In 1590 French churchman Guillaume of Auxerre invented the serpent, a weird-looking wind instrument about eight feet long. Its tubing was made in a shape suggesting a squirming snake which had been struck with a stick. For about two hundred years it flourished as an important bass instrument, but now it is chiefly known for its many and varied progeny.
Among these are the ophicleides, a family of six; the saxhorns, a family of eight; the saxtrombas, a family of eight; the tubas, a family of nine; and the muchmaligned saxophones, which have now grown to a family of nine.
Too much credit cannot be given Guillaume for his invention, because the serpent is little more than a bass member of the large family of cornettos, or zinken. These instruments put in an appearance in Europe in the fourteenth century.
In England they were called cornettos and were built in three keys. The little treble cornetto in F was only about eighteen inches long and had a thin, weak tone. Another was the cornetto in C, about two feet long. The third was the great cornetto in G, approximately three feet long. In Germany these same instruments were known as […]
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There are many other odd and interesting woods which will be found in every symphony orchestra. Drumsticks will be found made of snakewood from Dutch Guiana, a reddish-brown wood with spots in color from brown to black, similar in markings to that of a snake.
The fingerboards, pegs and tailpieces of violins are made from African ebony, brought ail the way from the tropical forests of Africa. The bars of xylophones and marimbas and often the castanets are made of rosewood from Brazil or Central America.
This wood ranges in color from reddish brown to deep purple or black, with streaks of purple through it, and it gets its name from its fragrance. It is ideal wood for the purpose, since it is hard, dense, takes a high polish and produces a brilliant, resonant tone when struck.
Then there is mahogany for drum shells, hickory for drumsticks and drum hoops, walnut for tambourines, maple for violin backs and bassoons, and basswood for “cases.
Some people find less music in the orchestra when they learn that the death of from two to three sheep is required before one violin can be equipped with strings. It doesn’t seem necessary, but such is […]
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The guitar lessons of expert instructor Ben Edwards, even if they were nothing else, would still represent a breakthrough in technological innovation for learning the guitar. Many people who once upon a time would have been put off from learning the guitar or advancing to a higher level on the instrument can now use the power of 21st century technology and the magic of the Internet to have better odds of making new musical discoveries.
Such guitar lessons give whole new dimensions to the universe of mastering the guitar, regardless of what genres you want to play or do play. Whether you are a rocker, a country girl, a blues man, or fueled by classical gas, or anything else, there is something here that is likely to help you improve your playing.
A long time instructor, he became absolutely fed up with two things about all the traditional forms of guitar lessons: they were boring and none of them were comprehensive enough. Chord books did not teach you anything about lead playing. Books about playing lead left you in the dark about chord progressions, chord building, and playing rhythm.
Guitar player magazines would include lessons in everything, but […]
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