development – MHS 123: Music and Technology in the Twentieth Century

January 31, 2019

What’s a Hammer?

What do you think of when the word hammer comes to mind?

A tool?

Rapper/dancer, MC Hammer?

A piano?

You may be thinking, “What’s a hammer have to do with a piano?”

Good question.

Hammers are mechanisms inside the keyboard that play a crucial role in its structure and sound. At times, we can forget about them because they are inside the instrument, but they are still an essential part of this big wood contraption. Without the hammers, it would not be able to produce the sound we hear today.

Before the piano was invented, the harpsichord was the main keyboard instrument. It produced sounds by hitting keys, which would strike a device called “jacks” that were in the harpsichord. The strings would be plucked in order to make sound, and a “jack rail” would then control how many strings were plucked at a time. This was what adjusted the volume.

Here’s a simple demonstration of how the jack works:

The piano eventually came into play in the 1700’s. It was invented by Bartolomeo Cristofori in Italy because many people were unsatisfied with the lack of control they had over the volume of the harpsichord. Cristofori switched the plucking mechanism for a hammer in the 1700’s. He developed an “escapement” mechanism, which allowed a hammer to fall after hitting the strings, as well as a dampening mechanism on the jack so that the strings would not sound when it was not being hit. His invention completely changed the sound of the keyboard instrument. It seems like a very minute detail- silencing the string; however, it makes a big difference. There’s a less abrupt sound, and a nice resonation. All of these characteristics makes the instrument more appealing to the ear.

Closer look of the hammers inside

Cristofori also developed another mechanism that improved the striking action. He used what he named, a “slide-slip.” The device (which was activated by a hand stop) would shift the mechanism so that it would only hit one string instead of three. This is where the soft pedal or una corda originated from.

The head of the hammer was also covered by a piece of felt. This allowed the tool to be protected, and not clash into the strings while keys were played. They were originally covered with layer of leather; however it was changed, most likely because it wasn’t fully developed until the mid 1800’s. The felt material allowed pianists to produce a softer sound, compared to the harpsichord, which was sharper and more abrupt. It had larger gradations in dynamics, which previous keyboard instruments did not have. As the felt quality gradually increased over time, modern pianos developed better tone, which gave room for more expression.

http://www.piano.christophersmit.com/hammer.html

So why are the hammers in the piano even that important? Is it even considered a technology? I would say so! The development of the hammer revolutionized the keyboard instrument. Before, pianists had no control over the volume at which they could play. As a pianist, that would have really bothered me, because the most important thing to have is a large range in dynamics. With the earlier keyboard instruments, the volume could only be controlled with the jack rail, and that still didn’t give much range in dynamics. The articulation of fingers was essentially the only thing that could control the sound and tone. It didn’t matter how much weight you put into the keys.

With the development of the hammer mechanism, pianists were able to change the sound and volume with the weight of their arms. This allowed them to produce a much bigger range of dynamics. It’s the reason why we are able to play a vast range of fortes and pianos today.

January 31, 2019

The Development of the Clarinet

Compared to the other instruments like a violin or a flute, the clarinet is a fairly modern instrument. Even among the woodwind instruments, the clarinet is considered to be a very young instrument. The first instrument that resembled a clarinet was called a chalumeau, which was also a single reed cylindrical instrument but it played a little lower. It wasn’t until around the eighteenth/seventeenth century that the chalumeau begin development into something that resembled more like a clarinet with more tonal range. C. H. Denner (1655-1707), who was from Nuremberg, Germany is said to have been one of the earlier figures who tested with chalumeaus and started innovating various ways to improve upon it.

The new instrument, which was then called a clarinetto (due to it sounding like a trumpet), became much more relevant to the Western musical world. The clarinetto was basically an improvement to the chalumeau. It had two or three keys. Even though that might seem little, it helped to facilitate technical runs that might have been otherwise too difficult. It also had a louder tone quality and began to be used more and more in orchestras.

More and more improvements start to be made into the new instrument as the works for the clarinet gets more demanding. The clarinet was also seen to have potential for its beautiful tone to help color the sound of the orchestra better. Various works such as the Mozart clarinet concerto or the Stamitz concerto required solid technical proficiency which made various musicians and inventors to further develop the clarinet. Ivan Mueller, further improved the clarinet by introducing the thirteen keyed clarinet. The addition of extra keys would allow the player technical ease and the ability to produce more tone colors.

This type of clarinet that was used in this time period is more related to the Ohler clarinet that is used widely today. It is known for its beautiful tonal focus. Due to that, it could be seen as inflexible as it is harder to manipulate the sound. The Ohler system is used more in Germany and Europe as it is the clarinet used in the Berlin Philharmonic and other European orchestras. Even though this system has a beautiful sound to it, the fingering is more complicated and could make technical works difficult.

The system of clarinets that the rest of the world uses is called the Boehm system. The Boehm system was created by Theobald Boehm in the mid ninth-teenth century. The two main difference between the Boehm clarinets and the Ohler clarinet (or the German clarinets) are its tone and ease of technicality. Unlike the Ohler clarinets, the Boehm clarinets have a more flexible and lighter sound. You can say that the tonal ideas of the two clarinets were almost opposites. One with a more focused dark sound, and the other with a lighter sound. The keywork was also very different between the two. For the Boehm system, the both pinky would have four keys to make playing easier while the Ohler system had only two on each where there was a roller in the middle you had to slide with your finger if the piece required you to play the other note. It should also be noted that Michele Zukovsky, the former principal clarinet player of the LA Philharmonic, took almost a year to get acquainted with the Ohler system from the Boehm because of its technical difficulty.

Left is the German clarinet and the right is Boehm clarinet (image is from the-clarinets)

All these little inventions and refinement helped to create the modern clarinet. Musicians faced challenges from the technical limits of the instrument which set off the development which would improve the clarinet in various ways such as bettering the tone, tuning, and key work. This would help them play what is required of them and to bring out their artistry and music making.

January 31, 2019January 31, 2019

Electrically Live Organs!

Electricity in Organs is one of the most innovative technologies to ever happen to organists in the modern day. It allows the organist many opportunities for improvement in both the ability to practice and in the ability to perform.

There are a few terms that the reader should know. An organ’s ”bellows” are similar to that of a bellow with which you would fan a flame in a fireplace. These bellows produce wind to follow through the wind trunks, which are pipes for the air to go through, to arrive at the pipes to produce the sound we hear. The next term is ”stops” which are the individual sounds that can be combined to make the ”normal” sound of an organ. The keyboards of an organ have a ”pluck” which is a slight resistance in the movement of the key from the normal position to the depressed position. This resistance is the opening of a passageway that the air follows to reach the intended pipe to make the harmony or melodic line desired.

Diagram of organ bellow and its route to the pipes

Before electricity’s use in organs, an organist would practice by use of one of 2 methods. First is hiring a person or two (or as required) to pump the bellows of the organ to supply wind for the pipes to speak/make a sound. This method of practice was not the most desirable as you would have to pay the so-called, bellow treader(s) to pump the bellows and also as a result of practicing in the Church during this time, the organist would have to work in a cold environment or pay for some system of heating in the building. The other style of practice was to use an instrument that did not require winding, such as a harpsichord or clavichord, or could supply wind of its own, such as a harmonium. This style of practicing was better for two reasons; it did not require the hiring of bellow treaders and also would not require additional heating beyond what the home’s normal livable temperature would have been.

While these two styles of practicing allowed for excellent music making during that time and a way for the organist to develop his/her technique, both had their disadvantages: the cost of practice time or not hearing the intended instrument’s sound. With the use of electricity in organs, Organists are now allowed to practice without the aid of bellow treaders by application of electric blowers/heavy duty fans or missing out on the sounds of the organ on which they intend to play.

Just as important is the use of electricity to recall combinations of stops at any point in time to accomplish a specific sound to assist the expression of the music and the organist. The sounds can be anything the organist desires to hear in regards to pitch level and dynamics. Olivier Messiaen used this feature of organs to employ intriguing and distinct colors in his pieces that would have been near impossible to accomplish on an organ that did not have electricity to execute these drastic and pertinent sound changes.

Changes of sound could not be as drastic without the aid of electricity

In addition to these improvements with electricity, because of this advancement there allowed enablement of a higher technical facility for organists. The development of direct electric action was the cause of the progress. This action allowed for ease of overcoming the pluck of the palette, allowing the pipe to speak. With this available ease, there was an increase in virtuoso writing for the organ. The ability of the organist before this technology was stunted as the key pressure would have to be overcome with more weight and would, therefore, slow the speed at which organists would tend to play because of physical limitations of the instrument.