As in the past, during the month of March (MIOSM) I will be posting some interesting facts about unusual musical instruments.
Day #1
Today we will examine the instrument called the Stick Zither from Cambodia. The stick zither has two metal strings and 5 touches (proak). The body of the instrument is made of a bamboo tube. Both steel cords are provided with two bamboo keys. Only the shortest string is used to play the melody. The longest one serves as a drone. The calabash resonator is open at its base. This opening is placed against the chest of the musician who sometimes spreads to change the loudness. This zither was once played solo to accompany the songs, awaking the guests of the house, rocking children or to enhance pounding rice.
Check out this short video of the STICK ZITHER in Action…
Day #2
Day #3
Day #4
Announcement for March 8, 2016…
Today is International Women’s Day and as we continue to celebrate Music in Our Schools Month, Mr. Loretto would like to introduce you to famous composer you may have never heard of.
Her name is Amy Beach. Born in 1867 she was an extraordinarily talented pianist and was invited to perform with the Boston Symphony by the time she reached 18. However, she scaled back her stage career at the request of her husband, a prominent Boston doctor. Instead she embarked upon one of the great composing careers for an American woman. When the BSO played her Gaelic Symphony in 1896, it is thought to be the first performance of a symphonic piece composed by an American woman.
Click below to listen to Amy Beach’s Gaelic Symphony….
Day #5
Announcement for March 9, 2016…
As we continue to celebrate Music in Our Schools Month, Mr. Loretto would like to introduce you to a brand new musical instrument! The Air Piano! The Air Piano was invented in 2008 by Omer Yosha in Germany. It’s called a “piano” but it has no keys. You simply wave your hands in the air above the instrument to change the sound. It looks like magic!
Day #6
And now for today’s Music in Our School’s Month Instrument of the Day…
Today’s instrument is called the ektara! The ektara is a simple yet cool percussion folk instrument most often used in traditional music from Bangladesh, India, Egypt, and Pakistan. The name Ektara comes from the Hindi and Bengali languages. “Ek” means one, “tar” means string. I bet you can guess how many strings it has! Pressing the two halves of the neck together pushes the peg head away from the body, tightening the string and raising its pitch. The pitch changes with each slight flexing of the neck giving the ektara its distinctive sound. There are no markings or measurements to indicate what pressure will produce each note, so the pressure is adjusted by ear. This one-stringed instrument provides a range of deep sounds, performed in one long slur.
Below you can see a short video showing how it’s played…
Day #7
And now for today’s Music in Our School’s Month Instrument of the Day…The “Auerglass!” (pronouced like hourglass)
The “Auerglass” is an experimental organ created by two artists Tauba Auerbach and Cameron Mesirow. These two talented women are best friends and designed the “Auerglass” as a “tandem” instrument. The instrument requires two people to play it simultaneously. It cannot be played by one person alone. Both players have a keyboard with alternating notes which together make a four octave scale. In order for the instrument to play, each person must pump air for the other. Now that’s a true musical friendship…what kind of musical instrument would you invent to play with your best friend?!
Check out the video to hear the amazing “Auerglass!”
The music is slow to start but really gets going at minute marker 1:19.
Day #8
And now for today’s Music in Our School’s Month Instrument of the Day…
The Hang Drum!
No, it is not a wok, and it is not a UFO!
The Hang Drum was invented in 2000 in Switzerland, it resembles an inverted steel drum. Its sound is similar yet more tribal and hypnotic. The instrument has a soft, sorrowful tone. Despite its rarity (and price) it’s been embraced by many musicians and it’s quickly become a sensation. The Hang is made from two metal dishes that when joined together look like a flying saucer. The two sides are referred to as the Ding and the Gu. The Ding side contains seven to nine notes which look like dents in the surface. The Gu side acts as a bass part that can be played by slapping your palm over the hole.
Check out the video below to see the Hang in action…
Day#9
The Hulusi from China
The name Hulusi comes from the Chinese words hulu, meaning “gourd,” and si, meaning “silk” because of the smooth, pure sound it makes. Although it originated in China, it has become popular all around the world. The Hulusi is an end-blown reed wind instrument. It is held vertically and has three bamboo pipes which pass through a gourd. The center pipe has finger holes to produce many different pitches while the outer two are drones. The drone pipe has a finger hole, which allows it to be stopped when desired.
Check out the video to hear a performance by the Chinese Hulusi…
Day #10
And now for today’s Music in Our School’s Month Instrument of the Day, in honor of St. Patrick’s Day…
The Hevia – Electronic Bagpipes
Hevia is a famous bagpipe player from Asturias, Spain. He has launched his own version of electronic MIDI bagpipes. They’re portable and easy to travel with, small enough to count as your carry-on bag when flying on an airplane. The electronic system or MIDI allows the Hevia to make thousands of different sounds, virtually anything you could imagine!
Check out the video to hear a performance on the Hevia Electronic Bagpipes…
Day #11
And now for today’s Music in Our School’s Month Instrument of the Day…
Aquaggaswack
(pronounced ah-kwah-ga-swock)
The Aquaggaswack is an odd musical instrument with an equally odd and difficult to spell name. First built in 1996, it is a good example of how to create music using recycled materials. It is mostly composed of common household objects including pot lids and pans. All the lids were obtained from thrift stores and can be played with mallets, sticks and brushes. The center lids have a mostly bell-like tone and the outer set has a more gong-like tone. At various times different versions of the Aquaggaswack also included a cymbal, jingle bells, and a cowbell. It is all hung from a framework of metal galvanized plumbing pipe in a way that makes it easy to assemble and break down.
Watch the video to see this interesting instrument in action!
Day #12
And now for today’s Music in Our School’s Month Instrument of the Day…
The Aeolian Harp
The Aeolian harp is named after Aeolus the ancient Greek god of the wind. The traditional Aeolian harp is essentially a wooden box soundboard with strings stretched lengthwise across two bridges. It is placed in a slightly opened window where the wind can blow across the strings to produce sounds. Wind harps transpose the spirit of the wind into spontaneous, multi-layered music in time to nature’s rhythm. Their strings create tones that range from deep, pulsing basses to soaring sopranos. The sound is random, depending on the strength of the wind passing over the strings, and can range from a barely audible hum to a loud scream. Some artists have created larger than life versions installed in public places for all to enjoy.
Watch the video to see this interesting instrument in action!
Day #13
And now for the Music in Our School’s Month Instrument of the Day…
The Sheng (pronounced sung) – aka the Chinese Mouth Organ
The Sheng is one of the oldest Chinese instruments whose manufacture and use were documented throughout ancient history. It first appears in 551 BC during the Zhou Dynasty but there are records of similar ones as far back as 3000 years ago. The instrument is a mouth blown reed instrument. The traditional Sheng is made up of 13 or 14 pipes of different lengths mounted together onto a base. The number of reeds on the modern Sheng varies from 21 to 32. Music is produced by blowing and sucking the air through a metal tube connected to the base. The air then rushes through the pipes. A player determines the notes to play by allowing the air through selected pipes while pressing on keys near the base. Since the Sheng can produce chords as well as single notes, it is used as both a solo and accompanying instrument in many traditional Chinese orchestras.
Watch the video to see this interesting instrument in action!
Day #14
And now for the final Music in Our School’s Month Instrument of the Day…
The American Fotoplayer
The American fotoplayer was introduced in 1912. This musical instrument is a type of player piano that was especially developed to provide sound effects for silent movies during the early 19th century. Before movies had sound, it was discovered that playing background music during a film could aid in developing a particular mood for a certain scene. Initially, small theatres would use player pianos to produce music automatically from piano rolls. After some time, some of these pianos were extended in size with pipe organs and sound effects inserted into large cabinets connected to the sides of the piano. The user of this new contraption, which became known as the photoplayer, could then create multiple sounds to match the actions on screen. Between 8,000 and 12,000 of these musical instruments were made between 1910 and 1928, with the American Fotoplayer Company’s Fotoplayer being of the most popular brands. When sound films were first created in the late 1920s, the Fotoplayer became unnecessary. Therefore, the American Fotoplayer Company ceased production of their product in 1925. Of the thousands of American Fotoplayers made, fewer than 50 survive today, and of those only 12 are known to still be playable.
Check out the video to see this amazing instrument in action!
