1. Performing Media: Voices & Instruments
8/24/17
Part 1, Section 2

2. Voices Unique ability to fuse word with musical tone
In many cultures, poetry & singing are inseparable
Most music was vocal music until the late 1600’s
Singing well is difficult
Use wider range of pitch & volume than in speaking
Hold vowel sounds longer
Greater supply of breath
Range of singers
Untrained voice: 1.5 octaves
Professional: 2+ octaves
Voices

3. Voice Types Women: Soprano (highest) Mezzo-Soprano (medium)
Alto* (lowest)
*May also hear Contralto
Men:
Tenor (highest)
Baritone (medium)
Bass (lowest)

4. How We Sing: The Physical Breakdown
Air from lungs is controlled by lower abdominal muscles & diaphragm
Air makes vocal cords vibrate
Pitch of tone varies with tension of the vocal cords
Tighter = higher pitch
Lungs, throat, mouth & nose help produce desired sound

5. Musical Instruments
-Any mechanism, other than the voice, that produces musical sounds

6. General Information about Instruments
Often in different sizes that produce different ranges
I.e. saxophones - soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass
Instrument’s tone color may vary with the register
Definition of register: part of the total range
Most instruments have a wider range than the voice (often 3-4+ octaves)
Instruments have been used for communication
Drums with the military, hunters blow horns, announce time by sounding brass instruments from towers
Musical instruments have been status symbols
’s - Proper young ladies played, “middle class” houses had one

7. String Instruments Form the symphony orchestra’s string section
String instruments are usually played with a bow
Slightly curved stick strung tightly with horse hair
Violin (highest)
Viola (medium high)
Cello (medium low)
Double Bass (lowest)

8. String Terms Pizzicato - plucked strings
Double stop - two notes at once (a chord)
Vibrato - creating pitch fluctuations & making the tone warmer by rocking left hand while pressing string down
Tremolo - rapidly repeat tones by quick up-and-down strokes of bow, creates a sense of tension when loud or shimmering when soft
Harmonics - high-pitched tones (like a whistle) produced by lightly touching certain points of the string
*NOTE: Don’t forget, the Harp & Guitar are also string instruments!

9. Produce vibrations of air within a tube that traditionally was made of wood
Families of woodwinds sound very different compared to string instr.
Flute Family
Piccolo & Flute
Clarinet Family
Clarinet & Bass Clarinet
Oboe Family
Oboe & English horn
Bassoon Family
Bassoon & Contrabassoon
Saxophone Family
Alto & Bari Saxophone
Woodwind Instruments

11. Woodwinds Continued Most woodwind instruments require a reed
Reed - Thin piece of cane that is set into vibration by a stream of air
Single & Double-reed instruments
Tone colors vary between instruments & between registers
Only produce one note at a time

12. Brass Instruments
Vibrations come from the musician’s lips as they blow into a cup or funnel-shaped mouthpiece
Vibrations are amplified as they travel through the coiled tube & out the bell
Modern brass instruments are made of metal, but earlier horns were made of animals horns, elephant tusks, wood, or even glass
The pitch of brass instruments is regulated by varying lip tension & by using slides & valves to change the length of the tube
Brass players can alter the tone color of their instrument by inserting a mute

13. Trombone
Trumpet
French Horn
Tuba
Brass Instruments

14. Percussion Instruments
Most are struck by hand or with sticks/hammers, but some are shaken or rubbed
Definite Pitch:
Timpani
Glockenspiel
Xylophone
Celesta
Chimes
Indefinite Pitch:
Snare Drum Gong
Bass Drum
Tambourine
Triangle
Cymbal

15. This group are quite different from one another in terms of how the sound is created
All can play several notes at once
All have a similar keyboard top
Keyboard instruments include:
Harpsichord - plucked strings
Pipe organ - air blown across pipes, includes pedal keyboard, dynamic changes require more/less pipes, many tones, static
Piano - hammered strings, has dynamic flexibility
Accordion - steel reeds vibrate by air pressure from a bellows
Keyboard Instruments

16. Keyboard Terms Pianoforte - soft-loud
Damper - felt damper that comes down on string of piano to end the tone
Damper pedal - right, sustain tones even after keys are released
Una corda pedal - left, veils the sound, “soft pedal”
Sostenuto pedal - middle, often missing, sustains some tones without sustaining others
Plectra - little wedges of plastic/leather/quill that pluck strings of harpsichord

17. Electronic Instruments
Synthesizers- systems of electronic components that generate, modify & control sound
Analog synthesis - mixture of complex sounds that are shaped by filtering
Effects devices - reverberators, echo devices, stereo splitters; used in almost all recorded music & live
Computers - used as control devices to MIDI equipmt.
Computer music - some or all sounds are generated & manipulated by computer