BASIC VOCABULARY

Bow: arco

To bow: frotar.

Brass instrument: instrumentos de viento metal.

Double bass: contrabajo.

Edge: bisel.

Electrophones: electrófonos.

Embouchure: embocadura.

Feathers: plumas.

Guitar: guitarra.

Hammer: martillo.

Harp: arpa.

Horn: trompa.

To join: unir, juntar.

Lute: laúd.

Slide brass instruments: instrumentos de viento metal de varas.

Stick: palo.

To strike: golpear.

String instruments: instrumentos de cuerda.

To stretch: extender.

Reed: lengüeta (single-reed: lengüeta simple; double-reed: lengüeta doble).

Trumpet: trompeta.

Trombone: trombón.

To rub: frotar.

Valved brass: instrumentos de viento metal de válvulas.

Woodwind instrument: instrumentos de viento madera.

 

 

 

INSTRUMENTS FAMILIES

There are different ways to classify musical instruments. One way is to group

them as they are in a Western orchestra: strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion.

STRING FAMILY

A string instrument is a

musical instrument that produces

sound by strings that vibrate. The

most common string instruments

are the violin, cello, viola, double

bass, guitar and harp.

All string instruments

produce sound from one or more

vibrating strings. The pitch of the

sound depends on the length, the

thickness and the tension of the

strings, which is adjusted with tuners, allowing the tuning of the instrument. The body of

the instrument then transmits the sound to the surrounding air. They are usually

categorized by the technique used to make the strings vibrate. The three most common

techniques are bowing, plucking and striking.

 

 

 

B O W E D S T R I N G  

Bowing is a method used in some string instruments, including the violin, viola,

cello and the double bass. The bow consists of a stick with many hairs stretched

between its ends that make the string vibrate.

Violin Viola Cello Double bass

 

Bow

PLUCKED S T R I N G

Plucking is the method of playing by using a finger or some type of plectrum on

instruments such as the guitar, harp or lute. This category includes keyboard instruments

such as the harpsichord, which uses feathers (now plastic plectra) to pluck the strings.

 

 

 

Classical guitar Harp

STRUCK S T R I N G

The third common method of sound production in string instruments is to strike

the string with a hammer. The most well-known instrument to use this method, by far, is

the piano.

All pianos have two pedals.

The soft pedal (the left one)

changes the trajectory of the

hammers so that they hit the

strings softer. The damper pedal

(the right one) raises all the

dampers so that the strings can

continue to vibrate when the keys

have been released.

 

 

 

 

WIND FAMILY

The sound is produced by the vibration of the air column inside the tube of the

instrument. In wind instruments, the pitch of sound is determined by the length of the air

column and the thickness of the tubes. The longer and thicker an instrument is, the lower

the sound is. The shorter and the thinner an instrument is, the higher the sound is. Most

wind instruments have different mechanisms (holes, keys, pistons, etc.) which allow the

modification of the length of the tubes and, therefore, their tuning.

Within the wind family we distinguish between woodwind instruments and brass

instruments.

WOODWIND INSTRUMENTS

A woodwind instrument is a musical instrument which produces sound when the

player blows air against an edge (lip plate in the case of the flute) or a thin piece of wood

called a reed. Most of these instruments were originally made of wood, but some, such

as the saxophone and some flutes, are now commonly made of other materials like

metals or plastics.

Types of woodwind instruments:

• Single-reed instruments use just one reed. When air is

forced between the reed and the mouthpiece, the reed

vibrates, creating the sound. Single reed instruments

include the clarinet and saxophone families.

• Double-reed instruments use two small pieces of cane

joined together at the base. The air vibrates between

the two pieces of cane. Double-reed instruments

include the oboe, the cor anglais and the bassoon.

 

 

 

• Flutes produce sound when air is blown across a hole. Flutes include transverse

flutes and the recorder family.

Transverse flute

Clarinet Oboe

 

 

 

BRASS INSTRUMENTS

A brass instrument is a musical instrument whose tone is produced by the

vibration of the player’s lips into an "embouchure". Modern brass instruments generally

come in one of two families: valved brass instruments which use a set of valves to

change the pitch and slide brass instruments which use a slide to change the length of

tubing. The main brass instruments are the horn, the trumpet, the trombone and the tuba.

Trumpet Horn

Tuba Trombone

 

 

 

Piston valve in trumpet Embouchures

PERCUSSION INSTRUMENTS

A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound by being hit with

an implement, shaken, rubbed, scraped, or by any other action which makes the object

vibrate.

When classifying instruments by function it is useful to note if a percussion

instrument makes a definite pitch or indefinite pitch. For example, some percussion

instruments (such as the marimba and timpani) can produce pitched notes and,

therefore, can perform melodies. Other instruments (such as drum and crash cymbal)

produce unpitched sounds and, therefore, can only perform rhythms, not melodies.

Some of the main percussion instruments are the drum, the timpani, the xylophone, the

vibraphone, the marimba and the triangle.

 

 

 

 

ELECTROPHONES

 

 

Finally, electrophones are instruments that keep their acoustic resonators but are

also amplified and altered electronically, for instance the electric guitar.

Electric guitar Synthesizer

 

 

 

INSTRUMENTAL GROUPS

The same as with voices,

instruments can either intervene as

soloists or form groups of different sizes:

■ Small groups that don´t usually

have more than 10 performers are

called chamber groups (in

reference to the rooms or halls

where this music used to be

performed). These are small

groups of soloists in which each

part of the composition is performed by a single instrumentalist.

■ �In relation to big groups, the most important one is the orchestra. An orchestra is

an instrumental ensemble, usually with string, brass, woodwind sections, and

possibly a percussion section as well. A smaller orchestra (of about fifty musicians

or fewer) is called a chamber orchestra. A full size orchestra (about 100 musicians)

may sometimes be called a symphony orchestra.

Conducting is the act of directing a musical performance by using visible gestures.

Orchestras, choirs, concert bands and other musical ensembles often have conductors.

 

 

 

 

TO SUM UP

 

 

 

The world of

orchestra conducting is

still a difficult territory for

women. They are usually

most in the studies, but

few achieve recognition.

Among the ten most

famous directors in the

world there are no women

and the fact that two of

the most prestigious

orchestras in the world,

Berlin and Vienna, have not accepted the integration of female instrumentalists, reflects

how slow are the advances in this speciality.

In Spain we emphasize names like Inma Shara or Isabel López Calzada, creator

and director of the Symphonic Orchestra of Women of Madrid. Other important names

are Virginia Martínez or Pilar Jurado.

At the world level, the last important appointment of an woman conductor was

the Lithuanian Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla (Vilna, 1986) at the head of the Birmingham City

Symphony. This orchestra has served as a springboard for great batons such as Simon

Rattle and Andris Nelsons, currently conductors (respectively) of two of the best

orchestras on the planet: the Berlin Philharmonic and the Boston Symphony.

Unfortunately, male chauvinism is still very present in the world of conducting.

Currently it is estimated that only 10% of the world's conductors are women. Being aware

of this reality is the first step to change it.

 

 

 

RHYTHMIC DICTATION

 

 

 

INSTRUMENTAL PRACTICE