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| Author |
Message |
keesan
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Favorite instrument(s)
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Feb 24 04:17 UTC 1998 |
Do you have a favorite musical instrument or instruments for
listening to? What pieces feature it?
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| 64 responses total. |
keesan
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response 1 of 64:
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Feb 24 04:19 UTC 1998 |
I like both the French horn (as in Mozart's horn concerto) and the cello
(Dvorak). All I can think of that they have in common is the range, which
is such that I can hum along. I would appreciate suggestions of other
composers and pieces that feature either or both. (By the way, what range
do cello and horn usually play?) What makes the French horn sound so
different from the other brass instruments?
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mary
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response 2 of 64:
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Feb 24 15:22 UTC 1998 |
The cello has a four octave range (not counting a high funky
harmonic). The lowest note is played on an open C string
which is two octaves below middle C. A cellist reads three
clefs - base, tenor and treble.
If I were attempting to seduce someone into loving the cello
I'd suggest one work above all others, Bach's Six Suites
for Unaccompainied Cello.
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orinoco
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response 3 of 64:
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Feb 24 21:50 UTC 1998 |
Probably violin, although I confess I've been falling in love with Bach's
organ music of late.
The different sound of the french horn comes from the fact that its bore -
the way the walls of the brass tube angle - is different, and it has a
differently shaped mouthpiece.
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faile
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response 4 of 64:
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Feb 24 23:08 UTC 1998 |
Obviously, I have to put a good word in for the bass here, but I have to admit
that I'm not really all that fond of bass solo music. I suppose if I was
trying to convince someone to love the bass, I'd sit them down and make them
listen to some Mahler (Although not too much.... Mahler tends to get a trife
long, but definately teh opening of hte third movement of teh first symphony),
some jazz, perhaps one of the Bach unaccompanied cello suites played at pitch
on the bass (we read bass clef, and sound an octave below where it is
written), though only by a good bass player (not Gary Karr!), and some of
Edgar Meyer's recordings.
Other than that, I'd have to say that I'm very fond of the English
Horn... if it is played well... poorly played, it sounds like a sick goose.
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keesan
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response 5 of 64:
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Feb 25 00:49 UTC 1998 |
#2. My range is also centered on middle C, though it is much narrower than
that of the cello. What range is English horn? And are there any nice pieces
that feature it? (I also like the Bach cello suites.)
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orinoco
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response 6 of 64:
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Feb 25 03:28 UTC 1998 |
Mozart's written some good horn concerti, I belive.
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faile
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response 7 of 64:
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Feb 26 21:32 UTC 1998 |
Well, mu stupid music theory book doesnt' list the range of the English horn,
but from expreince, the range is somewhat lower than that of an obew, though
nt nearly so low as a basson.... (Just to make sure it's clear, the instrument
I'm talking about is the English horn, which is a double reed instrument which
looks like a big oboe with an onion stuck in the bell. The French horn is
that bras instrument with all the nifty curvy tubing)... a good peice for
English Horn would be Dvorak's New World Symphony or the middle section of
the William Tell Overture by Rossini.
The Range of the French Horn is From roughly a C two octaves below
middle C (though it isn't areally pretty note), to the F on the top line of
teh treble clef staff.
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keesan
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response 8 of 64:
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Feb 26 22:15 UTC 1998 |
Again, it sounds like my range is centered in the middle of the range of the
French horn, maybe English horn is the same?
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orinoco
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response 9 of 64:
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Feb 27 03:24 UTC 1998 |
According to Walter Piston's _Orchestration_, the English Horn's lowest note
is the F below middle C. It doesn't list a high note, but since the English
Horn is more or less an Oboe pitched a fifth lower, I'd guess it to be around
the C above the staff.
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faile
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response 10 of 64:
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Feb 27 09:29 UTC 1998 |
Thank you.
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keesan
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response 11 of 64:
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Feb 27 18:58 UTC 1998 |
Which instrument normally plays in the range closest to:
E below middle C through E above high C (or a bit lower, I sound
rather squeaky by the time I attempt high C)?
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orinoco
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response 12 of 64:
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Feb 27 22:48 UTC 1998 |
Would that be a clarinet?
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keesan
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response 13 of 64:
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Feb 28 03:13 UTC 1998 |
I have one around somewhere that I played a long time ago, should check.
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albaugh
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response 14 of 64:
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Mar 2 18:17 UTC 1998 |
The Bb Clarinet (which sounds a whole step lower than the notes it plays)
ranges from the [concert] D below middle C to (practically speaking) the G
above the treble clef. So orinoco is right on. As was as his/her (? :-)
comments about the English Horn: Though capable of fingering/playing notes
to above its written C above the treble clef, it would sound much like a goose
being strangled at that upper limit.
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keesan
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response 15 of 64:
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Mar 2 20:16 UTC 1998 |
If by the G above the treble clef you mean G above high C, then the clarinet
range (B flat) is identical with the range they expected of the second altos
in a choir I once sang in. I doubt anyone managed the whole range.
Of the three tapes I pulled out to listen to while insulating on
Sunday, one was Gluck for flute, one was the Mozart Horn Concerto and one was
Bach's cellos suites (totally random selection, I did not look first). I
tried singing along, and found that both cello and french horn top notes are
well within my upper range on both tapes, but both go a couple of notes lower,
however I could sing the horn part an octave up and it sounded fine. Does
the french horn have a lot of volume on the higher harmonics? How does the
frequency distribution compare for french horn and other brass, and for brass
and strings or woodwinds?
Which instrument has a frequency distribution closest to human?
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orinoco
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response 16 of 64:
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Mar 3 03:14 UTC 1998 |
Well, both instruments get compared to the human voice quite often, as does
the baritone sax, which also operates in a similar range. Beyond that, I
don't really know...
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albaugh
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response 17 of 64:
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Mar 4 17:01 UTC 1998 |
Re: Bb Clarinet top range: 4th ledger line high [concert] G.
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orinoco
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response 18 of 64:
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Mar 5 18:58 UTC 1998 |
Wow...that a much broader range than I'd expected
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keesan
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response 19 of 64:
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Mar 5 21:47 UTC 1998 |
Yes, but I don't think the clarinet often plays that high.
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albaugh
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response 20 of 64:
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Mar 5 22:16 UTC 1998 |
Depends on what kind of music. Jazz clarinetist routinely roam around above
the staff lots. Orchestral works, probably not routinely or a whole lot.
Band music, where clarinets are surrogate violins, the first section will play
many passages in the written range of C to F, sometimes G or even A; this is
very common in marches.
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keesan
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response 21 of 64:
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Mar 6 20:21 UTC 1998 |
I find that the higher ranges of most instruments, including voice, are
painful to listen to. Maybe that's why I like cello and horn. Why have
sopranoes been so popular, is it that people like the sound or admire their
ability to sing near-impossible notes?
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orinoco
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response 22 of 64:
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Mar 6 21:23 UTC 1998 |
I actually don't like the tone of the traditional operatic soprano voice -
it's too shrill and almost sickly-sounding for me. I think the shrillness
of the high ranges of even low instruments comes from the fact that their
bodies are made to resonate well to much lower notes.
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rcurl
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response 23 of 64:
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Mar 7 06:47 UTC 1998 |
Sopranos are so popular because they sing beautifully. Those terms "painful"
and "shrillness" are entirely in the listener (obviously), and I don't
share those opinions.
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mary
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response 24 of 64:
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Mar 7 13:55 UTC 1998 |
High notes, done well, sound precarious and thrilling, especially when
they are sustained and solo. It's a little like watching a high-wire act,
you know it's dangerous and failure won't be pretty. It's a high-brow
adrenaline rush. ;-)
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