Academic literature on the topic 'Wind instruments Wind instruments Intonation (Musical pitch)'

Logical reason for research. Modern performance on wind instruments, in particular on the trumpet, is characterized by a powerful development. It is an object of listening interest and composing, and today it has a fairly large repertoire of both transpositions and original works in many instrumental compositions (from solo to various ensembles and orchestras) in different styles and genres. This situation in music practice requires theoretical understanding and generalization, however, we can state that at the moment, music science highlights the performance on the wind instruments without any system, mostly from the methodological viewpoint. Innovation. The article under consideration deals with the organological aspect of studying the specificity of the performance on the trumpet, which combines a number of historical and practical questions and allows them to be answered in connection with the requests of both music science and music practice (from the peculiarities of the sound production on various instruments of the trumpet family at different times (from the historical origins of trumpet performance to the present) to the technical and artistic tasks faced by the trumpet performer, as well as by the composers who create both transpositions of time-tested music for trumpet and original trumpet pieces that take into account technical, timbre, artistic and expressive capabilities of this instrument). Objectives. The purpose of research is to reveal connection between the historical-organological and practical specificity of the performance on the trumpet in the past and at present. Methods. The main methods of the research are historical and organological. Results and Discussion. Trumpet as a musical instrument is one of the oldest musical instruments in the world. Its earliest prototypes are revealed in archaeological studies of the historical past of humanity. The prototypes of embouchure instruments are horn, bone, and tusk pipes with conical bore, mostly curved, which are ancestors of the horn family; instruments with straight cylindrical pipes formed a family of trumpet. The art of playing wind instruments was a significant development in ancient Egypt, where the state placed musical art at the service of rulers and worship. Musicians in those days accompanied festive events and rituals; what is more, wind and percussion instruments became the basis for the creation of military orchestras. A straight metal trumpet appeared in Europe in the Middle Ages. In the countries of Central Asia, Iran, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan copper brass instruments were played. China’s music and performing culture employed bronze trumpets of various sizes. In the 14th-15th centuries the evolution of metal instruments underwent qualitative changes. Forms of curved trumpets were born. In addition to this, trumpets were split into low and high ones; later, middle-register instruments appeared. The so-called natural trumpets, used then, were very close in sound to the modern trumpet. In Europe there were masters who made metal instruments; eminent experts in this field, the Heinlein Schmidt family, the Nagel family, English masters Dudley, U. Bullem worked in Nuremberg from the 15th and up to the 19th century. The emergence of a slide trumpet, a trumpet with a sliding crook, is connected with the attempts to improve the instrument for the sound production of more chromatic sounds (we must distinguish the achievements of Anton Weidinger). An important step in the evolution of the chromatic trumpet was the use of horn invention (croooks). In the mid-nineteenth century, having improved the inventory system with a valve mechanism, the trumpet finally gained its place in the orchestra as a chromatic instrument. At the present time, a trumpet with a piston valve mechanism (in jazz, variety, modern music) has become very popular. At the turn of the 19th-20th centuries, trumpets of different structures, such as in C, in D, in Es, in F, were constructed; the designs of these trumpets are almost indistinguishable from the design of the modern trumpet. The piccolo trumpet was designed for a solo performance of ancient music (clarinet style); to amplify the low sounds, the alt trumpet in F and the bass trumpet became popular. Compared to fixed-mode instruments, the trumpet is a semifixed-pitch instrument. Therefore, a skilled performer is able to adjust the pitch within a certain area and correct defects in the setting of separate modeless sounds. The "planned" inaccuracy of the trumpet intonation is related to the use of a third valve. To correct the intonation associated with this, the trumpet has a device for extending an additional pipe of the third valve. There is no precise theoretical prediction of the given problem, so the correction of modeless sounds requires from the performer well-developed musical ear and knowledge of the specific features of their instrument. Conclusions. The summarized results of the presented article indicate that the organological aspect of the research in the field of performance on wind instruments, in particular, on the trumpet, is important and illustrative. It is an indispensable link that binds the theoretical and practical vectors of the study of trumpet art as a single set of knowledge; helps to identify the connection between the historical, organological and practical aspects of the performance on the trumpet, both past and present; promotes awareness of the specificity of playing a particular instrument, especially, understanding and assimilation of the design features of the trumpet in all its historical variants, and the corresponding principles of sound production with technical-acoustic and artistic effects; outlines the theoretical, scientific and methodological tasks for performers and composers whose work is related to the art of playing the trumpet. These are the directions in which further avenues for researching music related to the performance on the trumpet of different times, styles and genres can be seen.

We studied music majors’ perception of intonation in accompanied solo performances of trumpet, violin, and voice. We were interested in whether listeners would judge pitch deviations of equal magnitude in the three solo performances as equivalent in intonation. Participants were 150 graduate and undergraduate music majors drawn from two large music schools and included 50 students representing each of the following areas of applied music study: voice, wind instruments, and string instruments. Listeners heard solo trumpet, violin, and soprano performances of Ave Maria (Bach/Gounod) accompanied by piano. Pitch performances of the soloists were altered in four sections of the excerpt and deviated in either the sharp or flat direction within a section by 0, 10, 20, and 30 cents relative to the accompaniment. Listeners judged pitch deviations in the flat direction as more out of tune for the trumpet than equivalent alterations of violin and voice, especially for magnitudes of 20 and 30 cents. In sharp direction changes, violin and trumpet were heard similarly and as more out of tune than the vocal soloist. Additionally, differences in pitch judgments were found between listener groups representing different areas of applied study.

Background. The article deals with the interaction of the constructive evolution of the instrument and the development of bassoon performing of the 16–17 centuries. The aesthetics of that time was associated with the search for new expressive means, realization of which could be ensured by new instruments with rich and expressive sound. One of such instruments is bassoon; it was during the Baroque era when the bassoon took its shape and the sound image we know today. Thanks to technical evolution, the instrument acquired new artistic capabilities and new sound quality. A new repertoire was formed; bassoon became the part of such instrumental genres as sonata and concerto, it was firmly fixed in the score of the symphony orchestra. In music science, there are a number of studies devoted to wind instruments, the most significant of which are researches by G. Abadzhyan, V. Apatskiy L. Belenov, V. Berezin, V. Bohdanov, N. Volkov, V. Gromchenko, Yu. Dolzhikov, V. Kachmarchyk, V. Lebedev, V. Popov, I. Pushechnikov, Yu. Usov, and A. Kiziliayev. There are works, which focus on the bassoon, its history, expressive and technical capabilities (G. Abadzhyan, V. Apatskiy, V. Bubnovich, N. Karaulovsky, S. Levin, V. Leonov, V. Popov, V. Starko, Anthony Baines). It is worth noting the rather important and comprehensive work by V. Apatskiy “Bassoon from A to Z”. There are numerous scientific publications of international woodwind performers associations, such as the International Double Reed Society, the Australian double reed community, the British double reed community, the Japan bassoon society, the Finnish double reed community. The purpose of the article is to reveal the specifics of the relationship between the structural improvements of the bassoon and the performance on the bassoon in the period of 16–17 centuries. Achieving this goal will help to perform tasks such as a historical overview of the development of the bassoon in the Baroque era and identify the relationship between constructive changes, artistic possibilities, repertoire potential (including the genre palette of the instrument) and composer work for the bassoon of this period. The presented article is a material used in the candidate’s dissertation, which is devoted to a wide range of issues of performance on the bassoon from the origins to the present. Methodology. The main research methods are historical, organological and performing. The historical method is associated with the characterization of the historical conditions of origin and development of the bassoon; the organological method is necessary to establish the connection between the constructive changes of the instrument with the new quality of its sound; the performing method helps to reveal new tendencies in bassoon performance of the 16–17 centuries from the new repertoire to the functional purpose of the instrument. Research results. Around the middle of the 17th century, fundamental changes occurred in the construction of the bassoon. They were caused by the need to regulate the overall tuning system of the instrument in such a way that it could participate in joint music-making with other instruments, as well as by the desire to make the instrument more portable. At the turn of the 16–17 centuries, in the process of bassoon chromatization as the result of complication of composer creativity, fundamental changes were made in the design of the instrument: new “chromatic” holes and valves, as well as fork fingering appeared. It was all connected with the formation of certain musical and aesthetic needs and developed along with them. So, the evolution of the bassoon 16–17 centuries led to such qualitative changes in the sound of the instrument as: softness of the tone, pitch control, expansion of the working range, great power of sound, ease of playing the instrument. The above-mentioned factors entailed fundamental changes in the composers’ attitude towards the instrument. The bassoon enters a more complex functional level in the works of various music genres (interlude to the comedy “La Pellegrina” by Girolamo Bargalia, “Sacrae symphoniae” by Giovanni Gabrieli, “Messa a 4 voci et Salmi” by C. Monteverdi, “Fantasy for basso continuo” by Bartolome deSelma-i-Salaverde, sonata “Lamonica” by PhilipFriedrich Bodekher, nine sonatas for solo bassoon and basso continuo by Giovanni Antonio Bertoli, sonata for two bassoons by Philipp Friedrich Buchner, opera “Il pomo d’oro” by Antonio Cesti, singspiel “Seelewig” by Sigmund Theophil Staden). The role of Antonio Vivaldi in the formation of the concerto, including concerto for bassoon, is difficult to overestimate, and thirty-nine Vivaldi’s concertos for bassoon are evidence of that. The creative work of Antonio Vivaldi affected Johann Sebastian Bach, who wrote bassoon parts in his works of different genres. George Philippe Telemann, Bach’s contemporary, is known for a large number of pieces with bassoon parts. Conclusions. Constructive changes resulted in the arrival of the bassoon to a new timbre, figurative-intonational, genre, and performance level. Meanwhile, there is a linear rather than reciprocal relationship between the above-mentioned levels. On the one hand, there is a direct dependence in the evolution of bassoon performance: new constructive features – technical capabilities of the instrument – more individual timbre character – new expressive possibilities – solo parts – solo pieces. On the other hand, all this creates new requirements both for the performer and for the instrument, which brings the situation back to the need for further search. The results of this research can be used in further studies devoted to the history and theory of bassoon performance in the historical, organological and genre-stylistic directions.

In the first of two experiments, subjects ( N = 137) were band students with 1, 2, 3, or 4 years of formal instrumental performance experience. Subjects tuned to a single prerecorded tuning pitch and subsequently played along with a prerecorded four-measure melody. Direction and magnitude of pitch deviation were analyzed for the single tuning pitch and four selected target pitches within the melody. Responses to the tuning pitch were more accurate than for the melodic pitches. There was a high positive correlation among the four melodic pitches, but a low positive correlation between the melodic pitches and tuning pitch. In a second experiment, high school musicians ( N = 167) played along with the same prerecorded melody after either (a) tuning their instrument to a single pitch, (b) receiving verbal instructions to perform “in tune,” or (c) receiving no information. No differences were observed among the three conditions. Students who first tuned to a single pitch were more accurate at this task than at melodic performance. A high correlation was observed among melodic pitches but not between melodic and tuning pitches. Across both experiments, subjects erred most often in the sharp direction; a stronger tendency toward sharp errors was noted among more experienced students. Performance accuracy was observed to improve with experience.

Today, knowledge concerning the relationship between temperature and musical pitch shapes many dimensions of Western musical practice, from the ambient conditions of performance sites to the design of musical instruments, and performers’ routines and techniques. But the history of how temperature came to play such a defining role in musical cultures remains unexamined. This article lays the foundations for such work by approaching musical instruments as sites of negotiation between acousticians, instrument makers, and players on the one hand, and music's variegated environments on the other. First, the article shows that the conceptualization of pitch in relation to temperature was a by-product of nineteenth-century international negotiations over musical standardization. These debates reveal that, while assessing the relation between pitch and temperature may seem like a decisive step toward the regulation of musical frequencies, in fact it was the source of countless epistemological and sociopolitical problems. Next, the article turns to David J. Blaikley, a British maker of wind instruments, whose experiments on the influence of extreme temperature variations on army-band instruments revealed the limits of Western attempts to control sound on a global scale, including in colonial contexts. Finally, I trace the implications of this new awareness of the interplay between sound and the environment to expose the silent ways in which that awareness continued to inform Western musical practice into the 1940s and beyond.

The purpose of this represented scientific article is revealing the most character-logical traits in relation to composer style of the French master E. Bozza, which are binding with the particularities of the neo-impressionistic vector in the European academic art from the second half of the 20th century. The series of methods concerning this signified investigation are making from the applying of comparative, axiological, structurally analytical, as well as functional approaches relatively studying of the designated theme. The utilization of methods such as performing analysis and synthesis are having the specific importance. The scientific newness of denoted article is stipulated by designation of style traits regarding little investigated compositions for wind professional instruments by E. Bozza, which were written in performing form of academic instrumental solo (wind solo). That is stage-single musical process, a namely „Improvisation and capriceˮ for saxophone-alto solo, „Imageˮ for flute solo as well as Etude-caprice № 5 for saxophone solo. Conclusions. First of all, the local grinding of the specific musically expressive color, artistic paint on the motive differentiation, separation, peculiar intonation divisionism belong to the most characteristic, maximally singular traits of E. Bozzaʼs neo-impressionistic style in the professional compositions of academic wind solo. In this way, the clear sounding of determined wind academic instrument with the particular motive intonation locality, with concentration on the precisely denoted artistic expression create maximal characterization for neo-impressionistic development of musical material. Artistic content of concentrative motive evolution in relation to musical thought of E. Bozza is intensified by dominant signification of generalizing type of musical program. The flexible possibilities concerning free ideally imaginative interpretation of artistic content as a performer and listener is created by using of that program kind.

The phenomenon of the formation of the woodwind instrument art in China of the 20th century is due to the unique synthesis of Western European traditions and the experience of playing traditional national wind instruments. The relevance of the study is due to the fact that the growth of professionalism among musicians-performers stimulates composer creativity, producing the development by Chinese composers of the styles and genres of Western European music. In turn, the combination of styles and genres of academic art with intonation and expressive means of national Chinese music creates new, interesting examples of musical compositions by contemporary Chinese composers, worthy of a separate in-depth study. The purpose of the article is to consider the prerequisites, features of the formation of the performing art of woodwind instruments in China, as well as identifying possible prospects for its development. The leading approach to the study of the problem is a comparative approach in assessing the development of the art of playing woodwind instruments in China and in Western Europe and America. A close relationship between performing, composing and musical education is revealed. It is proved that the development of performing arts should be aimed at enhancing the ensemble qualities of musicians, which is due to the priority of the chamber-instrumental genres in modern concert practice. The significance of the article, both in theoretical and practical terms, is due to the fact that its results can be used as elements of a methodological base for further research on the issues identified.

Thesis (D.M.A.)--University of Oregon, 2006.
Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 210-221). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

This chapter explores how science and technology has revolutionized the sounds produced by different instruments. The main examples here are for the violin family and wind instruments. Some changes do not significantly alter the visual appearance, but allow different types of performance, more power, changes in tone, and totally new instruments (e.g. the saxophone). This has had an immense influence on composition, to exploit these new sounds, and of course an equally major swing in fashion from the audiences and players. Understanding of the science has been a key factor in the developments. Change is not always popular, and for example many players of early musical compositions believe they should be played with original sounding instruments and pitch. Unfortunately, the majority of audiences are now so accustomed to the new sounds that they find the earlier ones difficult to appreciate.