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Evolution of The Trumpet

The Modern Trumpet

The metal Trumpet has been around for thousands of years, dating back to around 1500 B.C. A basic trumpet is not difficult at all to make, believe it or not. When I was about 4 years old, I would buzz my lips into a plastic funnel and was able to get a sound out of it. This is not that much different from the earliest versions of trumpets. All you need is a tube, theoretically. Here is a video of a man demonstrating this:

 

So how do we get from simple tubes to the shiny triumphant metal beasts that we are so familiar with today? Before the 1800’s, the trumpet had very limited facility. Since there were no valves or holes, the person playing it would have to use air, embouchure, and tongue position to change the note. These notes are referred to as partials, and are limited to the harmonic series.  Since they were limited to the harmonic series, the trumpet’s role in music was focused around military events and bugle calls. However, when the valve system was invented in the 1800’s they were then able to play in chromatic musical contexts. The valves reroute the air blowing through the trumpet to change the distance your air travels from mouthpiece to the bell , which ends up changing the note. There are 7 different valve combinations, each one having its own harmonic series.

 

Since then there have been minor innovations to the trumpet, yet it has remained a relatively consistent design for the past 100 years or so. Nowadays trumpets are very customizable in regards to metal type, bore size, mouthpiece type/size, key (C/Bb/Eb/etc), and finish, yet they all stick to the same basic formula.

 

Technical Advancements in Player Ability/Extended Technique

Since the trumpet has gotten more advanced, the playing ability has also increased. Many technical advancements in the player have occurred recently in the 20th and 21st Century. A few noteable players are Rafael Mendez, Allen Vizzutti, Louis Armstrong, Laurie Frink, Woody Shaw, Peter Evans, and Ambrose Akinmusire. All of these people have pushed trumpet to technical limits that were thought to be unreachable.

 

Many technical innovations of trumpet players have happened in the Jazz idiom. This makes sense since jazz music is constantly exploring boundaries. One of the greatest innovators was Woody Shaw , who explored large interval improvisation, especially with 4ths and 5ths. Intervals are very difficult on the trumpet. They require a relaxed embouchure and air flow, which is counter intuitive when you try to perform them. Ambrose Akinmusire is a modern trumpet player who also has a very intervallic style of improvising, taking it even further than Woody Shaw. Ambrose also tends to emulate the human voice frequently by pushing the valves halfway down to get a muffled and slippery timbre.

 

Peter Evans is perhaps one of the greatest technical trumpet players to ever live, and has taken trumpet to its limits. He plays high, fast, slow, intervallically, and melodically, all with ease. Evans’ music is also highly experimental and crosses over into the avante garde umbrella. He uses what we call “extended techniques” to create sounds on the trumpet that are totally unique to him, and require masterful technique. This makes Peter Evans a great innovator of the trumpet.

 

 

 

The Electronic Trumpet

The EVI (Electronic Valve Instrument) is an electronic wind instrument created by Nyle Steiner. It uses the bottom half of the octave fingerings for trumpet, and the rest is controlled by the octave dial and partial key. This is a wind powered instrument that uses MIDI technology to create sounds. This means that the entire soundscape for trumpet players has opened widely since this was created. It also allows the person to play in 8 octaves, instead of 2 or 3. This is a major innovation that was conceptualized with a trumpet in mind, and a ton of beautiful music has come out of its creation. A couple notable EVI players are John Daversa and John Swana.

 

There have been many major innovations of the trumpet since its creation, but many of those innovations have happened in the last 200-300 years. I’m excited to see what the next “big thing” is.

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Boing Boing Boing!

Have you ever wondered what that mysterious “boinging” sound is that randomly pops up in songs? Or what instrument is being played when a character stumbles and falls in a cartoon? Well stop your worrying today folks because Danielle has all of the answers to your questions! BEHOLD…the jaw harp, also commonly known as the jew harp. I first discovered this quirky instrument during the summer of 2017 when I was browsing through Bernunzio’s, located right here in Rochester! I made an impulsive purchase and VOILA, a jaw harpist was born. Grab a seat and enjoy this short video of snoopy playing a spectacular little tune!        

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkldkfoeVQc

The jaw harp is small metal instrument that is played by using one’s mouth and right hand index finger. To get started simply rest the instrument between your lips, while holding the left side of the instrument with your left hand. There are many different models of a jaw harp, and some may require you to press the frame onto your lips against your teeth. The right hand is used for plucking the loop of the instrument, which then vibrates the reed. The “boing” sound is created by simultaneously plucking the loop, and moving your tongue. The faster you move your tongue, the more vibrant the “boing” sound will be. The lower your tongue sits in your mouth, the lower the pitch will be. If you move your tongue to the roof of your mouth, the pitch will sound higher. You can also change the pitch by making  “oo-ee” shapes with your mouth. This sounds like a relatively simple concept, but I struggled a lot with understanding how the instrument works. I guess since I’m so used to focusing on my breath because of singing, I thought in order to play the jaw harp I would need to blow air through the reed. I quickly learned that no air is required to produce a sound on the instrument. However, the process of breathing into a jaw harp is a common practice used for some genres of music. It’s surprisingly a pretty popular skill in the techno music world. In this video, Mirko Muni shows off his techno jaw harp skills by experimenting with breathing in and out while playing the jaw harp. 

A little known fact, is that the jaw harp is also associated with the invention of other well-known instruments. In this TED talk, guest speaker Valentinas tells his audience that the invention of the harmonica “is based on several little jaw harps connected together.” He also mentions that the accordion was made in a similar way. This explains why the jaw harp blends so well with these two instruments. You’ll often hear the jaw harp being played with harmonica, accordion, or banjo in bluegrass! It’s interesting to think that two well-known instruments were made possible by one simple instrument few people have heard of. It makes me wonder if other instruments were originated in a similar way. If so what are they?

TED talk speaker Valentinas also touches on the origin of it’s name. “It has nothing in common with Jews, Jewish, or Judaism. Very simple, this name ‘jews’ came from English word ‘jaws’, mouth, so sometimes it’s called jaw harp or mouth guard.” He mentions that it has around 900 different names, and is known as one of the oldest instruments in the world. Michael Wright, author of  The Search for the Origins of the Jew’s Harp states that “the beginnings of the instrument suggests an Asian origin…Bamboo examples are played throughout Asia and Polynesia, but because of the basic structure of the single reed concept, it is possible that the instruments evolved in various ways independently rather than from one single source.” The picture to the right shows four jaw harps carved out of bamboo instead of metal. 

Jaw harps also make fun cameos in cinema. They’re most popular in western movies, and actors often actually learn how to play them! Here is a little montage of the jaw harp in cinema!

Sources:

http://www.silkroadfoundation.org/newsletter/vol2num2/Harp.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SpWuseQGys

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKHgIERB5rQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkPlk4BSSMY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkldkfoeVQc

http://www.jewsharpguild.org/history.html

https://bernunzio.com/

 

 

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Bones?

The trombone is an instrument that is full of misconceptions from those who don’t play it. It is most commonly associated with silly noises, the parents talking sounds from the Charlie Brown series, and sheer loudness, among others. However, just because the trombone is capable of making silly, sound effect-esque glissandi if called upon, the trombone is also more than capable of creating beautiful, rich sounds in a wide variety of contexts.

The modern trombone originates from an instrument called the sacbut, or sackbut. The true date of origin of the sacbut is not known, but “ by 1500 it is illustrated and mentioned regularly.” https://www.music.iastate.edu/antiqua/sacbut.htm

The sacbut had four main sizes, being alto, tenor, bass and great or contrabass. The tenor sacbut eventually evolved into what is known as the modern tenor trombone. This instrument is however very different from trombones as they are known today. Sacbuts are generally smaller, but particularly so in the bell. Thus, the sound quality of the sacbut is less full, due to the actual lack of overtones being produced. The sacbut also does not have much of the tubing present on modern trombones, as the intonation was primarily fixed from the main slide, unlike the extra tuning slides that modern trombonists are able to work with. An example of the sacbut’s sonority: https://www.music.iastate.edu/antiqua/mp3/Musica_Antiqua_hymn_to_st_john.mp3

These instruments were primarily used in church settings to accompany the choir, as the timbre of the sacbut and trombone are both very similar to that of the human voice, especially a tenor. “For outdoor music the top part of a sackbut ensemble was usually taken by a shawm, and for church music, by a cornett. The sackbut player should imitate the sound of the cornett, not the trumpet. Thus today’s marching band trombone blasts have no place in the performance of early music.”https://www.music.iastate.edu/antiqua/sacbut.htm
This statement is a very accurate depiction of the sound concept of a sacbut versus the modern trombone. While “marching band trombone blasts” are of course not the only sound that trombonists are capable of creating, although some do unfortunately favor it, the sacbut was an instrument intended to blend into the sound of the lead voice of a shawm or cornet.

Many players very much enjoy abusing the trombone’s capabilities in terms of volume, rather than exploring the trombone’s capabilities in terms of beautiful sound quality. While the sacbut was intended to blend into the top voice of its ensemble, so too is the trombone meant to blend into the sound of the lead trumpet (or other instrument) in its many contexts today, such as the orchestra, wind band or various jazz settings. http://www.blackdiamondbrass.com/trbhist/tbonehist.htm The trombone was used by the great, extravagant composers of Richard Strauss and Wagner in moments of triumph and great energy, in order to ‘properly’ utilize the trombone’s unique capability for great volume.

See this thoughtful article on the development of trombone playing in terms of equipment and mindset: http://www.dansr.com/wick/resources/me-myself-and-i-are-orchestral-brass-players-losing-the-concept-of-being-team-players

This article touches on the fact that trombone equipment has been continually getting larger, typically to help players produce bigger sounds within the orchestra. Famous trombone pedagogue Doug Yeo touches on the fact that in modern orchestral settings, you will notice plexiglass shields protecting the string players positioned in front of the brass players. The fact alone that players need plexiglass shields and/or earplugs to protect their hearing speaks a lot about the sheer volume being produced from brass players today. This illuminates the great deal of change that has accompanied the development of the sacbut into the modern trombone in terms of instrumental design and adding of tubes as well as increasing size of almost every aspect of the instrument, specifically the tenor and bass ranges. For example, here is a trombone ensemble playing music from Game of Thrones, extremely loudly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTDEVUlCClk

Modern trombonists would surely benefit from thinking more about the blend of an ensemble and fitting into the top voice being played. While outputting great amounts of volume and energy is very exciting and fun as a player, sometimes it can simply be overpowering, or just overbearing and not enjoyable to listen to. As quoted in Doug Yeo’s article speaking of the great Chicago Symphony brass, “The performance was electric because I (Ed Kleinhammer, former bass trombonist of the CSO) was part of a great unified orchestra doing their thing.”

While the tone of this article was generally disapproving of modern trombonists’ habits, this article does not intend to encompass the intentions of every modern trombonist. There is a large community of sensitive and actively listening players that are promoting these good habits into the orchestral and jazz settings of trombonists everywhere, like my good friend Jack Courtright. Here is an example of beautiful trombone playing that blends beautifully with an ensemble, while also playing solo lines that soar over and project with a beautiful tone. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79-EDLi8KRw

The future of brass playing could surely benefit from increased sensitivity, and forgetting about the ego that comes from being the loudest player in the orchestra. The increase in musical technology from the beginning of the sacbut to the modern trombone certainly had its flaws, primarily due to players trying to abuse the trombone’s capabilities. However, if played right, the trombone can be the most beautiful sound you’ll ever hear.

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Why do we ‘mute’ our instruments?

In one of Prokofiev’s most famous pieces, Romeo and Juliet, the horns begin Montagues and Capulets with sustained notes, becoming more and more dissonant as voices are added, leading up to a fortissimo chord with the entire orchestra. The one exception and peculiarity to this chord, is the pianissimo ‘con sordino’ (with mute) string section. Once the blaring brass and woodwinds’ chord dissipates, the strings continue their sustained pianissimo, which is made even quieter because of Prokofiev’s usage of mutes. Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet is famously known for the beginning and its muted string section which not only dampens the sound, but also adds a unique timbre to the string section.

 

Mutes were first notated in music as early as 1607 in The Toccata from Claudio Monteverdi’s opera L’Orfeo in the trumpets and were first notated in the string section of Jean-Baptiste Lully’s Act II of Armide in 1686. However, mutes did not become as commonly used until the 19th century and by the 20th century, mutes were used very often.

There are a few different kinds of mutes for the string family. The most commonly used and referred to in music is a simple rubber device that is attached to the top of the bridge. There is also a practice mute which is usually used to practice in the late hours of the night when one is procrastinating for a lesson. This mute is more dense and dampens the sound even more and is not usually used in performance. When the mute is used, it dampens the vibrations of the instrument and also suppresses certain harmonics of the instrument and creates higher harmonic sounds. This shows that not only does it ‘mute’ the sound in volume but also changes the timbre and tone color of the instrument.

Originally, string mutes were wooden and could not be left on the instrument during ‘senza sordino’ passages. In 1947, Jascha Heifetz and Henryk Kaston created a new model of the mute which was carefully designed with a metal clamp inside the rubber casing which let the musician decide how ‘muted’ to make his/her sound. The farther down the bridge you pushed the mute, the more muted it became. It was also designed to allow the musician to choose what strings to mute. One could put them between the two higher strings to dampen the higher register, between the lower for the lower register, or in the middle for a balanced sound. This ‘Heifetz mute’ became extremely popular especially because of its name, under the great violinist Jascha Heifetz. This model is no longer manufactured but a different, less expensive and modified version is still sold. The original Heifetz mutes now sell for $500 and are extremely limited. You can buy the original model or buy a Heifetz mute that he used himself for $25,000 here!

I do not mean to brag, but this is a picture I took of an original model Heifetz mute that my previous professor (Toby Appel) let me use for my senior recital two years ago. He had purchased this when the original models first came out and were not $500.

In the Romantic era, composers were searching for a new sound in the orchestra and started to implement the mute. The mute is often seen simply as a tool to make a softer sound. If this were the case, composers could have easily reduced the orchestra or notated a softer dynamic. Instead, the mute creates a darker tone that creates a very particular somber sound. This ‘new technique’ for Romantic composers was, what it seems to be, the beginning of extended technique. Using tools and different technologies to produce different sounds and playing instruments even beyond what it was originally intended to, was and is still currently intriguing musicians and pushing heir creative capabilities. 

Sources:

https://www.sweetwater.com/insync/mute-musical-instrument/

http://www.theheifetzmute.com

https://books.google.com/books?id=_tkPAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA190&lpg=PA190&dq=mute+timbre&source=bl&ots=jjv4nbaS9Y&sig=V62CNNqmMsiWeH2Cg3SZ5WXlVH4&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiA7seE9K_WAhUG5iYKHT8KDQU4ChDoAQg3MAM#v=onepage&q=mute%20timbre&f=false 

 

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Theremin: The World’s Spookiest Instrument

It is astonishing to think how interesting and perplexingly cool the theremin is and how very few people in the world know about its existence even when they have probably heard it somewhere. “In my experience, there are two kinds of people: those who are beguiled by the theremin and those who just haven’t heard of it yet. Because of the way it’s played – gestures, space – it fascinates instantly”  https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/aug/22/invisible-instrument-theremin. 

To be honest, I didn’t know about it until a few years ago, when I stumbled upon this video of Clara Rockmore playing Saint-Saëns’s “The Swan” which literally looked like she was playing an invisible violin. The string-like sound is there, but it looks like she isn’t playing a particular instrument or even touching anything to that matter; she is playing air.

Leon Theremin (yes, that’s why the Theremin is called that) was a young Russian scientist who was working on a gas meter to measure densities. “‘Leon Theremin was an[n] . . . inventor of what is probably the most unusual musical instrument ever invented. You’re actually moving your two hands through two electromagnetic fields that are around two antennas. . . He was working in a laboratory in Russia as a young scientist, he was actually working on a gas meter to measure the density of gases,’ Glinsky said. ‘So as he brought his hand closer to the gas meter, he heard kind of a higher squeal. And as he brought his hand back to his body and away from the machine, it was a slower squeal’” https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-theremin-a-strange-instrument-with-a-strange-history/ 

Then Leon started playing melodies on the device while his colleagues at the laboratory stared with amazement. This was the birth of one of the world’s first electronic instruments. The first model of the theremin used a foot pedal to control the volume and a switch to modify pitch. Later, in 1920, it became the mind-boggling instrument which requires zero contact of the performer with the instrument.

You are probably wondering how this thing even works, right? Basically, the first theremins were made up by circuits of vacuum tubes, coils, and wires which created electromagnetic fields around two antennae. By vibrating their fingers, players would raise or lower the pitch and volume. You can see why it is considered by many the world’s most difficult instrument. “A real theremin master can make an instrument soar with the fortissimo of Pavarotti or fade to the most delicate of whispers” http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/audio-music/theremin3.htm 

It is really easy to merely produce gross squeaks and cries because only masters can produce the beautiful violin-like sound, like Clara Rockmore, who was actually one of Professor Theremin’s original students. She was an accomplished violinist who was forced to stop playing violin because of injury and therefore picked up the theremin and went on to become the world’s best thereminist. What a great example of how good things can come out of bad situations!

The 1920 theremin was shown at the Moscow Industrial Fair and picked up the interest from Vladimir Lenin, who actually took some lessons on it and commissioned 600 models to be toured around the Soviet Union. Later on, Leon Theremin left for the United States, where he performed at the Metropolitan Opera House as well as Carnegie Hall. He patented his invention in 1928 and its rights were quickly seized by RCA who distributed it during the 30’s. “The Theremin became known in the USA as a home ‘novelty instrument’ and featured in many film soundtracks of the 1940-50’s, it also appeared in several pop records of the 1960’s but never overcame its novelty appeal; used for effect rather than as a ‘serious instrument’, most recordings employ the Theremin as a substitute string instrument rather than exploiting the microtonal and pitch characteristics of the instrument” http://120years.net/the-thereminleon-termensoviet-union1922/ 

Some examples of media were it was used are: “The Green Hornet Radio Show” (1936), “The Day the Earth Stood Still” (1951), “The Flintstones,” “Batman,” and 2004’s “Hellboy.” You can hear it from yourself in the next video clip. The theremin comes in at 1:14.

Leon Theremin went on creating and invented other instruments, such as the “Terpsitone,” the “Rhythmicon,” and the “keyboard Theremin,” and even the “Electronic cello.” He later ended up eventually “disappearing” and returning to his home country. However, in 1954 in a basement in Queens, NY, a young Robert Moog was obsessed with theremins and began building them with his father. “It’s hard to imagine what the evolution of the synthesizer would have been without Leon Theremin. For one, it was Theremin’s invention that first captivated Robert Moog. Theremin kits were Dr. Moog’s first product and many would say, his first electronic instrumental love. That impact was significant, too, on a whole generation” (http://cdm.link/2015/09/read-article-bob-moog-wrote-met-leon-theremin/  Moog’s theremins went on to become the leading company for the instrument and they have sold more theremins than any other company in the last 57 years. What’s marvelous about all this is that Bob Moog is the man behind the Moog synthesizers, and there is no denying that the theremin was a great influence for this development. “Electronic music pioneer Robert Moog built theremins long before he built synthesizers. In the 1960’s, he produced such models as the wedge-shaped Vanguard theremin and the shoebox shaped Moog Melodia theremin. Today, Moog Music Inc. produces the popular Etherwave and Etherwave Plus theremins and kits as well as the new MIDI-enabled Theremini theremin.”

Now that we have travelled through a brief history of the Theremin, we can see that is it actually a brief history of the technological advancements in electronic music over the last century. The discovery of the theremin and its technological innovation ended up being an inspiration for the creation of synthesizers, which are nowadays are incredibly popular and key for music production.

 

 

 

 

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Carving out a Path for the Viola

When I first decided I wanted to play an instrument, I went to an instrument “try-out” day at my town’s local music store. I first tried out a flute, then a trumpet. Then I moved on to strings and picked up the violin. I remember that the sound of the bow against the strings was painful to my ears. A few minutes later, I walked over to my identical twin sister, who was smiling at what looked like a big violin. “Let me try!!!” I said, and I put the viola on my shoulder. I drew two bows on the D string, then two on the A string. Thinking, “OMG, I can already play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”, I told my mom and sister that I wanted to play viola. My twin sister did too! As you can imagine we played a lot of viola duets over the next several years.

As a violist, I am used to the reputation this instrument has in the music world. In an orchestra, the viola plays a supportive role. Seldom receiving the melody, violists learn how to play harmony very well. When we received this blog post assignment, I knew I wanted to discuss the history of this instrument because there is a lot that goes untold (and unknown). Though, I am biased, I feel the viola’s importance should be projected. What other instrument sounds like caramel and chocolate when it’s played well?!

 Click to play

To emphasize this gif, here is a recording of one of my favorite pieces (and one that shows off that caramel sound of the viola). Just listen to the first 30 seconds- that’s all you’ll need.

Let us go back to sixteenth century Italy. The viola is a member of the violin family, but there is no clear answer to exactly when this instrument came to be. According to the Vienna Symphonic Library the role of the viola came defined when demands for instruments that would fill out a room with sound for Baroque Opera became necessary. String instruments were often made in different sizes with the same tuning, so when a need had to be met to split the registers and have another instrument played “da braccio”  or played on the arm, the viola was born.

Composers soon composed for sections to mimic the human voice (parts separated by bass, tenor, alto, and soprano registers). Naturally the viola falls into the alto category, and makers had to continually experiment to “find the optimal combination of tone, size, shape, and range to compliment the current trends in orchestra and court music” .

The viola is often misunderstood in terms of size because there is no standardized system for measurement. This makes the viola imperfect acoustically, because in order for the most amazing sound to be achieved, the body of the instrument would have to be huge (and therefore unplayable). Today there are many makers who experiment with string length and the size of the body to achieve the optimal effect. Usually, people with longer limbs and fingers play larger violas and vice versa.

A huge advance in the viola-making world came with the modern bow. Francois Tourte , a Frenchman, is often credited with many string instrument advances but the modern bow is especially important to violists. Because a viola responds less quickly because of the thicker strings, a modern bow allows for more tension between that hair and the strings. This means violists could actually project(!). Soon, the role of the viola became increasingly important in chamber music and the first solo pieces were composed for the instrument.

I encourage you to watch this TEDx talk specifically about the viola. This talk is great because there are frequent playing examples as well as great facts.

Today, there are many amazing solo violists who have created a beautiful new reputation for this instrument. Some of my favorites, including Kim Kashkashian, Nobuko Imai, Yuri Bashmet, etc. have inspired not only violists around the world, but also composers to write new and challenging works for this instrument. In the last decade new commissions and transcriptions have taken off, carving out a new path for this instrument. In this article by TimeOut New York, Steve Smith writes of new CD releases that deserve attention, honing in on many new contemporary works.

Past the viola jokes, I believe we gain a lot from understanding the technology of this instrument, and how it came to fruition. It is important to consider that instrument makers in the 16th century may have had some of the same musical concerns that instrument makers and composers have today, and that the means of creating music are constantly being improved upon.

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Fretting over the past

Always known to have a flair for the dramatic, Jaco Pastorius’ 1962 Fender Jazz bass was aptly named the Bass of Doom. Although no one except Jaco knows the origin of the name, as a fellow bassist, one theory I have is simply the awe and terror (of inferiority) instilled in other musicians who witnessed the combination of Jaco and the instrument while on stage.

EXHIBIT A (feat. The Bass of Doom):

 

Besides the ridiculous chops and musicality displayed in this performance (he flips the notion of people talking during a bass solo on its head), one of the most striking aspects of this video is the warm, fuzzy tone that Jaco produces. Electric basses typically have a defined low-end with precise pitches, such as all fretted instruments, but the distinguishing feature of the Bass of Doom is its’ fretless nature, allowing fluidity between pitches and Jaco’s ability to make the bass sing via vibrato. Legend goes that Jaco found the Jazz Bass for $90 at a pawnshop sometime around 1970 and decided to take out the frets with a butter knife and replace them with polished pieces of “plastic wood”, then finishing the fret(less)board with a few coatings of boat epoxy, thus creating the first fretless bass.

 

As is the case with many folk-heroes and tales though, these facts are widely disputed, with the possibility that Jaco’s bass may have already been fretless when he purchased the instrument. Not only is the origin story possibly fabricated, but there are also contradictions over the origin of the fretless bass that all come down to a person’s opinion on what defines a fretless bass rather than who was the first to invent the instrument. The following image is of Ampeg AUB and AEB basses made circa 1968, at least two years before Jaco’s “discovery”,and it is apparent that the inspiration for the bass’ design comes from the electric bass’ ancestor, the contrabass (which could be argued is THE original fretless).

From the scroll-like headstock to the ebony fingerboard, both instruments look like and sound like a miniaturized version of an upright. Not only was Ampeg producing them around 1966, but according to Billy Wyman of Rolling Stones fame, “… I made a bass in 1961, before I joined the Stones, and it was a fretless bass. It was the first fretless bass ever made. I didn’t know that at the time, and I didn’t know that until 10 years ago. It predated fretless basses by about five or six years”. Rumor has it that the bass he had purchased was buzzing due to the frets so he decided to take them off. The issue here is that all we have to take for the validity of the claim is his word rather than recorded performances or videos of him with said makeshift bass. These differing origin points are where some debate comes in, as the Ampeg AUB and AEB are obviously derivative of upright basses, while Wyman’s choice was pragmatic in response to a functional issue but had no lasting impact. Jaco’s decision may have been a mixture of both due to his jazz background and influences and the questionable quality of pawnshop purchases, or it may have just been a stylistic quirk, the kinds of which he exhibited so often throughout his career. The main distinguishing factor when discussing any type of bass though is the tone, and any modern-day listener will instantly point to Jaco’s warbling, growling sonorities as the definitive fretless tone, even if it was not necessarily the “first” fretless, or a traditional fretless instrument.

As with so much of rock lore and history, stories are passed down via word of mouth for decades, resulting in tales that are irresistible but also sometimes easily refuted by the internet. While the anecdote about Jaco’s Bass of Doom being the original fretless may not be wholly true, it speaks volumes to how history is written, with the age-old adage of how the “victors” are the ones who write history. These conflicting origin stories pose some interesting questions about how the history of certain innovations is recorded. Does it matter who officially invented a technology if that person is hardly relevant to the cultural impact of said technology? Or, is it wrong to mythologize the origins of certain innovations if there’s an educational purpose behind it? While Jaco in many cases was no victor, in a sense, the history of the fretless electric bass begins and ends with him. Any person who performs on a fretless bass is instantly compared and contrasted with Jaco, similar to Michael Jordan’s shadow hanging over every single NBA superstar. The role of the fretless electric bass in any musical context is so entwined with Jaco’s legacy that even though the fretless had a precedent before the 70’s, it was Jaco and his eponymous debut album in 1976 that led instrument producers to market and produce these fretless instruments while also inspiring legions of bassists to pick them up in efforts to imitate him.

 

Further exploration:

Jaco Pastorius (Eponymous Debut Album)

Rick Danko (bassist for the Band, on left in yellow jacket) utilizing an Ampeg AMUB-1 Bass

 

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The Trombone and It’s History

What is the first thing you think about when you hear the word trombone or see someone playing one? Is it a marching band going down the street in bright red uniforms? Is it a long glissando in an old cartoon when a character does something silly or falls down? I bet it’s not a 15th century brass instrument most commonly found alongside two schawms. One of the things I find so interesting about the trombone is it’s versatility. Today, one can find trombonists playing all kinds of styles and genres ranging from jazz combo to symphony orchestra. Trombone plays a vital part in brass quintet, as well as big band. There are usually at least three of them in any wind ensemble, and even more in a larger symphonic band! New music in the 21st century loves the trombone because of it’s uniqueness in being the only brass to legitimately get a long and very crass glissando. I personally think it’s very annoying when I come across a piece of music written in the last one hundred years and my part is primarily whole notes at a loud dynamic, followed by a bunch of glissandi (that are sometimes physically impossible due to a composer’s lack of knowledge regarding the physics of the trombone). The reason for this being the fact that trombone is also extremely capable, like most all other instruments, of playing a beautiful melody or complimenting a melodic line in other ways than extended technique.

Encyclopedia Britannica describes the trombone as such: “Trombone, French trombone, German Posaune, brass wind musical instrument sounded by lip vibration against a cup mouthpiece. It has an extendable slide that can increase the length of the instrument’s tubing. The slide thus performs the function of the valves on other brass instruments.”

I like this description a lot, but the one thing it leaves out is the sackbut. Saqueboute in French, translates nicely to describe the modern trombone in the words “push-pull”. The first sackbuts appear in the year 1400 in Southern France (Eliason), and by 1420 had become while not universal, an accepted fact of the musical scene. The Sackbut was a development of the trumpet with an extendable slide instead of valves that increased the length of tubing, changing the pitch like the modern trombone. Like the trumpet, it had cylindrical bore flared to a bell, but a larger mouthpiece and cross section resembling a coronet. The bell of the sackbut had a five inch diameter and no finish on the rim, and also crooks that made the pitch of the instrument higher or lower depending on their material and size. These were considered tenor sackbuts, but by the beginning of the 17th century there were different sized instruments for alto, bass, and contrabass. 

The early trombone, or sackbut, had a multitude of different functions when it was introduced to the musical world. In the early 16th century, vocal groups were commonly alternating with organs or instrumental groups, but eventually the instruments would accompany and often times double the vocal parts.  The trombone has been described as the closest instrument to the human voice, so this feature of doubling is not surprising. This tradition carried on into the mid 19th century, as the trombone became less of a novelty and more respected in the orchestral setting.

By the mid 1800’s, sackbuts had become trombones in a much more modern sense. The bells became much larger and thicker to create the intended larger sound of composers such as Wagner and Berlioz of the time. Wagner used trombones heavily to portray feelings of heroism, might, and barbarism. But also by that time and into the early 20th century with people like Tommy Dorsey and Emory Remington, the trombone started to develop its lyrical singing side, putting aside the loud and pompous ideals that Wagner and earlier composers thought so important, creating a new and much more versatile personality for an instrument with an unfortunate first name.

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Why F Holes?

One the most notable features of the modern bowed string instrument family is that of the so called “f holes” located centrally on either side of the instruments’ main bodies.  These in particular contrast with the single circular shaped sound hole located in the center of an acoustic guitar.  In the guitar’s case, the single circular hole has been a staple of the instrument’s design for centuries.  In the case of the violin and other bowed string instrument, the f hole is a product of years of development through trial and error.

Image source: http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1741&context=gradreports

The earliest bowed string instruments actually had the same circular hole design as the guitar.  This probably occurred as some of the first instruments to be played with bows were simply lutes, whose main performance technique remained plucking.  However, as bowing took off as a genuine technique in its own right, the makers of such stringed instruments found that the circular sound holes did not produce the desired results.  And so, they began experimenting with other designs.

In the 10th and 11th centuries, the single circular hole was replaced by two separate circular holes on opposite sides of the instrument’s body, much as the modern f holes are located today.  This double design produced a greater acoustic clarity for bowed instruments than the single holes did, but it was still far from perfect.  And so, the experimenting continued.

By the 12th and 13th centuries, the circular holes were replaced with half moon shaped holes, followed quickly by C shaped holes.  These, combined with improvements in the technology of the bow itself contributed to a new era in the evolution of the bowed string instruments.  These C holes were so successful, that while they went through many phases of stylization through the centuries to come, they remained a staple through the early baroque.  In fact, many baroque string instruments retain the C shaped sound holes.  However, by the high baroque, influential luthiers – most notably Nicolo Amati – began creating instruments whose sound holes were shaped like an f.  This new design caught on rapidly, and remains in use today, with slight variations between different makers.  Guarnieri, for example, favored a longer and narrower design, while Stradivarius’s design was wider and shorter.

Viola Da Gamba with C shaped sound hole

Image Source: http://www.orpheon.org/OldSite/Seiten/education/ShapeUpEnglish.htm

The reason for the adoption of the f shape is not entirely clear.  However, a separate blog I found poses an interesting theory: namely, that the holes are not intended to be f – shaped.  Rather, the shape is intended as a stylized s, which in turn stood for “sound” in various languages.  Whether this theory is accurate is up to debate, but in either case, the f hole (or s hole), is now an integral part of the design of any modern bowed string instrument.  (side note, the f hole is also shaped like the symbol for integral: ∫ )

Interestingly enough, an MIT study from 2015 (in sources) has discovered that the f-hole is actually the ideal shape for sound production.  The vibrations from the f-holes carry longer and louder than that of any other shape on the bowed string instruments, as it is most suited to the sonic vibrations and air flow that bowing the strings produces.

Image source: http://rspa.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/471/2175/20140905#sec-4

It is a curious coincidence that this ideal shape was stumbled upon by what amounts to accident.  While I am certain that the early luthiers could empirically ascertain the superiority of the f-holes, they undoubtedly were unable to replicate the detailed acoustic physics calculations of the MIT researchers.

As a violinist, I am actually rather pleased with the concept of a chance occurrence driving the evolution of an important part of my instrument.  After all, so much of what goes into a good performance is created by chance – the atmosphere of the hall, the artist’s current mood, avoiding an unfortunate mistake – that having the creation of your instrument be coincidental is rather comforting.

 

 

Sources:

http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1741&context=gradreports

https://newt.phys.unsw.edu.au/music/publications/mclennan/fholes.pdf

http://blog.feinviolins.com/2013/04/why-f-holes.html

https://www.thestrad.com/new-research-into-the-development-of-violin-f-holes-is-simplistic-at-best/4073.article

http://rspa.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/471/2175/20140905#sec-4

http://www.orpheon.org/OldSite/Seiten/education/ShapeUpEnglish.htm

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The Metal Air Tube Through History

6:30am my alarm goes off and I start my day. I throw on whatever clothes I can find and I grab my case packing 4 incredibly unique instruments. Instruments with a history I can only attempt to comprehend. I play the trumpet, an instrument that dates back as early as 1500BC, with the first metal trumpets being found at King Tut’s tomb in ancient Egypt along with similar instruments scattered through Asia (1). Inspiration for the instrument stemmed from the use of conch shells, the trumpet recreated the original sound of blowing wind through the shell. What we now use for music, was once used as a tool in militaries and religious purposes. Through its evolution, the trumpet was first made of bronze, and through time we now have trumpets made up of brass with coatings of silver and gold.

The earliest of valves for the trumpet wouldn’t come around until 1814, with the first form of valve invented by Heinrich Stolzel (2). Until this time, trumpets were as simple as one elongated tube, wrapped around itself until the desired length/tuning was achieved. The newly made keyed trumpets would make its debut in Haydn and Hummel’s trumpet concerti, and would serve a big role in Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique with his use of the cornet. The newly developed cornet featured a new piston valve system developed by Francois Perinet in 1839 (3). With the development of the cornet and modern trumpet, the presence of the trumpet dramatically increased. More solo works came to life and music for brass become much more complex and prominent, achieving new pitches and gaining access to quarter tonal musical abilities. Fast forwarding to present time, my horns are made from a yellow brass foundation and are plated with silver and/or gold. Two of them were built here in the United States, one from Elkhart Indiana, and the other from Anaheim, California. I’ve had some customization with my trumpets, and some of the parts come from Japan.The US has a rich history of modern piston trumpet making, with famous techniques and formulas originating in the 1920s. Below I’ve included a link with a video showing the creation of a modern trumpet. Although most trumpets are factory made, there is still a significant hand-crafted element to every instrument, so every trumpet is different from another, even if they came from the same designs.

The other two trumpets in my case originated from Spain, a manufacturer that has a history for creating beautiful “small horns”. These small horns are higher pitched than the standard trumpets we typically see, and their origins come from the smaller cornets used in early British Brass Bands. These trumpets are typically used for early music, and for recreating sounds of the past. One is gold plated and the other silver. These materials serve to create different timbres in sound, the silver being more brilliant and the gold having a richer quality. These finishes on trumpets weren’t seen until the early 20th century.

Aside from the physical trumpet itself, the mouthpiece is an essential partner. There is almost more science to creating a mouthpiece than the trumpet. There are infinite possibilities when pairing a mouthpiece to a trumpet, because there are an infinite number of trumpet players all with different facial structures. John Storck’s “Understanding the Mouthpiece” describes the various shapes a mouthpiece can have, and has worked with world class trumpeters to create mouthpieces that can best suite every player (5). I play on a mouthpiece that was influenced by former New York Philharmonic Principal Trumpeter William Vacchiano.

Each time I go to practice, I’m playing the result of thousands of years of musical and mechanical evolution, each piece is the culmination of ideas of inventors across history, and it’s incredible that I can enjoy the fruits of their labor and utilize these tools to create beuatiful art.

 

Sources:

 

  1. “A short history on the trumpet”, Tony Guerrero. http://www.wwbw.com/the-music-room/a-brief-history-of-the-trumpet
  2. “The evelution of Brass Instruments and Orchestral Brass Writing From the Late Classical Period to the End of the Romantic Period”, Ken Jimenez. December 19, 2011. http://www.d.umn.edu/~rperraul/MU5204-EnsembleLit/KJimenez.pdf.pdf
  3. “The History of the Cornet, from pre-history to the present”, Greg Monks. http://www.blackdiamondbrass.com/tpthist/trpthist.htm
  4. “Bach Trumpet Tour”, Feb 24, 2015.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9XYQHBBp9I
  5. “Understanding the Mouthpiece”, John Storck, 1989.