Everything You Need to Know About Classical Music Gear

Everything You Need to Know About Classical Music Gear
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Victor_Epand]Victor Epand

Classical music is a broad term that usually refers to music produced in, or rooted in the traditions of, Western art, or ecclesiastical and concert music, in the period from the 9th century to the 21st century. The central norms of this tradition became codified between 1550 and 1900, which is known as the common practice period.

Classic music is still played by many of today's musicians. European classical music is largely distinguished from many other non-European and popular musical forms by its system of staff notation, in use since about the 16th century.

Classical and popular music are often distinguished by their choice of instruments. The instruments used in classical music were mostly invented before the middle of the 19th century. Some of them had been designed even earlier, and codified in the 18th and 19th centuries. They consist of the instruments found in an orchestra, together with a few other solo instruments such as the piano, harp, accordion, and organ.

The great majority of classical music gear fall into six major categories - bowed strings, woodwind, brass, percussion, keyboard, and the guitar family. The first four form the basis of the modern symphony orchestra.

The classical guitar was originally a Spanish-derived, six-stringed instrument. It is played using a plectrum or the finger-nails, with frets set into the fingerboard. Popular music tends to use amplification for both the six-stringed instruments and the four-string bass guitar. The guitar family gradually supplanted the lute which had come to prominence during the Renaissance.

The piano is widely used in Western music for solo performance, chamber music, and accompaniment. It is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal. Although not portable and often expensive, the piano's versatility and ubiquity have made it one of the most familiar musical instruments.

The piano is sometimes classified as both a percussion and a string instrument. In the period from about 1790 to 1860, during the Mozart-era, piano underwent tremendous changes, which led to the modern form of the instrument. Early technological progress owed much to the English firm of Broadwood, which already had a reputation for the splendor and powerful tone of its harpsichords.

The accordion is played by compression and expansion of a bellows, which generates air flow across reeds. A keyboard or buttons control which reeds receive air flow and therefore determine the tones produced. The accordion's basic form was invented in Berlin in 1822 by Friedrich Buschmann. The accordion is one of several European inventions of the early 19th century that used free reeds driven by a bellows.

The violin is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the family of string instruments, which also include the viola and cello. The oldest documented violin to have four strings, like the modern violin, was made in 1555.

Significant changes occurred in the shape and structure of the violin in the 18th century, particularly in the length and angle of the neck, as well as in the bass bar. Most of the old violins have undergone these modifications, and hence are in a significantly different shape than their forerunners, undoubtedlys with differences in sound and response.

Victor Epand is an expert consultant for music gear, speakers, and microphones. You can find the best marketplace for music gear, speakers, and microphones at these 3 sites: [http://www.sellusedmusicgear.com]Classical music Accordian, [http://www.sellusedspeakers.com]speakers, subwoofers

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Everything-You-Need-to-Know-About-Classical-Music-Gear&id=1358606] Everything You Need to Know About Classical Music Gear

Viola - A Musical Instrument of the Ages

Viola - A Musical Instrument of the Ages
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Gordon_Petten]Gordon Petten

A Viola is an alto voice in the string family and looks just like a violin; the instrument is held under the chin and rests on the shoulder when being played. However the viola is physically larger than the violin and it is tuned five notes lower than that of the violin. In fact, a lay man may not differentiate between a violin and a viola as they are similar in size, their pitch rage is very close and both instruments are played while in the same position. However, it should be noted that the viola is the middle voice and is placed between the cello and violin. The instrument's sonority is dark toned, rich and full bodied than that of the violin. Its mellow voice is often used to play inner harmonies and is not a popular solo repertoire when compared with the violin.

An ideal viola is one to four inches longer than a violin though there are violas made for children that are half the size of a violin. The person playing a viola is often referred to as the violist though sometimes as a viola player. The fingering technique for playing the instrument is similar to that of the violin though the difference in size creates some technical differences. In playing the instrument, one plays with thicker strings when compared with the violin. The violist must add more weight to the strings with a bow if they want to produce the intended sound. The bow that is used to play the instrument has a wide band of horsehair when compared to that of the violin especially near the heel or the frog.

The four strings of a viola are usually tuned in fifths; with C3 being the lowest, and then G3, D4 and A4 being above it. The tuning is done in a way that it is accurately one fifth below the violin meaning that the two instruments have three strings in common; A,G and D. Viola is also one octave above another string family, a cello. The first string to be tuned is A and then the others follow at an interval of perfect fifths, by bowing two strings at the same time. Many of these instruments have adjusters also referred to as the fine tuners and that are utilized in making finer changes. One can also tune the viola by stretching one string by hand. One can tune down a string by pulling the string above the fingerboard and can also tune it up by pressing the section of the string in pegbox. These actions are very significant as they prevent the negative effects that result from strings that are not well tuned. One can do this temporarily and wait until he or she has an opportune time for tuning.

When writing sheet music for viola, it will differ with that of other instruments because it uses alto clef and which is not frequently used. The instrument is used in contemporary music genres such as avant-garde and jazz. Equalization and amplification of viola is done to have a stronger output for those violas that have been tuned below G3. [http://www.stringworks.com]Viola

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Viola---A-Musical-Instrument-of-the-Ages&id=2763092] Viola - A Musical Instrument of the Ages