophones.

A pyrophone, also known as a "fire/explosion organ" or "fire/explosion calliope" is a musical instrument in which notes are sounded by explosions, or similar forms of rapid combustion, rapid heating, or the like, such as burners in cylindrical glass tubes, creating light and sound. Video HERE.

Quizlet on the Hornbostel-Sachs Classification System

https://quizlet.com/220070128/ib-music-medium-sachs-hornbostel-classification-system-flash-cards/

Experiment with Timbre Interactive - Hear how 2 different instrument sound when combined together

https://experiments.withgoogle.com/ai/sound-maker/view/

Families of Musical Instruments

Musical instruments are grouped into families based on how they make sounds. In an orchestra, musicians sit together in these family groupings. But not every instrument fits neatly into a group. For example, the piano has strings that vibrate, and hammers that strike. Is it a string instrument or a percussion instrument? Some say it is both!

Brass

Brass instruments are made of brass or some other metal and make sound when air is blown inside. The musician's lips must buzz, as though making a "raspberry" noise against the mouthpiece. Air then vibrates inside the instrument, which produces a sound.

Brass instruments include trumpet, trombone, tuba, French horn, cornet, and bugle.

Percussion

Most percussion instruments make sounds when they are hit, such as a drum or a tambourine. Others are shaken, such as maracas, and still others may be rubbed, scratched, or whatever else will make the instrument vibrate and thus produce a sound.

Percussion instruments include drums, cymbals, triangle, chimes, tam-tam, glockenspiel, timpani, bells, and xylophone.

Strings

Yes, the sounds of string instruments come from their strings. The strings may be plucked, as in a guitar or harp; bowed, as with a cello or a violin; or struck, as with a dulcimer. This creates a vibration that causes a unique sound.

Stringed instruments include the violin, viola, cello, bass, harp, and dulcimer.

Woodwinds

Woodwind instruments produce sound when air (wind) is blown inside. Air might be blown across an edge, as with a flute; between a reed and a surface, as with a clarinet; or between two reeds, as with a bassoon. The sound happens when the air vibrates inside.

Woodwind instruments include flute, piccolo, clarinet, recorder, bassoon, and oboe.

Audio / Video Examples of MEDIUM:

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