Acoustics, Instruments, & Voices UNIT 3

ACOUSTICS - WHAT IS IT? Acoustics is the science of sound.

PROPERTIES OF ACOUSTICS All sound is caused by vibration (air that is set in motion). Sound is measured in vibrations per second (VPS) (also referred to as its frequency)

PROPERTIES OF ACOUSTICS Human hearing can hear from roughly ,000 vps. Sound waves push sound from the source to your ear.

Frequency = pitch (# of vps) Amplitude = volume (height of wave) Can you hear me now?

ACOUSTIC LAWS OF TUBES The following laws apply specifically to brass and woodwind instruments: I.The longer the tube is, the lower the pitch. (piccolo)piccolo II.The wider the tube (the girth) is, the lower the pitch. (tuba)tuba

ACOUSTIC LAWS OF STRINGS The longer the string is, the lower the pitch. The thicker the string is, the lower the pitch. The tighter the string is, the higher the pitch. (tuning strings)tuning strings

ACOUSTIC LAWS OF PERCUSSION INSTRUMENTS The tighter the drum head is, the higher the pitch or sound produced. The larger the drum is, the lower the sound/pitch produced. Example – TimpaniTimpani Example – Snare drumSnare drum

THE HUMAN VOICE

When classifying voice types we first separate individuals according to gender. Women are typically assigned to higher voice parts whereas men are assigned lower pitched voice parts, due to vocal capabilities.

THE HUMAN VOICE Voices are separated into 4 categories based on pitch range – SATB: Soprano (highest female) Alto (lowest female) Tenor (highest male) Bass (lowest male)

WOMENS VOICE TYPES Soprano Mezzo (medium) Coloratura (very high) Alto (aka Contralto)

MENS VOICE TYPES Tenor (higher voice) Baritone (very limited voice range) Bass (lower voice)

KEYBOARD INSTRUMENTS

HARPSICHORD Early ancestor of the piano. After pressing a key, a mechanism inside would pluck a string to produce a note. Extremely popular from the 16 th -18 th century. Typically used in the orchestra. Had two keyboards as well as multiple foot pedals.

Listen to the Harpsichord!

CELESTA Invented in Treated more as a percussion instrument. Unlike the piano and harpsichord, metal bars were placed inside. When pressing a key a bar was struck with a hammer to produce a note.

About the Celesta

PIANO Invented in the early 18 th century. Replaced the harpsichord. Inside, strings are struck with a hammer to produce notes when a key is pressed. Has a large range of notes and is capable of playing at different dynamic levels unlike its predecessors.

Listen to the Piano! Listen to some MORE piano…

PIPE ORGAN Although it contains a keyboard, it is also a wind instrument. Common in churches. Electronic organs also exist which imitate the timbre of the pipe organ.

A little bit about the Pipe Organ…

INSTRUMENTS OF THE ORCHESTRA

STRING INSTRUMENTS String instruments are typically played using a bow (arco). Legato bowing – connects sound smoothly. Staccato bowing – sounds are short, separated. Tremolo – Bow is moved back and forth rapidly on a string. You may also play string instruments without using the bow. Pizzicato – String is plucked with a finger, not bowed. Let’s watch a demonstration…

STRING INSTRUMENTS OF THE MODERN ORCHESTRA Violin (Soprano) example Viola (Alto) example Cello (Tenor) example Bass (Bass) example Harp example

BRASS INSTRUMENTS

BRASS INSTRUMENTS Members of this family are constructed of metal and brass. Brass is used because of its strength and the ease with which it can be manipulated. Sound is produced using a metal mouthpiece. Players must buzz their lips. This vibration causes the sound. Brass instruments use valves to change their pitch. Each valve increases the length of tubing that air travels through, thus it causes the pitch to drop. Here’s how valves work!Here’s how valves work! The only member of this family that does not use valves is the trombone. Instead, it uses the slide to change pitch.

BRASS INSTRUMENTS In this family there is a member for each pitch range. Trumpet (Soprano) French Horn (Alto) Trombone (Tenor) Tuba (Bass)

WOODWIND INSTRUMENTS

THE WOODWIND FAMILY All woodwind instruments use keys to change their pitch. These keys cover tiny holes in the instruments when they are pressed. The family is divided into 3 groups. No Reed Single Reed Double Reed

WOODWINDS: NO REEDS Flute (video) & Piccolo (video) (soprano) These instruments use the edge blown method of sound production. Instrumentalists blow a column of air over a hole in the instrument to get a sound. This is similar to blowing across an empty bottle.

WOODWINDS: SINGLE REED Clarinet (A) (video)video Bass Clarinet (B) (video)video Saxophones (SATB) (video)video Reed – A thin piece of reed cane that is attached to the instruments mouthpiece. Instrumentalists blow into the mouthpiece which causes the reed to vibrate, producing a sound.

WOODWINDS: DOUBLE REED When the instrumentalist blows air through the two reeds they vibrate against each other and produce a sound. The double reed causes these instruments to have a tight, or nasal, timbre. Oboe (Alto) (video) Bassoon (Tenor) (video) Contrabassoon (Bass) (video)

PERCUSSION INSTRUMENTS

All percussion instruments produce their sound by being hit (struck) or shaken. Percussion instruments are divided into TWO categories based on the type of sound they produce.

PITCHED PERCUSSION These instruments can produce actual pitch just like a brass, woodwind or keyboard instrument. Timpani (video)video Xylophone (video)video Piano Chimes (video)video Bells These instruments read standard notation (staff, notes, etc.)

UNPITCHED PERCUSSION These percussion instruments produce sounds, not pitches. Since these instruments do not produce pitch, they do not use regular notation (rhythm staff instead of standard). Snare drum (video) Bass drum (video) Cymbals (video) Tam-tam/Gong (video)

ENSEMBLES Voices and instruments can be combined into numerous ensembles. There are traditional combinations with which you should be familiar.

VOCAL ENSEMBLES Voices can be combined into a variety of choral ensembles. Sometimes choral music is performed acappella, other times it is accompanied by any number of instruments. A full chorus would use all four voice ranges, and therefore be notated SATB. (video)video A women’s chorus would use only S and A voices (SSAA). (video)video A men’s chorus would use only T and B voices (TTBB). (video)video

CHAMBER ENSEMBLES A chamber ensemble usually consists of a very small number of instruments or voices (10 or less). String Quartet – 2 violins, 1 viola, 1 cello. Vitamin String Quartet Classical String Quartet Duos, trios, quartets (variety of instruments) Brass quintet exampleexample Woodwind quartet exampleexample Piano trio exampleexample Chamber ensembles can perform any type of music they wish.

ORCHESTRA The birth of the orchestra took place during the baroque period ( ). The modern orchestra is based on the composition of the Romantic orchestra. The overall size of the ensemble can vary according to the composers desires. Orchestras played an important role in accompanying ballets and operas.

ORCHESTRA STRINGS are dominant: Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass, Harp Woodwinds: Flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon Brass: Trumpet, French horn, trombone, tuba Various percussion (most notably timpani) Example of a STRING orchestra Example of a SYMPHONY orchestra

BAND Developed out of the military bands. It performs music for its own sake rather than for operas and ballets. Unlike orchestras and choruses, there was no serious repertoire until the 20 th century. Typically made up of members from the brass, woodwind and percussion families. Limited strings may be added on occasion.

BAND There are various types of bands, each specializing in a specific genre of band music. Marching Band (video) Concert Band (video) Symphonic Band Wind Ensemble