Chapter 2: Performing Media Voices and Instruments

DC - Music Appreciation

Voices

One of the oldest instruments. Singing has been the most widespread and familiar way of making music. Voices sound different because of bone structure. Singing is difficult because of wider ranges of pitch and volumes of sound. You have to have great control of breath. Styles of singing are different not just because of genre but also culture.

Voice Ranges

Women:

-Soprano

-Mezzo-Soprano

-Alto (or contra alto)

Men:

-tenor

-baritone

-bass

Instruments

chordophone, aerophone, membranophone, idiophone

chordophone

Sound is produced by the vibration of a string. ex: violin, guitar, viola.

aerophone

Sound is produced by air. Ex: saxophone, trumpet, tuba

membranophone

Sound is produced by the vibration of a membrane. Ex: drum

Idiophone

Sound is produced by the vibration of the instrument itself. Ex: triangle, cymbals, tambourine

String instruments

Members of the same family all produce sound in the same way. Big instruments produce low sounds, small instruments produce high sounds.

String family

-Violin

-Viola

-Cello

-Bass

Woodwind family

-flute

-clarinet

-saxophone

-oboe

-bassoon

flute

blowing air over an open hole causes vibrations producing sound and pressing the keys changes the pitch.

clarinet

a single reed instrument that you blow on a reed and it vibrates and produces sound.

saxophone

a single reed instrument that you blow on a reed and it vibrates and produces sound.

oboe

double reed instrument uses two reeds that vibrate against each other and produce sound

bassoon

double reed instrument that uses two reeds to vibrate against each other to produce sound.

brass family

-trumpet

-french horn

-trombone

-tuba

trumpet

Used for military to alert people, very important.

french horn

invented by Germans

trombone

changes pitch by a slide

tuba

biggest lowest instrument

percussion family

members of this family are idiophones and membranophones

-drum

-triangle

-tambourine

-marimba

-xylophone

keyboard family

-harpsichord

-piano

-pipe organ

harpsichord

can only play one dynamic level which why the piano was produced later. String vibrates through hammer. high-tension strings

piano

produced in the 1700s can play multiple dynamic levels. has plucked strings in order to play soft. Standard instrument in most music today.

pipe organ

can sound a lot like different instruments. lots of buttons to produce different sound. 5 keyboards bc keyboards produce different levels of sound, you also have to play with your feet.