Timbre
The Elements of Music
Timbre
 Timbre is the type of sound that is made. This
can mean the instrument playing or the
quality of the sound the instrument is making.
Most instruments are capable of many
different timbres.
The Instruments
 There are four groups of instruments.
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Strings
Woodwinds
Brass
Percussion
The Orchestra
Strings
 The String section has the most players in it - sometimes as
many as 60. This is because it takes many strings to create a
rich sound that balances well with the wood winds, brass and
percussion.
 There are four kinds of stringed instruments in the orchestra:
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Violins
Violas
Cellos
Double basses
 All are made of wood and have a similar curvy shape, but their
sizes are different.
Strings
 All stringed instruments have strings stretched over
them. The strings are made of gut, steel, or nylon.
They are played with a bow - a long stick that has
horsehair attached to it.
 Usually the bow is prepared with resin and drawn
across the strings. This is called bowing.
 Stringed instruments can also be struck with the bow.
Or they can be played by plucking or strumming the
strings with the fingers.
The Violin and Viola
 The violin is the smallest
member of the string family.
Because its strings are the
shortest, it produces the
highest sound.
 The viola is not often heard
by itself. Because it is bigger
than the violin, with longer
strings, it makes a rich, warm
sound that is lower in pitch.
Cello
 The cello plays even lower
than the viola - a whole
octave lower. To support its
longer strings, it's more than
twice as big as the viola - too
big to support on one arm!
It's heavy, too. So cellists sit
down, resting the instrument
upright against their bodies.
They use an endpin and
their knees to keep it in
place.
Double Bass
 The double bass is the
orchestra's foundation. They
are the largest of all the
stringed instruments, and
play the lowest notes.
 At six feet or even more, it's
often taller than the person
who plays it. Bassists have
to stand up to play. Some
double bassists perch on a
high stool.
 string ensemble
Woodwinds
 Woodwinds can be made of wood, plastic, or
metal.
 Except for the flute they all use reeds to make
sound.
 All reeds are used in the orchestra except for
the saxophone. Because it was invented later
than the other instruments it is only used in
more modern pieces.
The Flute
 Flutes are usually made of
metal, but sometimes you
will see flutes made of wood.
Flutes are some of the
highest instruments in the
orchestra, and they are very
good at playing fast, detailed
music.
 The very highest-pitched
instrument in the orchestra is
a kind of flute, but it plays a
whole octave higher. It's
called the piccolo
The Clarinet
 You can hear the
smooth, velvety sound
of the clarinet in
orchestras, military
bands, and jazz groups.
Clarinets are made of
wood or molded plastic.
The standard "B-flat"
clarinet is a little more
than two feet long.
Bass Clarinet
 A bass clarinet is shaped
differently. Because it is
larger than the B-flat clarinet,
it plays lower and can take
on a mysterious quality. It is
played in the same way as
the standard clarinet, but
because it is much longer, it
has an endpin that slides out
of the bottom of the
instrument to help prop it up
on the floor.
Oboe and Bassoon
 The oboe looks very similar to
the clarinet, but sounds very
different! Oboes are made of
wood, and their sound is
produced by blowing air through
a thin double reed at the upper
end of the instrument.
 The bassoon is a double-reed
woodwind instrument. It has
almost 8 feet of wooden tubing,
bent into a narrow U-shape. The
reed is secured in a curved
metal tube. Bassoons are the
largest woodwind instruments in
the orchestra
 woodwind quartet
The Saxophone
 The saxophone is classified
as a woodwind because it is
played using a reed. But it's
made of brass. It's a kind of
a cross between a woodwind
and a brass instrument. The
saxophone has a single reed
and a mouthpiece like a
clarinet, but it has a metal
body with a flared bell. There
are four major types of
saxophones, each playing a
different range of notes:
soprano, alto, tenor, and
baritone.
 saxophone ensemble
Brass
 The wind instruments belonging to the brass family
are usually made of brass, however, they can also be
made of other metals -- or of wood, tusk, horn, or
shell.
 Brass players produce sound by blowing into the
mouthpiece of the instrument. To set the air in
motion, they "buzz" their lips together. Their lips are
acting much like the reeds of the woodwinds.
 Some brass family members that play in the
orchestra are the trumpet, the horn, the trombone,
and the tuba.
Trumpet
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The loud, clear sound of the
trumpet has been used to send
signals and messages for a long
time. Trumpets were once used to
frighten enemies in battle, and to
celebrate big ceremonies with
blazing fanfares.
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There are two ways different pitches
are played. A trumpeter can press
down on the keys that control the
trumpet's three valves, and he can
change the shape of his lips against
the mouthpiece. A trumpet is 18
inches long - but if it were unwound
it would be four and a half feet long!
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Trumpets are at least 3,500 years
old - early versions of the trumpet
have been found in ancient
Egyptian tombs.
French Horn
 The French horn has a velvety,
round tone color that projects
well across other instruments
without overpowering them.
 The horn is balanced on the
legs. The left hand works the
valves that help to change the
horn's pitch, and the right hand
is held inside the bell. The
player can vary the volume,
pitch and tone of the horn by
how the hand moves inside the
bell.
 The very first horns were made
from the horns of animals. By
breaking off the horn's tip and
blowing down the hole, you
could sound a note. These
horns were used during hunts,
to give directions to the hunters.
Later, horns were made of
metal.
Trombone
 Trombones have been around
a while. While Columbus was
busy discovering America 500
years ago, King Henry VII had a
band of four trombones. They
were called sackbuts back
then, but they were very like
today's trombones.
 Most brass instruments use
valves to produce different
pitches. But the trombone uses
a slide instead. The player
pushes and pulls the slide back
and forth to change the length
of tubing - which changes the
pitch.
Tuba
 The tuba is the largest
member of the brass
family and plays the
lowest notes. It's also
the youngest brass
instrument. It was first
used in military bands in
the 1800s and joined
the orchestra about a
hundred years ago.
 brass ensemble
Percussion
 The percussion family is huge! It includes any
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instrument that produces sounds when it is struck,
scraped or shaken.
A percussionist in an orchestra may play as many as
a dozen different instruments.
Struck percussion instruments include the piano, the
timpani, the xylophone, cymbals, the triangle, the
snare drum and the Bass Drum, woodblocks,
gongs, and chimes.
Percussion instruments that are scraped to produce a
sound are a little less common in the orchestra.
Some shaken instruments used in the orchestra
include tambourines and rattles.
percussion ensemble