What if the only music available was techno and dubstep. Imagine walking into a classy restaurant for a romantic dinner and trying to profess your love to your significant other over a loud, obnoxious, computerized beat. Dreamy, right? Not really. But replace that "beat" with a smooth violin or a gentle acoustic guitar. Now that will get you both in the mood... for dinner, that is.
There are few things that have more control over my emotions than musical instruments. For instance, a muted trumpet played with attitude in attempt to mock personalities (like in Frank Sinatra's rendition Blues in the Night) can make me laugh harder than Ellen Degeneres, and I frickin love her. But it's not just their sounds that are so amazing. The engineering that goes into the creation of instruments is astounding. The complexity and precision of it all is absolutely mind-blowing. Take the French horn, for example. (For those of you who don't know what a French horn is, it somewhat resembles a trumpet, but it's larger and the tubing creates a circle. It's usually associated with Christmas time.) If you were to unravel all of the horn's tubing, it would be roughly twenty feet long. So somehow someone was able to figure out how to roll up twenty feet of brass tubing to make it produce a gorgeous sound. However, it didn't happen over night. Like many instruments, the horn derived from an ancestor called the natural horn, and had quite a long evolution process. There were many French horn designs before the conception of the perfected horn we know today.
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| French horn |
It's the histories such as this that I will be exploring in my blog. I will dedicate each weekly entry to a different instrument in order to explore its invention and evolution along with its popularity and sound.
Hey Vicky!
ReplyDeleteI am very passionate about instrumental music as you seem to be as well. I played the trombone ever since I was in the 5th grade and tried plenty of other instruments since, such as the trumpet, saxophone and the flute. I've tried the french horn, but the mouth piece is so small I thought my eyes would pop right out of my face! I had no idea it would be so long if it were unraveled - how interesting! I am really looking forward to your future posts, there is much to discover about instruments and their history!
Cheers.
Thanks for the feedback! You're right, the horn's mouthpiece is really small. I think that because it was the first brass instrument I played, I just forced myself to get used to it since I didn't know any different. I'm glad I did too because that was my gateway to trumpet. I think that had I started with trumpet I might not have tried French horn, but since I started on horn the trumpet didn't seem so intimidating in comparison.
DeleteMusical history is so interesting to me in general! Everyone in my family plays an instrument expect for me and I honestly feel like I am missing out on something so magical. When I listen to a song I don't just hear it as music playing I feel meaning after every drum hit or horn blown. So i totally agree with you on how music can have such a handle on your mood and emotions.
ReplyDeleteI felt the same way before I got into playing! I'd always loved music and I tried piano when I was younger but I hated it and it just didn't come naturally to me so I figured it just wasn't for me. Then when I was about twelve I built up my lung capacity and picked up my dad's sax. That's when I figured out that wind instruments were more of my thing. I still don't feel like it comes naturally to me but I love it so much that I don't mind working at it! It's never too late to start!
ReplyDeleteAs a fellow musician, I really appreciate this blog! I can certainly relate to you in your love for the sound of a muted trumpet as well. I also find those facts about the french horn so interesting. I had no idea that there was so much tubing! The precision that goes into making every detail of an instrument perfect amazing. However, I unfortunately do not know much about their history and evolution. I look forward to reading your future posts and learning more about this subject.
ReplyDeleteI've never been too interested in instruments, but I actually think reading this blog will help me appreciate them a lot more and understand that without the instruments in the songs I love, they wouldn't quite be the same! Great blog Vicky, and I love the humor you add to it as well!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jenna! I really hope that people can be as open minded as you. I know that instrumental music isn’t exactly popular among teens at the moment, but I find that it’s still something that can be appreciated by everybody if they realize that this is part of the evolution of music… and yes, that evolution even led us to dubstep… hmm…
ReplyDeleteVery funny. I love that evolution image and the comedic elements of your post.
ReplyDeleteWhat ended up happening to the old french horn designs? Are some still in use or are they just museum pieces at this point? Once an instrument is perfected, what happens to the previous incarnations?
Yes, the old french horn designs are just museum pieces at this point, and that is what happens to most early instrument models. There are however, some elements that carry over. For instance world-renowned flautist James Galway, like other professionals, has a wooden flute that he performs with, however it is still a modern flute, meaning it still has some metal and cork on it, but the old models aren't completely abandoned with every instrument. The old and vintage instruments will always be collected for historical and sentimental reasons, but playing them would be like playing a completely different instrument and would take a whole other skill set.
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