Wind Instrument Brief Introduction

A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator (usually a tube), in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into (or over) a mouthpiece set at the end of the resonator.

The pitch of the vibration is determined by the length of the tube and by manual modifications of the effective length of the vibrating column of air. In the case of some wind instruments, sound is produced by blowing through a reed; others require buzzing into a metal mouthpiece. Wind instruments are typically grouped into two families: brass instruments (horns, trumpets, trombones, euphoniums, and tubas) and woodwind instruments (recorders, flutes, oboes, clarinets, saxophones, and bassoons).

Although brass instruments were originally made of brass and woodwind instruments have traditionally been made of wood, the material used to make the body of the instrument is not always a reliable guide to its family type. A more accurate way to determine whether an instrument is brass or woodwind is to examine how the player produces sound. In brass instruments, the player's lips vibrate, causing the air within the instrument to vibrate. In woodwind instruments the player either causes a reed to vibrate, which agitates the column of air (as in a clarinet, oboe or duduk), blows against an edge or fipple (as in a recorder), or blows across the edge of an open hole (as in a flute).

History

The history of wind instruments dates back thousands of years ago when the first individuals to live began blowing into items and projecting musical notes. But over time the development of pipes, wood, bronze and metal came into view and were used to make legitimate wind instruments with a multiple note fingering system.

Over twenty thousand years ago, primitive man realized he could produce a musical note by blowing into a piece of hollow cane or dried fruit shell. While vocalists and percussion instruments were the first and second forms of music, respectively, wind instruments are strongly considered to be the third. Blowing through a dead bone or a cut plant and producing musical notes was considered magic to man at the time, and they used this process to communicate with spirits, cure disease and protect crops.

Primitive man initially used multiple one-note instruments to get multiple notes. However, he also figured out that blowing harder would produce other notes--and, if blown right, harmonics of the basic note. While South Americans developed pan pipes and Zulu shepherds worked on one-note wind instruments, ancient civilizations in Egypt, China and Samaria invented finger hole instruments. With the addition of one, two, three and even four holes, they created pentatonic melodies by using root notes with harmonics. A basic musical scale and progression soon followed after the invention.

As ancient nations continued to use different items as wind instruments, the discovery of pipes proved to be huge in the development of modern day wind instruments. Blowing into two pipes at the same time produced a melody and a harmony. The invention of bagpipes derived from the pipes after people added an airbag. Further instrumental developments of reed instruments were invented like the oboe, bassoon and clarinet.

It wasn't until the 16th century that the use of mechanics enhanced the fingering system on the instruments. While the clarinet first appeared in Islamic and Asian countries 700 years ago, the oboe was a French instrument that was first used in the court of Louis XIV. In the 18th century it became a popular solo instrument that was mainly used by famous composers such as Bach and Telemann. The saxophone was invented by Adolph Sax in 1841 after he had worked on perfecting the bass clarinet. The flute was developed more than 1,000 years ago in ancient Asia.

Brass instruments including the trombone and trumpet emerged thousands of years apart. Drawings of trumpets in the Egyptian culture date back to 1500 BC. Other ancient trumpets have come from several countries including Rome, Israel, Greece, India, China and Japan. These first types of trumpets were made from bamboo, silver, shell, ivory, wood and bone. The earliest of the typical trumpet that we know of today were simply long tubes with a bell on the end.

They were only used to call an army into battle or announce a royalty arrival. In the early fifteenth century, instrument makers developed the first S-shaped trumpet, which resembled the modern trumpet. While it had brilliance of tone, it also had a limited range of notes. It was followed by the slide trumpet, which was awkward to play, and the sackbut, the forerunner of the trombone. With the sackbut, the instrument makers designed double tubes to shorten the distance the slide had to travel, while increasing the range of notes.

During this period, brass instruments were used for heraldry and military purposes. It was not until the late sixteenth century that composers began to see the possibilities of brass instruments. In 1597, Giovoanni Gabrieli composed "Sonate pian'forte," the first piece of music to incorporate brass instruments.

In 1905, Mahillon, a Belgian company, created a piccolo B-flat trumpet. In mid-century, trombone makers added a second rotor valve to produce what has become the standard bass trombone.

A Night of Musical Kaleidoscope

Entering its 9th year and renowned for its innovative concert programming and versatility, the PSPA International Ensemble continues to provide the highest artistic excellence to the local audience, gathers the most gifted and professional musicians from around the world to the beautiful towns in Malaysia, i.e. Ipoh, Penang and Kuala Lumpur to partake in a unique and intensive chamber music making.

What entices these exceptional artists is a wonderful arena of discovery and an opportunity to achieve artistic and humanistic excellence.

The ensemble provides music of all eras by taking the audience on a diverse journey. And at the end of the journey, they will realise that the possibility with traditional classical ensemble is infinite.

From Bach to Yiruma! This year ensemble will be music from Vivaldi’s all time favourite, The Four Seasons violin concerto; Bach’s famous Air on G String & Brandenburg Concerto; the heart-warming Yiruma’s River Flows Into You; the exotic Bizet’s Carmen Fantasy and many more!

We will also feature the super clarinet soloist Mr. Andrew Simon, well-known for his flawless fingers-flying techniques and beautiful tone that will give you all an unforgettable musical journey!

The ensemble will also extend its mission on intensive education and outreach programs benefiting local community and younger generation, such as “Meet the Musicians” sessions and workshops involving students from various schools – to provide harmony for ALL.

So, let’s enjoy “A Night of Musical Kaleidoscope” with various popular tunes and the versatility of PSPA International Ensemble.

Ipoh Concert Date : 15th August 2015, Saturday Times : 8.00pm Venue : Tenby Schools Ipoh Auditorium

Ticket Prices :

(i) Category 1 seats (85 seats) @ RM150 (ii) Category 2 seats (110 seats) @ RM80 (iii) Category 3 seats (95 seats) @ RM40

*Early bird promotion (buy ticket before 30th June 2015) 20% discount

*Student 40% (early bird) / 30% discount

*Senior Citizen aged 60 years and above 30% (early bird) / 20% discount *Buy online from PSPA store will get a further 10% discount.

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