As a singer without any formal vocal training, you would probably have wondered whether to hire a vocal coach to train your singing voice. Well, your procrastination is hurting your singing career.
Just name me any famous singer who never had any vocal training? Yes, some of them may have gotten popular without any formal singing lessons but all these popular singers, without exception realized that they have to engage a vocal coach at one time or another take their spectacular singing career to superstardom and to stay up there.
So what makes you think that you do not need vocal lessons? If you are already singing professionally, then it is vital that you take up voice training to separate you from the mediocre singers. This is how you can get noticed when you are above the pack and above your singing competitors.
If others do not believe in vocal training and you do, then you would already have won because you will be singing much better and control higher fees for your performances.
You need to take care and respect for your voice. That is your musical instrument and your voice determines whether you succeed or fail in your singing career.
Finding a good singing teacher can be a little tricky. There are many so-called vocal coaches out there proclaiming themselves to be singing teachers after merely reading up a few books. As this industry is not regulated, there are many charlatans out there.
The best way to determine a good singing teacher is to ask good singers. After all, they are already good singers themselves and their recommendation won't be all that bad, isn't it?
However, since singing teachers are human beings, it is thus important that the teacher-student relationship is good and you can get along your vocal coach. The chemistry between you and your coach must be good, otherwise, when you are singing under stress, your voice will come out as very strained and that voice is awful to the ears. If you can't along with your singing teacher, then you may need to change your vocal coach.
One way of eliminating this human problem in learning how to sing is to get VCD, DVD and video singing lessons of famous and proven vocal coaches. Not only is it much less expensive than hiring a vocal teacher, you can work at your own time and own pace. Since the teaching tools are yours, you can practice your vocal training anytime and anywhere. Better yet, you are learning from the best!
Most good singing coaches will have a vocal workout lessons plan for you. Learning how to breathe and use your diaphragm properly are the basics of a singer's inventory. You will find out how remarkable your voice can get when you mastered only these two singing exercises. Once you are using correct breathing and diaphragm control techniques, your singing voice and confidence will soar.
So, if want to bring your singing career to greater heights then go and get a vocal coach now and start practicing singing skills now.
Two mouthpieces for tenor saxophone: the one on the left is rubber; the one on the right is metal. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The most important question to be answered is: What kind of music we wish to play? The answer could be: Classical, Jazz, Pop or All and based on your answer the horn mouthpiece should be selected. It will have an effect on the type of sound your saxophone makes. There are a few things to be considered when buying a mouthpiece. Some of these include material, opening, and tone chamber. These notes will try to give a few tips for choosing a saxophone mouthpiece.
A professionally selected mouthpiece will improve sound more than any other part of the saxophone. For general playing - classical mouthpiece is good enough. They are plastic but look like made from hard rubber. There are three excellent mouthpieces which are reasonably priced: Rousseau 4R is about $70, Selmer S80 C* is about $100 and the new Rousseau plays like an S80 with a little different sound. All three of them could be recommended for all of the saxophones. Jazz mouthpieces are a little more complicated. If you play Alto sax, most people will go for a hard rubber mouthpiece as opposed to the metal, which tends to be a little bright for the Alto Sax. If you are going to play a lot of rock music, you may want that bright sound. The favorite mouthpiece for the Alto Saxophones for general jazz playing is the Meyer 6M. This is a classic that has been around for a long time.
It would be smart to start here before anything else for Alto saxophone. Tenor and Baritone sax is generally preferred to a metal mouthpiece. For Tenor Horn musicians really like the Otto Link 7 or 6. These mouthpieces have a good sound and are pretty popular all around. Before paying the big bucks for a mouthpiece, you should always try it out first. If you bought 10 of the same exact brand and tried them all, you'd find that they all play differently. Always try out first and pick the one that works best for you. Later on, you may want to buy a handmade mouthpiece and enjoy the wonderful sound that comes from that.
Be prepared to pay the big bucks for one of these! You will definitely need a different size of Reed for jazz mouthpiece. Then use a classical one. Most people use a little shorter size of the jazz mouthpiece. Also, if the mouthpiece feels funny on the teeth, a musician can buy a patch to put on the mouthpiece. This will feel more comfortable on the front teeth and protect the mouthpiece for a longer time. If a person just begins to learn to play the saxophone, he really should stick with the classical piece. After he advanced, he will probably want the jazz piece for all other styles.
If you are not interested in popular styles of music, you won't need the jazz piece. There is a great difference between the two types, and if you plan on playing all styles, you will definitely need both types of mouthpieces.
In general, a lute is a stringed instrument that loosely resembles a guitar, but has a round body, a deep and round back, a fretted or unfretted neck and is a member of the family of European lutes. The instrument is played by plucking the strings, which vibrate and create the sound.
The strings are placed over a bridge which allows them to vibrate freely and the body of the lute is hollow in order to intensify the sound so that others can clearly hear the instrument. While the instrument is not overly popular today, it was incredibly popular during the baroque music period when people would play the instrument alone or as an accompaniment to other instruments.
When the lute was created is not clear. There is much speculation about how long it has been around. Some say that a variation of the lute may have existed during the time of the Ancient Egyptians, but others say it may not have existed until the 1500s. It is difficult to tell when exactly the lute was first created because there were so many instruments that existed throughout history that somewhat resemble the lute.
Though most may think that the lute is an instrument of the past, it is one that is still played today; however, the instrument is often custom made and is not one that is easily found in used music stores. As a result, this particular stringed instrument can be quite expensive to acquire. Finding someone who can teach one how to play the lute is not as difficult and the lessons may not be as expensive as they can be for other instruments.
In general, the lute is not the first instrument that people will choose to play, probably because it is not one that is seen as often as the guitar or the saxophone. The general population is influenced by the instruments they see most often, which will leave the lute out of the picture because it is not too common in much of today’s music.
This is not to say that the lute will never gain popularity again or that there is not really any place for it. People who play the lute find music to play, though it may not exactly be rock and roll.
Anyone looking for a unique instrument that is out of the norm might want to give the lute a try. It has its own unique sound that is not duplicated by other instruments and one that takes skill and practice to be able to play the instrument well. It can be a little challenging for some, while it can be easier for others at the same time. Some experience with playing the guitar might make learning how to play the lute easier, while someone with no experience is starting from scratch so they may have a more difficult time at first. Someone who really has an interest in learning to play the lute will probably have little difficulty regardless of whether they have previous experience with stringed instruments or not.
A five string electric violin. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
An annoyed grimace spread across my conductor's face upon hearing a Bach concerto played with crunchy distortion in the band room before an orchestra rehearsal.
Expecting to find a headbanger guitarist mocking the establishment by shredding away at a time-honoured classic, his fury slowly melted into a pitying look of concern and sad loss, as if inside his head he was thinking, “Dear God, there goes another one.”
My dad had bought me an electric violin and I was making heads turn with my heavy variations on the classics.
The Zeta Strados Modern violin, with its funky profile, maple flame finish and revolutionary bridge pickup design, has been the height of electric violin technology for some time. Technology aside, this violin made it possible for me to be regarded as cool by my peers, even though I was still playing music by dead guys with wigs.
My model even had five strings, which made it more of a violin/viola hybrid, the low range is perfect for raunchy power chords and guitar-like riffs.
Despite my conductor's fears, the arrival of the Zeta did not mean the end of my classical playing, though it did make me humbly aware of the huge proverbial iceberg of music that lay hidden beneath Beethoven and Mozart.
The electric violin made it possible for me to play in heavily amplified situations free from a fussy microphone and a clumsy mic stand and completely eliminated feedback. Word got out that there was an electric violinist at school and I played in all sorts of bands, from country to heavy metal, jazz to pop and disco to swing.
I soon discovered this violin wasn't limited to playing in loud venues entirely. My Zeta became very useful in studio situations where consistent levels, tone and timbre are required. No microphone is needed here, so engineers don't have to fuss to get the mic in the exact same spot every session and the room doesn't have to have good acoustics. I just plug in my patch cable directly into the main mixer and play, leaving reverb and levels up to the engineer.
Forget the noises of passing trains, cell phones and even the player's breathing into the mic wrecking a good take. This gal stomps to the beat, playing free from headphone or isolation booths, and chatting it up with the engineer between solos. And since Zetas are designed to sound exactly like an acoustic violin rather than a “bowed guitar,” the end result sounds unmistakably like a regular, old-fashioned violin.
Granted, there are things you can do to tweak your violin into sounding quite unlike a violin. I plug into an effects box and play with chorus, reverb and distortion effects. Better yet, Zeta makes the “Synthony,” a synthesizer that converts the violin's analogue signal to MIDI.
Jargon aside, with this tool you can make your Zeta sound like anything from a trumpet to a Chinese gong or any other sound imaginable. With more features than I can list, the Synthony isn't cheap, which explains why I'm still stuck in analogue mode.
Which brings up cost: Even though electric violins have no acoustic body, there is still a vast difference between low and high-end models. Don’t be swindled into buying a cheap $150 “instrument” from anyone, no matter how nice the thing looks in the photo.
Remember that you get what you pay for and electric violins, like any new technology, have become a market for suckers. You wouldn’t buy a $150 stereo system, why’d you buy a $150 instrument and amp? Such “bargains” sound nothing like a violin, feedback terribly when amplified and never last very long due to cheap components. Just like acoustic violins, you’re better off saving up for a good violin rather than throwing good money after bad.
Heck, it’s worth getting a fine electric violin just for the looks you get from other players! I’ve always enjoyed the double and triple-takes I get when I play the Zeta anywhere. I also reserve full bragging rights when speaking to other electric violinists. Denis Letourneau, one of my violin idols in BC, Canada, has a green one-of-a-kind Thompson violin, “Green Dragon.” He’d kill to have a Zeta though, so I’ve always got something to hold over him whenever we talk shop!
As a year-end treat I the Zeta into lessons and teach my violin students about reverb, distortion and the concept of studio recording. Shocked faces, similar to the aforementioned expression of my former conductor, meet the music as concerned parents witness their children creating gruesome variations on their lesson songs.
The kids absolutely love playing on it, especially with distortion and reverb. The shyest of students are rock stars as they bang out a G major scale at full volume. That's the beauty of this instrument: even a scale or arpeggio becomes fun for students.
I usually teach students a pentatonic scale or show them how to pull off power chords in 5ths. This literally keeps them occupied for the entire lesson and they leave only grudgingly. This at the final lesson of the summer when most kids are not at all keen to be indoors or learning scales. They leave the lesson motivated to practice their butts off and prove to their parents they are dedicated enough to deserve one too.
“I've created a monster,” I say to myself, knowing these parents will be inundated with requests for in the car on the way home.
Check out Zeta at http://www.zetamusic.com and tell them about my endorsement of their 5-string Strados Modern violin! Maybe they'll sponsor me...
By Rhiannon Schmitt **Rhiannon Schmitt (nee Nachbaur) is a professional violinist and music teacher who has enjoyed creative writing for years. She currently writes columns for two Canadian publications and has been featured in Australia's "Music Teacher Magazine." Writing allows her to teach people that the world of music is as fun as you spin it to be! Rhiannon's business, Fiddleheads Violin School & Shop, has won several distinguished young entrepreneur business awards for her commitment to excellence. Her shop offers beginner to professional level instruments, accessories and supplies for very reasonable prices: Visit http://www.fiddleheads.ca
Like starting with any instrument, beginning clarinet is a process of learning that involves both great achievement and the occasional setback. However, if the beginning clarinetist follows a few tips relating to clarinet care and clarinet playing, the success is sure to outweigh the setbacks.
The first thing that a new clarinet player should learn is to put together their instrument properly, and how to hold it. One of the important things when putting a clarinet together is not to force any part into another, and that the side lever is up when the lower and upper parts are put together, otherwise bent keys could be the result.
This type of care should be extended to all parts of the clarinet - while it is inevitable that reeds will eventually split, they will last longer with careful care. The clarinet itself will last longer and have less need for repair if it is looked after properly, which includes cleaning after each time it is played and being put in its case properly.
One of the most difficult things for the beginning clarinetist is getting the embouchure correct. The embouchure is how the lips are shaped to hold the mouthpiece and create the correct vibration of the reed. Make sure that the bottom teeth are covered by the bottom lip and that the top teeth are touching the mouthpiece, but not clamping down too tight. It is normal for beginner clarinet players to have a lot of squeaking! As you continue to learn and practice, this annoying part of beginner clarinet playing should disappear.
When one visits an Indian reservation pueblo or village, you can very likely hear the beautiful melodic tones of an Indian drum. Tradition plays a strong part in Native Songs and culture. The instrument that produces the most powerful sound is the Indian drum.
The type of Indian drums varies. Each Indian tribe constructs drums to their particular desire. Drums may be created with carved images of people. Or, other Indian tribes may choose animal designs to adorn their Indian drums. Some use jewels and color in northwest Indian drums. Drums are designed by hand and are particular to each drum maker.
If you do not live close to Indian reservations, locating an authentic drum is not as easy, but can be accomplished easily online. Indian drums are come in many sizes and styles from small hand drums to large ceremonial drums.
When ordering an Indian drum, you can choose between shaman drums which are one-sided hand drums like the Plains Indians use or Tarahumara Indian hoop drums which are double-sided. Most drums may be played with the hand or by using a drum beater or tom-tom like. For ceremonies and drum circles pow wow drums are most desired for their deep low tones. Good powwow drums also have a base to hold the drum during use. Unlike frame drums or handdrums, ceremonial pow wow drums are always played with a beater. Some of the nicest Northwest Indian drums and most unique drums are created with cedar for a rich red and blond color.
What would music be without drums? Drums are responsible for providing the backbone of the song. The drummer holds the rest of the song together by providing the other musicians with a beat to follow. Even if a song doesn’t specifically include drums, more than likely they do include other percussion instruments.
History of Drums
Percussion instruments have been used since ancient times. Drums especially were popular because they could be made using easily obtainable materials. Generally speaking, drums include a hollowed out body which could be made of wood, clay, gourds, and other materials with some kind of animal skin or membrane stretched over the top. Ancient drums have been found in archaeological dig sites and can be viewed in museums.
Drums Throughout the Cultures
Different cultures have different kinds of percussion instruments. In the west, the drum set is popular. In Latin music, the drum kit includes other items such as shakers and cowbells. In Africa, the djembe and congo are popular drums. Other cultures use steel drums and other drums that are made from different materials such as gourds and animal skins.
Using Drums from other Countries
In today’s society, the media and internet have opened us up to different types of music. As a result of this, more western artists are starting to embrace other percussion instruments. For example, it isn’t uncommon for a song to include different hand drums borrowed from the African or Middle Eastern cultures.
If you are interested in using drums from other countries, your best bet is to expose yourself to the traditional music to get a feel for how the drums are traditionally played. It is fine to borrow an instrument from another tradition, but to get the most out of the experience it is worth it to learn the traditional playing styles.
There are three collections of bagatelles by Beethoven: "Seven Bagatelles, Opus 33", "Eleven new bagatelles, Opus 119" and "Six bagatelles, Opus 126". They originate from his time in Bonn, were probably originally intended as middle movements for sonatas but presumably considered by Beethoven in the course of the work on those compositions as too light in character.
To determine the origin and the dating of the Bagatelles are not altogether easy. As with many works of Beethoven the opus numbers themselves do not lead to a secure dating of the composition. Beethoven set the opus number only on the occasion of a publication. But even with extensive works the publication followed by no means immediately after the completion. For example, the big string quartets Opus 130, 131, 132 in A minor: Opus 132 the oldest, with Opus 130 following.
Besides, between the first design and the completion of single works with Beethoven often years lay, and the composer was known as very economical in regards to ideas, which he now and again after long breaks took up again, an exact dating especially of the smaller pieces, who filled the breaks between larger works, is especially difficult.
The bagatelles Opus 33 were published in 1803. The autograph carries the label "par Louis van Beethoven in 1782", therefore, one could presume, the whole work still belongs to the early years, Bonn. However, the authenticity of the label is questionable, sketches are found for the first and sixth part next to sketches of the oratorio "Christ on the Mount of Olives" (composed in 1801, first performance 1803) and to the Symphony No. 2 in D major (composed in 1801/02, first performance 1803).
Thus, even without a critical review, it can be supposed that the bagatelles of Opus 33 belong mostly to the years of 1801 and 1802, nevertheless, single parts appeared or were sketched before.
The contemporary criticism did not receive the collection particularly benevolently. The only preserved report refers to the name "Bagatelle", with contemptuous poignancy: "Do earn this title in the farthest sense of the word".
More difficult still is the exact dating of Opus 119. Already Hans von Bulow, to whom still no reliable research material was available, doubts in his Beethoven edition the statement of Schindler that these bagatelles were written around the time of the Missa Solemnis in 1822.
"We are not able to believe to this insurance so absolutely: to us these sketches seem to come from a different era, even if the majority, this some special peculiarities leads one to believe, belong seem to belong to the so-called last period." Bulows assumption has proven right.
Single sketches of Opus 119 are already found in 1801, mixed with some of Opus 33. The whole collection is made up of two different groups: No. 7-11 appeared first in 1821 as a contribution to the "Viennese Pianoforte School" compiled by Friedrich Starke, further sketches are found together with sketches of the Sonata in E major, Opus 109, of the Benedictus and the credo for the Missa, belong to 1820. No. 1-6 were finished two years later. The remaining parts are probably treatments of sketches from 1800-1804.
The history of the "Six bagatelle Opus 126" and their origin are indisputable. The sketches are from the year 1823 and are found besides those to the Quartet in A minor, Opus 132, and to the final choir of the Symphony No. 9. Bülow wrote: "Bezüglich dieses letzten Heftes glaubt der Herausgeber auf Grund der darin ersichtlichen charakteristischen Stileigentumlichkeiten versichern zu konnen, dass sie sämtlich aus der spätestens Schaffensperiode des Meisters stammen, was bei dem vorangehenden Hefte Opus 119 in Abrede gestellt werden musste." (Regarding this last collection, the publisher believes on grounds of the style characteristics to be able to affirm that it originates from the last period of the master, something that cannot be said for the preceding collection Opus 119."
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Iron Maiden was right at the beginning of heavy metal. There is no denying their influence for every metal band from the 80’s on. They were very influential on Slayer, whose early works sound very similar to Iron Maiden licks. Even Now that metal is coming back bands like Mastodon who are taking the next steps of metal that maiden help start. In their own right there are a second level icon behind bands like Zeppelin and Sabbath who are the godfathers of rock music.
My favorite album of Iron Maiden is Power Slave. It is the heaviest of all the Maiden albums. It features some of their best songs including Power Slave, Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner, and 2 Minutes to Midnight. I would also recommend the album Killers which was released before Bruce Dickinson was their singer. The songs Murders in the Rue Morgue and Killers exhibit more of a hard rock feel quite a bit more similar to ACDC in their early work than the later more melodic. They were known for putting out concept albums which the whole collection of their albums follows the story of their giant mascot Eddie.
If you like Iron Maiden I would recommend Slayer’s early albums like Show No Mercy and Hell Awaits particularly the title tracks. I would also recommend Mastodon’s album Leviathan. Definitely check out Iron Maiden and Slayer if you like Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden includes Steve Harris (bass), Bruce Dickinson (singer), Janick Gers (guitar), and Nicko McBrain (drums). Their albums include 1979 Soundhouse Tapes Rockhard, Iron Maiden , Killers , The Number of the Beast , Piece of Mind , Powerslave, Somewhere in Time Sony, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son , Trooper , Stranger in a Strange Land , Running Free Run to the Hills , No Prayer for the Dying , Fear of the Dark, The X Factor , Virtual XI , Brave New World and Dance of Death.
The first movement of Beethoven’s opus 27 no. 2 C# minor sonata was very popular in Beethoven’s day, to the point of exasperating the composer himself, who remarked to Czerny, ‘They are always talking about the C# minor sonata surely I’ve written better things.’ Nearly two hundred years later, it still remains the most popular and downloaded piece of ‘classical’ music.
The title Moonlight Sonata actually didn’t come about until several years after Beethoven’s death. In 1836, German music critic, Ludwig Rellstab wrote that the sonata reminded him of the reflected moonlight off Lake Lucerne. Since then, Moonlight Sonata has remained the “official” unofficial title of the sonata.
‘Sonata quasi una fantasia’ is the title Beethoven gave his fourteenth sonata. Unlike the formal Sonata form of the classical period, Fantasia commonly describes a free-form classical musical piece. Marking the beginning of Beethoven’s second stylistic period, opus 27 no. 2 does not follow the traditional sonata form. Beethoven additionally uses traditional musical mourning devices called Trauermusik, in a very untraditional way. Trauermusik consists of Lament Bass, repetitive accompaniment figures, and chant. Other famous examples of chant are Mozart’s Masonic Funeral Music and the Requium. Dotted monotone anacrusis permeate the first movement reminiscent of the tolling of funeral bells, recall the previous piano sonata Opus 26, Marcia sulla morte de’un eroe, which anticipates Chopin’s opus 35 Bb sonata’s famous ‘Marche Funebre’ and later the main theme of Beethoven’s ‘Eroica’ Symphony’s ‘Marcia Funebre’. What changes in Beethoven’s life led to these transformations in his music?
In 1800-1802 Ludwig van Beethoven experienced devastating internal turmoil in trying to come to terms with his hearing loss. To the outside world, his life seemed to be ideal, with his success as a virtuoso pianist and as a successful, sought-after composer in Vienna. He gradually began to withdraw from society and friends, however, as he felt it would be detrimental to his successful career as a musician if people found out he was going deaf. People felt he was being misanthropic, yet it was quite the opposite. Beethoven lived in a great deal of solitude and loneliness due to his impending and eventual complete deafness, which would eventually have a profound effect on his spiritual and creative growth as a composer and a musician. The years of 1800-1802 were a transformative period in Beethoven’s life and marked the beginning of his second stylistic period. As Beethoven’s outer hearing deteriorated, his inner hearing continued to grow.
Beethoven sought treatment in the village of Heilgenstadt in the late spring of 1802 until October of that year. Full of despair over the unsuccessful treatment, he considered ending his life. In a famous letter known as the Heilgenstadt Testament written to his brothers, he wrote “Thanks… to my art, I did not end my life by suicide.”
Over and over in Beethoven’s music themes of victory over tragedy abound. In the internal struggle he faced, although his music showed the greatest despair and sorrow, it always transcended into a triumphant victory. With that same inner struggle, Beethoven learned to transcend deafness and still be victorious in creating greater and greater masterpieces. During the late 1790s, Beethoven’s music began to show changes, as well as enlargement of form. After the Heilgenstadt Testament, Beethoven expressed dissatisfaction with his compositions and according to Czerny was “determined to take a new path.” [1] The changes included strong links between sonata movements, intensified drama, harmonic instability, motivic elements affecting the larger form, twelve measure structures, registral gaps, recitative and pedal effects.
This sonata could be interpreted as Beethoven beginning to come to terms with his impending eventual deafness. The mourning and loss of the Adagio Sostenuto with its modal changes, dissonances, rhythms, and chants representative of Trauermusik followed by the rage of the stormy third movement, were his way of expressing how he felt about this affliction of deafness while writing the most extraordinary music and not being able to hear it.
Beethoven would live most of his life in a great deal of loneliness and despair with most of his life devoted to the development of his art and creativity. As this sonata was written towards the beginning of his second stylistic period many masterpieces would follow the ‘Sonata Quasi Una Fantasia’.
If you are just learning about the oboe, you are about to learn that there is a lot to learn!
While this article is by no means an exhaustive look at the oboe, we'll try to cover the basic stuff to give you a better idea of this beautiful instrument.
The oboe is a double reed (which means that two pieces of wood vibrate together to make the sound) instrument that is directly descended from the 16th-century shawm. While the shawm might be considered the great-grandfather of the oboe, its sound (which was LOUD and annoying) changed quite a bit before it became the modern day oboe.
Oboes are usually made of grenadilla wood, but sometimes, in an effort to produce slightly different tone colors, other woods are used. The oboe has sterling silver keys and is made up of three "joints:"
a lower joint
an upper joint
and a slightly flared bell
The sound is produced by using a reed made of two blades of cane which vibrate together.
Pitched in "C," the oboe's pitch range starts at the Bb below middle C on the piano and ends roughly 2 ½ octaves above that, around a G. For the adventurer, higher notes are possible though less comfortable and less frequently called for in music written for the oboe.
The oboe has a narrow conical bore, making its timbre focused and penetrating. The French word for oboe, "hautbois." Hautbois literally translates to "high-," "strong-," "loud-," or "principal-wood," depending on its various spellings. Some people say that the oboe sounds a bit like a duck. Track down a recording of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf for a great example of this.
The oboe is often played in groups of two or three in orchestras and bands and is used in many combinations for chamber music. It is primarily a melody instrument and, because of its lyrical and mournful timbre, is often used for very emotional sections of music.
Good examples include:
Stravinsky - Symphony in C
Barber - Summer Music
Gabriel's Oboe
One of the oboe's most important jobs is that of "tuner" in an orchestra. Listen carefully to the beginning of an orchestra concert with oboes in it and you will hear the oboe player play a tuning "A" from which the entire orchestra takes their pitch.
There are actually 4 different instruments within the oboe family, which cover the soprano, alto, tenor, and bass ranges. The oboe itself is the most soprano of its direct family. The second most common instrument in the oboe family is its tenor version, the English horn.
The English horn, or "Cor Anglais," is pitched a 5th below the oboe, in "F," and is fingered almost exactly like its smaller sibling. The range of the English horn begins at a written B below middle C and goes up to about concert "C." Like the oboe, it consists of an upper and lowers joint, but it has a bulbous bell at the lower end which makes it look quite different. English horn players also use a bocal, onto which the reed is attached.
The sound of the English horn is similar in quality to the oboe, but because it is larger and lower, its timbre is a bit more mysterious and sorrowful. The English horn is often used in the band and orchestra, though less often in chamber music. It is quite common for the 2nd oboist of an ensemble to have to "double" on English horn, having to switch back and forth from the oboe as his/her part dictates.
Famous English horn solos include:
Rossini - William Tell Overture
Dvorak - New World Symphony
The oboe's alto family member is the oboe d'amore, which means "oboe of love." This instrument looks like a small version of the English horn, with the same bulbous shaped bell and curved bocal. It sounds a minor 3rd lower than the oboe, is pitched in concert "A," and again fingered almost exactly like the oboe.
The oboe d'amore's sound is truly distinctive, being reminiscent of its soprano and tenor relatives, but more muted and sweet. It is often used in pairs and most frequently in Baroque music, especially that of J.S. Bach. Check out the beautiful solos and duets for oboes d'amore in the following Bach pieces:
B Minor Mass
Christmas Cantatas
Concerto for Oboe D'amore
The oboe d'amore does not often appear in ensemble pieces after the Baroque era, though one of its most famous orchestra solos was written by Ravel, in Bolero.
The oboe's bass family member is the Bass oboe, which is the most obscure of the oboe family members. The bass oboe is pitched in "C," like the oboe, but sounds an octave lower than its written pitches. It looks like a very large English horn and is played with the same fingerings, but its bocal is more drastically curved.
The popularity of the bass oboe was brief and is rarely used today. One of the few orchestral pieces which employ the bass oboe is Holst's The Planets. Its murky and atmospheric timbre is well suited to a piece about outer space.
The oboe and its relatives all use a double reed, but the reed is different for each instrument. Basically, the bigger and lower the instrument, the bigger the reed is. The oboe's reed is the only reed with an attached cork, the others being on metal tubes which slip directly onto a bocal. From its soprano to bass ranges, the oboe family covers a wide spectrum of tones colors, though remains lyrical and poignant in all its versions.
The oboe is a beautiful instrument to play although it can take quite some time to master. Even producing a sound can be quite a challenge for a beginner.
Oboist and entrepreneur Maryn Leister helps beginner, intermediate and professional oboists become happier oboe players.
She is the owner of the oboe learning company MKL Reeds and publisher of the Reed Report and Oboe Success Tips Newsletters. Each newsletter is full of straightforward tips on becoming a better oboe player and on taking control of your oboe reeds.
Get your free subscription to the Reed Report newsletter and start your own journey towards a more rewarding oboe future right away. Sign-Up now and get your FREE Oboe Reed Tips!
„Max Slevogt Don Giovannis Begegnung mit dem steinernen Gast“ von Max Slevogt - Alte Nationalgalerie Berlin.
Quelle: Wikipedia
Don Giovanni’s aria of seduction “La Ci Darem La Mano” from Mozart’s opera “Don Giovanni”.
About the aria “La Ci Darem La Mano” is taken from Mozart’s opera “Don Giovanni” which is based on Seville’s famous seducer “Don Juan”.
It being “Don Juan” or “Don Giovanni” who makes it his life’s goal to seduce as many ladies as possible regardless of any factor other than that they be of the opposite gender. It is in the first act of this two-act opera that Don Giovanni spots a lovely peasant girl by the name of Zerlina, whom his taste dictates he must introduce to the acts of sexuality.
This in spite of the fact, or perhaps motivated further by it that she is engaged to be married to a man by the name of Masetto. Don Giovanni, however, being one who is not deterred by such factors approaches the group in which Zerlina finds herself in at the time and offers the hospitality of his home so Masetto and her friends might take refreshment in his generosity; naturally while Don Giovanni himself keeps Zerlina in the private delight of his charm.
Masetto, however, is cautious of Don Giovanni and mentions that Zerlina cannot remain at a distance from his society; only to be told by Leporello that she is in the hands of a gentleman who will take over his role of protector of her in the most gallant of ways. This precisely what Masetto feared leads him to protest further yet only to be told by Don Giovanni that if she does not leave without further reply; his actions he will repent. It is then that Masetto accepts Zerlina’s decision to remain in the exclusive company of Don Giovanni and declares he has understood how his love for Zerlina will be his ruin.
Once alone Don Giovanni declares that though Masetto is a man of gallantry, he is not appropriate for Zerlina, for she deserves more than the mere life of a peasant; as he himself wishes to take her to wife. This being that which captures Zerlina by surprise as she in confusion repeats his offer to which Don Giovanni confirms what her ears have taken in by offering his castle and all that is to be found in it in the ways of joy. Zerlina for her part is still wondering as to the sincerity of his offer as Don Giovanni begins his aria of seduction with the words “La Ci Darem La Mano”.
This meaning “let me take your hand” as he continues by adding that she will say yes. Zerlina still not sure converts this aria into a duet with thoughts expressed as “I want to but I do not want to, my heart shakes a little, I know I will be happy but I feel sorry for Masetto”. Don Giovanni, however, being of the ways of gentle persuasion continues his seduction by telling her he will change her lot in life. Zerlina at this point influenced not only by Don Giovanni’s words as well as caress becomes unsure as she claims again she wants to but does not want to, only to have Don Giovanni repeat he will change her lot as he urges her tenderly to go with him. Zerlina at this point no longer feels capable of refusing as she claims “non sono pui forte” (I am no longer strong) and joins Don Giovanni in a common cry of “andiam andiam a veri, a ristorar di veri, un inocente amor” (let’s go and consummate this innocent love).
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Don Giovanni has been successful at his attempt of seduction and sure that theirs will end in the ecstasy of passion takes Zerlina into his arms and kisses. Zerlina being more than willing to allow him to go on to her body as he will; for she will do likewise on to him. It, however, is as all was ready for Don Giovanni’s and Zerlina’s carnality that Dona Elvira (one of the many in Don Giovanni’s love life) appears and warns Zerlina not to give in to her seducer. This being advice which unfortunately for Don Giovanni, Zerlina heeds to as she and Dona Elvira take their leave of Don Giovanni and his ways.
I, however for what concerns me would love to seduce the worship of my opera life, Angela Gheorghiu in the same fashion and though I can not sing; I most assuredly can create fantasy of delight that she might wish for ours to end in sexuality yet I, however, would not like for ours to be interrupted; as was the case with Don Giovanni and Zerlina.
The French horn is the second highest sounding member of the brass family and produces a full and mellow tone. It is the best-known member of the horn family and the one you see most often in the orchestra.
It consists of a tube of conical bore coiled into a spiral shape. At the blowing end, its bore is around 1/4 inch wide ( 6.2 mm ) and it widens into a bell of about 11-14 inches wide ( 28 - 36 cm )
The French horn developed over the years in several stages as follows.
1.From the Hunting Horn or signaling instrument, which consisted of a tube bent round in a simple curve over the player's shoulder. The French horn was used regularly in 18-century orchestras in music that need an outdoor, haunting sound.
2. By use of Crooks:
These were extra pieces of metal tubing add to the horn to create extra length. They were detachable and there were seven different sized ones.
The reason for the addition of crooks was that composers wanted to write less limiting pieces for the French horn and the extra tube lengths created more notes and allowed the players to have music written in more keys.
3.By use of Three Valves:
These were introduced in 1830 with use of extra tubing built into the main body. They replaced the crooks as they served the same function. When the player presses the valves either separately or in any combination extra sections of tubing are added and hence different notes. This invention provided the instrument as we know it today which is a flexible instrument that has a range of notes spanning over three and a half octaves and the ability to play in any key. The French horn is usually pitched in the key of F
French horn players produce a sound the same way as any other brass instrument. The sound starts from a persons' lips buzzing into a mouthpiece. The air then vibrates through the tubing of the instrument. The less tubing the higher the pitch. The more tubing the lower the pitch. The pitch can also be changed by the tightening or loosening of a person's embouchure or mouth position. Hence when a player moves a valve or two or three in various combinations then this alters the tubing length and the note pitch. Placing the hand or a mute in the bell will also change the pitch.
French horn players read music written on the treble clef most of the time but the bass clef is used if the music is low and stays low.
The French horn is commonly found in orchestras and brass bands. There are no French horns in a marching band but french horn players play the mellophone which is also a brass instrument with three valves, operated with the right hand and fingering identical to that of a trumpet. A marching band needs a projection of the sound in the direction that the player is facing and a mellophone has its bell in the front.
Dennis Brain, born on 17 May 1921 and died 1 September 1957 was a British virtuoso horn player. Much credit was given to him for popularizing the horn as a solo classical instrument. He recorded Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Horn Concertos with Herbert von Karajan, a conductor, and the London Philharmonia Orchestra.
I used to tell people I met on airplanes or at parties that I wrote about jazz for a living. Once they got past wondering just what type of "living" that amounted to, they'd smile and say, "I love jazz," then pause, adding, "But I don't know that much about it."
They were leery, thrown off by chart-and-graph references to jazz's development — stuff like how '40s swing begat '50s bebop, which gave rise to '60s free-jazz and all that. As if there was a textbook (well, actually some critic friends of mine are writing one, but that's another story) and there might be a test, you know. Not to mention the political squabbles: why swing was king or bop the thing or how '70s fusion killed it all.
Or maybe they'd been put off by all that technical talk: flatted fifths and extended chords and the numbers behind swing's rhythmic propulsion — like it was rocket science or something.
Then there's the cult aspect: those older guys bending and swaying at the back of the club, making like Jewish elders swaying to an fro at temple, or the generalized bowing down before deities such as Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker and John Coltrane (not to mention the infighting about just who deserves saintly status).
Thing is, jazz isn't any of that — and is all that. Appreciation requires no previous knowledge, yet continued listening offers all constant enrichment. The technical aspects of jazz's musical achievements have both the beauty and complexity of higher math: And the music has genuine religious heft, owing to both time-honored spiritual traditions and in-the-moment meditative thought.
I can't give you a 12-best list, or tell you that what follows tells the story in full. But the following list expresses lineages of thought, instrumental technique, rhythmic ideas and group conception. The dots are easy to connect, the names clearly indicated and the sounds unforgettable.
And this list is like those sponge toys that, placed in water, magically grow overnight. Listen, and you'll find expansive knowledge easily absorbed, not to mention natural links to many more artists and recordings.
Listen Hot Fives And Sevens
Artist: Louis Armstrong
Release Date: 1925
To tell the story of jazz without Louis Armstrong up top is to cut off the head of the living organism that is jazz. Armstrong was a giant of a trumpeter, he was an influential singer and perhaps most important, he transformed jazz from a strictly instrumental music into a complicated blend of solo and ensemble sound. In that sense, nearly all the 20th-century jazz that followed flowed from the innovation of these recordings. Over the course of these sessions, you can hear the transformation in process, from traditional New Orleans collective style to a different blend, with the clarion call of Armstrong's horn pointing the way.
Listen The Art Tatum Solo Masterpieces Volume 1
Artist: Art Tatum
Release Date: 2001
Anyone edition drawn from this eight-CD set will do. And anyone is enough to give a sense of the enormity of Tatum's genius and its far-reaching effects on all the music that followed. Tatum simply played more piano — got more out the instrument — than any other musician. He was a direct link from the whorehouse piano men to the classical soloist. Here, late in life, he plays song after song and, beginning with "Too Marvelous for Words," he builds each one into a concerto of melody, harmonics, and improvisation that set the bar high and establish the logic for much of modern jazz.
Listen The Carnegie Hall Concerts: January 1943
Artist: Duke Ellington
Release Date: 1943
Little in jazz compares with the majesty, finesse, integrity, and spark of Duke Ellington's bands during the '40s. It was a moment when jazz straddled two functions as it never will again: it was popular music, reflective of the nation's heart and mind, and artistic revolution, charting new waters. In Ellington, as perhaps in no musician other than Louis Armstrong, jazz had a leader who understood both drives. It was a dream of Ellington's to play Carnegie Hall, and it anticipated the Lincoln Center achievements of Wynton Marsalis today. This recording contains both shorter tunes (marvelous miniatures of great scope) and Ellington's more ambitious, longer-form work "Black, Brown, and Beige." There are stellar solo statements by players including saxophonists Ben Webster and Johnny Hodges, but really, it's the brilliant cohesion of the full band and Ellington's overall vision that makes this music timeless.
Listen Tomorrow Is The Question
Artist: Ornette Coleman
Release Date: 1959
Ornette Coleman's music has always leaned on tradition — listen to some Charlie Parker and you'll hear echoes of it here — distilled into something new and pointed straight toward the future or curled up like a quizzical phrase. Here, Coleman's title begs both ideas. And the music announced his pianoless quartet setup: the harmonics of chord changes alone would no longer confine Coleman's music, replaced by his own personal science bent on liberation. The way Coleman and trumpeter Don Cherry shadow each other's lines and exchange ideas, the process sounds closer to pure joy than hard science. Nearly a half-century later, it still sounds fresh.
Listen Alone In San Francisco
Artist: Thelonious Monk
Release Date: 1959
The hippest, most addictive thing I got turned onto in college was Monk's music. I'd never heard anything like it, and it opened up a whole new idea for me of how the piano could sound and of what music could do: his compositions, his every arpeggio or tone cluster, contained math, R&B, Abstract Expressionism and slapstick humor. I went on to discover a world of jazz musicians, all touched directly or indirectly by Monk, but none who sounded quite like him. And though Monk recorded quite a few notable albums leading stellar bands, though his music led others to play with a special insight and cohesion, it's Monk alone at the piano that I crave: Straight, no chaser. Here, early in his career, by himself, Monk transforms San Francisco's Fugazi Hall with the unique architecture of his piano playing. This isn't what all of the jazz sounds like: It's what the world of jazz after Monk looks like.
Listen Bill Evans Trio: Sunday At The Village Vanguard
Artist: Bill Evans
Release Date: 1961
There's plenty of religious, folkloric and literary evidence to support the idea that three is a magical number: Bill Evans's trio might be jazz's mightiest argument for that case. Evans was one of jazz's most lyrical pianists, and he's at his best here. But it's the nature of this trio that elevates most of all: neither Evans nor bassist Scott LaFaro nor drummer Paul Motian sticks to customary roles. And in the three-pointed cheese slice of a room that is the Village Vanguard (the closest thing to sacred space remaining in jazz today), the music takes on a prayer-like quality.
Listen Live Trane: The European Tours
Artist: John Coltrane
Release Date: 1961
By 1961, Coltrane's soloing style — the free flow through chord changes and scale-based improvisations that critic Ira Gitler dubbed "sheets of sound" — was his signature. His band concept was similarly bent on expanding boundaries and explosive energy. Coltrane may have laid down some of jazz's most memorable studio sessions, but there's really nothing like him caught live. These tracks, drawn from a three-LP set, find him in two powerful contexts over the course of four years: in a 1961 quintet including Eric Dolphy on alto sax, flute and clarinet; and fronting his classic quartet at concerts in 1963 and 1965. The fire and especially the communion between Coltrane and drummer Elvin Jones on the later material is a thing to behold.
Listen Spiritual Unity
Artist: Albert Ayler
Release Date: 1964
The first release on Bernard Stollman's ESP label, this is the session that pushed Albert Ayler to the forefront of jazz's avant-garde. He remains a touchstone for any open-minded musician wishing to explore the sonic possibilities of a given instrument, to exploit the aggregate effect of any small group and to mine the spiritual heft of musical expression. To some, the arsenal of sounds Ayler coaxed from his saxophone — screams, squeals, wails, honks and a mile-wide vibrato when he felt like it — represented newfound contortions of sound; to others, they harked back to early jazz evocations, like Sidney Bechet's soprano sax. Ayler's appeal anticipates the current axis that connects punk rockers to free jazz: He took the simplest of song structures and turned them into the most complex of visceral splatters. His "Ghosts," here rendered in two versions, will truly haunt you.
Listen Afro-Cuban Jazz Moods
Artist: Dizzy Gillespie And Machito
Release Date: 1975
Back when I edited a jazz magazine, I'd find regular annoyance with writers who thought Latin jazz was a tiny sidebar to American jazz. Jazz is many stories, a central one being the African Diaspora. The music of Latin America, South America, and the Caribbean are cousins to American music (and they contain some rhythmic secrets we've forgotten, I'd say). Cuba, in particular, has a special musical relationship with the United States, and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie was one among jazz's ranks who honored that truth with depth and style. Though Dizzy made his Big Cuban Bang decades earlier, this 1975 session finds him with the famed band of Frank "Machito" Grillo, featuring the great Cuban trumpeter Mario Bauzá. Composer/arranger Chico O'Farrill's "Oro, Incienso y Mirra" is as modern a fusion of cross-cultural ideas as you'll hear today.
Listen to Raining On The Moon
Artist: William Parker
Release Date: 2002
Born in 1955 [ck], William Parker is just a bit older than the music we know as free jazz. Some say that that musical revolution is dead: They're wrong. The most vital life signs are found on Manhattan's Lower East Side, and at the center of this scene is the loud, insistent sound of Parker's bass. He is something of a father figure, dispensing life lessons as well as musical wisdom, much like legendary bandleaders Duke Ellington, Art Blakey, and Charles Mingus. Among Parker's many bands is the quartet he leads here (with Leena Conquest adding soulful vocals). Among the deep connections, he shares is the one you can feel powerfully throughout this music, with drummer Hamid Drake.
