INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC

BAROQUE
•Musical instruments used in Baroque music were partly
used already before, partly are still in use today, but with
changed technology. The movement to perform music in a
historically informed way, trying to recreate the sound of
the period, led to the use of historic instruments of the
period and to the reconstruction of instruments.
•The Baroque style is characterized by exaggerated
motion and clear detail used to produce drama,
exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture , painting,
architecture, literature, dance, and music.
>Modern Baroque >Old Baroque
 Most Popular Instruments in Classical
Music
• In our modern world, classical music has no place in the mainstream
tastes. When the majority of people reflect on classical music, they
usually think of dull orchestral music performed in a lavish concert
hall for elitists, nerds or old people. In truth, classical music is just
another music genre meant to entertain people and is varied like
today’s music. Considering that standard music comprises of an array
of genres like Rock, Country ,Hip-hop, Rap and Pop, classical
music includes of varying categories. The largest of these groups
being four main periods; Contemporary, Romantic, Classical and
Baroque; there’s no other way to classify classical music besides
from music classified as belonging to the mentioned time periods.
Just like pieces of classical music are grouped, classic music
instruments are classified into various families by how the gadget
makes it sound.
•Four groups families of
instruments exist:
1. The strings Family
• In the string family, the most common instruments include
the violin, the viola, the cello and the double bass. Playing
string instruments is done by plucking, striking and drawing
a bow made of wood and horsehair across them. The
devices are made from gluing together pieces of wood, with
the quality of sound being produced depending on the
shape, wood used to build the instrument, the breadth of
both the top and back and finally the varnish coating on the
outside surface. With all four string instruments having four
strings, the Double bass is the biggest, and with the lowest
accompanying pitch in the modern-day symphony. The Cello
also referred to as he violoncello tuned in perfect fifths.
Furthermore, the Violin is the smallest of the string
instruments and has the smallest and highest pitch among
this family, with the Viola slightly larger but offers a lower
and deeper sound.
• 2. The Woodwinds Family
• Mainly made of wood hence the name, these
instruments of the orchestra are tubes that have an
opening on one end and a mouthpiece on the
other. Along with its length are rows of holes
covered by metal caps referred to as keys, which
upon pressing produce different musical notes with
the sound changing depending on the air leaving
the instrument. Instruments in this family in order
of descending general tone include the Flute,
Piccolo,Oboe,Recorder, Clarinet, Bassoon and
finally the Saxophone.
3. The Percussion Family
• Instruments in this category produce sound in three
ways; hitting, shaking or scraping. These
instruments can either be tuned or unturned which
affect the notes generated as a result. In the case of
tuned instruments, the pitches delivered are specific
where as unturned instruments have no definite tone;
with the particular tune instruments being the
Marimba,Timpani, and Xylophone while indefinite
pitch percussion instruments include the Bass drum,
Cymbals, and Snare drum. The percussion family is
diverse with many of them being global instruments
with a different cultural background. Other instruments
in the percussion family include the Castanets,
Rattles, Maracas,Gong,and Chimes
 • Other instruments in
the percussion family:
>Castanets
• category produce
sound in three ways: >Rattles
>Maracas
> hitting
>Gong
>shaking
>Chimes
>scraping
 • Pitch percussion
instruments:
>Bass drum
• Particular tune >Cymbals
instruments: >Snare drum
>Marimba
>Timpani
>Xylophone
4. The Brass Family
• The instruments in this family comprise of long tubes
which widen towards the end to form a bell-like shape.
The curving and twisting of the pipes are molded into
diverse shapes to ensure they are easy to hold and play.
The instrument produces sound when the player blows
air through the mouthpiece there by causing air to vibrate
against the inner border of the instrument. Valves are
connected to the extended pipes and upon pressing
opens and closes different sections of the tube and
increasing the pipe’s length results in the production of a
lower sound. To change the tune, the instrument player
changes his Lip’s opening and Stiffness, on the
mouthpiece to produce a variation in pitch. The
Trumpet, Trombone, Bass trombone, French horn,
and Tuba are the instruments in the brass family.
 • To change the tune:
>Lip’s opening
>Stiffness
•The instrument in the
Brass family :
>Trumpet
>Trombone
>Bass trombone
>French horn
>Tuba
Instruments Used in the Romantic
Period
• The Romantic period covers artistic contributions from
the 1800s to the early 1900s. The music of this period
came from some of the best-known and most
memorable composers, including Frederic Chopin,
Richard Wagner and the later works of Ludwig van
Beethoven. This period included a number of
instruments that took precedence over previous
musical styles. Keyboarding instruments had dominated
previous eras of music. Yet, while the organ and
harpsichord lost some of their popularity during the
Romantic period, orchestras of the period still used
these instruments.
1.Piano
• In the periods before the Romantic period, including the
Classical era, the harpsichord and organ dominated most
musical works with light, soft sounds. In the Romantic
period, these instruments diminished in popularity and the
piano took their place.
• According to the ThinkQuest website, the piano provided a
number of advantages over the organ and harpsichord. The
piano could play both loud and soft music, while the organ
and harpsichord tended toward one or the other. The piano
also offered an opportunity for musicians to change tone in
the song, which the other instruments could not do. These
new features allowed musicians to express a wide range of
abilities and new styles, and Romantic period musicians
flocked to this instrument and the new opportunities it
represented.
2.Woodwinds
3.Percussion
• Although orchestras had always used the timpani, a
small drum made of a copper bowl and calfskin
drumhead, the percussion section expanded during
the Romantic period. Some orchestras relegated the
organ and harpsichord to this section. Musicians also
started using bass drums, gongs, cymbals, bells,
chimes and other percussion instruments that added
to the variety and invention that characterized the
Romantic period. The piano, when not used as a solo
instrument, could be part of the percussion section of
an orchestra, as the instrument functions as a
percussion instrument.
4.Brass
• As technological innovations lead to brass
instruments with valves, the brass section of the
Romantic period orchestra increased in size and
scope.
• The brass section includes:
1.trumpets
2.horns
3.trombones
4.tubas
4.Strings
• Although the Romantic period did not bring many
innovations in the string family, the string section in
orchestras grew larger to balance out the sound
from the larger woodwind and brass sections. This
string section was still the largest section in the
orchestra. While pianos and drums allowed for
innovation and artistic license, the strings provided
the basis of much of the orchestra's sound.
• String instruments include violins, viola, cello and
stringed bass, also known as double bass. Harp is
another string instrument used in orchestras of the
period.