Learn Foundation Concepts - Timbre
Louder | Softer | Sustained & legato | Staccato | Blowing | Bowing | Plucking | Striking | Slapping Strumming | Orchestra | Brass band | Pipe band | Steel Band | Scottish dance band | Windband | Groups | Acoustic guitar | Electric guitar | Acoustic Keyboard | Organ | Synthesizer | Accordion | Fiddle | Drums | Pipes | Voice | Vocals | Choral | Lead | Backing vocals |
| There is some noise or sound. | ||
| No sound. | ||
| Music which has increased in volume. | ||
| Music which has decreased in volume. | ||
| See ''Legato'' below | ||
Legato |
Smooth, sustained sounding music. | |
| If someone plays ''staccato'' they are asked to make the notes very short and detached to create a ''jumpy'' effect. | ||
| The method by which woodwind, brass and pipe instruments are played by blowing across or into a mouthpiece. This example is played by a Brass group. | ||
The method used to play certain string instruments, including the string instruments of the Orchestra, by drawing a bow across the string. This example is played by a fiddle orchestra. The Double bass is plucked in the accompaniment. |
||
| Playing a note of a string instrument by pulling or ‘plucking’ the string with a finger. Listen to the accompaniment to the singers. | ||
| The effect created when two flat surfaces are banged together. | ||
| The method mainly used to play Percussion instruments with this example of a xylophone playing. | ||
| A method of playing string instruments, usually guitar, which gives the effect of playing a chord or harmony with fingers or a plectrum. | ||
| Contains four sections, Woodwind ,Strings Brass and Percussion. | ||
| Instruments which produce sounds by blowing across a hole against an edge or through a single or double reed, e.g. flute, oboe, clarinet or bassoon. They need not be made of wood. | ||
| A family of instruments made from metal with a mouthpiece, e.g. trumpet, French horn, trombone and tuba. | ||
| The orchestral family of instruments which has strings, e.g. violin, viola, cello and double bass. The sound is produced by dragging a bow across the strings or by plucking them with the fingers. | ||
| Instruments which are hit, shaken or scraped. Pitched percussion can produce different notes, e.g. glockenspiel and xylophone. Unpitched percussion has no fixed pitch, e.g. cymbals and side drum. | ||
| A band containing only Brass instruments, Cornets, Tenor horns, Baritones , Euphoniums, Trombones, Tubas and percussion. | ||
| A band of Bagpipes and Drums. | ||
| A group playing a type of music with a heavy driving beat. Instruments might include electric guitars, maybe with distortion, bass guitar, drum kit. See Rock | ||
A band of steel drum and percussion instruments from the Caribbean |
||
| A band consisting of one or several Accordions, piano, Bass and Drums. | ||
| A band with woodwind, brass and percussion instruments playing music composed for the concert hall rather than for marching. See Marching band. | ||
| A band with woodwind, brass and percussion instruments. A military band might march as it plays. See Wind band above. | ||
| Folk, Pop, Jazz. Listen to an example of a Folk rock group. | ||
| An ordinary guitar, used in Classical music or Folk music. | ||
| Usually used in Rock and Pop music along with the Electric Bass Guitar | ||
| Instrument whose sounds are made by pressing down keys, e.g. piano, organ, electronic keyboard and synthesiser. | ||
| A keyboard instrument which produces sounds by hammers striking strings. | ||
A type of instrument which generally gives a sustained sound on each note. In the Original pipe organs in churches the sound was made by air being blown through these pipes. Nowadays many of these sounds are produced on Electric Organs. |
||
| Basically an electronic keyboard which is able to produce many different sound effects. This example is of a well known keyboard piece. | ||
| An instrument with a keyboard in which the sounds are produced by squeezing bellows with the arms. | ||
| A scottish name for a Violin. The is no difference between the fiddle and the violin. | ||
| A set of drums and cymbals often used in rock music and pop music. See Rock band, Pop group. | ||
| A shortened name for the Highland Bagpipes. | ||
| The Human voice but sometimes used in music to describe music which has several parts or musical lines. This example is a Scottish folk song. | ||
| A musical line sung by a voice. A term usually associated with Pop Music. | ||
| A musical line sung by a choir. | ||
| The main or solo singer usually in a pop music. | ||
A backing group of singers. |