Musical Instruments: Oboe, Cor Anglais and Bassoon

The oboe, cor anglais and bassoon are double reed instruments. These are reeds that are fastened together and placed onto the instrument. The performer blows down the instrument and the sound is produced when the breath passes between the reeds.

The Oboe

The oboe is written on the treble clef and it is not transposing. It has a range of over two octaves.

Below is a picture of a performer playing the oboe.

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The Cor Anglais

The cor anglais is transposing. The range is over two octaves, but the range is smaller than the oboe. It looks similar to the oboe, but it is larger with a curved neck. The music for the cor anglais is written on the treble clef.

The Bassoon

The bassoon is written on the bass clef with the higher notes on the tenor clef. Its range is over three octaves. It is not transposing.

Below is a picture of a bassoon.

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Warburton, Annie O. Basic Music Knowledge. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Print, p. 141.

Musical Instruments: Clarinet and Saxophone

The clarinet and the saxophone are single reed instruments. This is because the reed is inserted at the back of the mouthpiece. They are members of the woodwind family of instruments. Clarinets and saxophones are transposing instruments, this means they play a different pitch from the written notes.

The Clarinet

The clarinet has a range of over three octaves and is written mainly in the treble clef, except the bass clarinet which can be written in the treble or the bass clef.  The clarinets most used are in A and Bb. These are most common in the orchestra.

The picture below shows two clarinets.

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Below are two performers playing a clarinet duet.

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The Saxophone

The saxophone is similar to the clarinet. The most widely used saxophones are in Bb and Eb.

The picture below shows a saxophone.

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The saxophone is not usually used in the orchestra. It is more widely used in jazz groups and military bands. It has a range of about two and a half octaves and is written in the treble clef.


Taylor, E. (1991). The AB guide to music theory, part II. 1st ed. London: Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. pp. 211 and 212.

Ornaments

Ornamentation is used to add extra notes and to decorate the music. Music can be ornamented in many ways.

The Slide

In the pictures below, there are examples of an ornament called a slide. The notes are played one after the other in quick succession. They are small notes attached to a primary note. The examples are on the top stave of both pictures.

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The Acciaccatura

The acciaccatura is a small note with a stroke though it. It is also called a crushed note or a grace note. It is played on the beat. The small acciaccatura is played quickly as possible with the principal note. In the picture below, the first note in the treble clef is an example of an acciaccatura.

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The Appoggiatura

The appoggiatura looks the same as the acciaccatura but without the stroke through the small note. It is part of the melody. The small appoggiatura note takes half of the value and the principal note takes the other half. So, if the principal note is a crotchet, the appoggiatura would be performed as a quaver and the principal note would also be performed as a quaver. If the principal note is a minim, the notes would be performed as crotchets.

If the principal note is dotted, the small appoggiatura note takes two thirds of the value and the principal note takes one third. So, if the principal note is a dotted crotchet, the appoggiatura would be a crotchet and the principal note would be a quaver. If the principal note is a dotted minim, the appoggiatura would be a minim and the principal note would be a crotchet.

If the appoggiatura is written with a chord, the appoggiatura would be performed with the note that it is slurred to, this would be its principal note.

The Upper Mordent and The Lower Mordent 

The sign above the first note in this piece below is an example of a lower mordent. The upper mordent is the same sign but without the line down the middle. When the lower mordent is performed, the principal note shown is played first, then the note below and back to the principal note. The upper mordent is performed with the principal note, then the next note up and back to the principal note. They would be played quickly.

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The Trill

The trill is performed as the principal note shown, then the note above and played quickly one after the other. It lasts as long as the value of the principal note and also depends on the speed of the piece how many notes can be performed. The picture below shows a note with a trill sign above it. In Mozart's music, the trill is performed starting on the note above the principal note.

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The Turn

A turn is written above the note and it will be performed; the note above the principal note, the principal note, the note below, then back to the principal note. It can also be written as an inverted turn where it is performed; the note below the principal note, the principal note, the note above, then back to the principal note. The speed the turn is performed depends on the speed of the piece. When the turn is written between notes, it is performed; the principal note, the next note up, back to the principal note, the lower note and back to the principal note. When it is inverted; the principal note, the note lower, the principal note, the upper note and back to the principal note.

The picture below shows some examples of a turn. The turns are on the top stave and the inverted turns are on the bottom stave.

Image By Louise MacPherson 11/1/2017

Baxter, Harry and Michael Baxter. The Right Way To Read Music. Tadworth: Right Way, 1993. Print, pp. 138 to 151.

Compound Intervals

A compound interval is an interval more than an octave (distance of eight notes). Working out the compound interval is the same as intervals that are less than an octave.

They have two names:

compound major 2nd          major 9th
compound major 3rd           major 10th
compound perfect 4th          perfect 11th
compound perfect 5th          perfect 12th
compound major 6th            major 13th
compound major 7th            major 14th
compound perfect octave     perfect 15th

If we look at the picture below, the highest note on the bottom stave with the bass clef is A. Then look at the second note on the top stave with the treble clef, it is E. The distance between these notes are larger than an octave, A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#, A, B, C#, D, E. This interval is a compound perfect 5th or perfect 12th. When calculating the interval from the second A, A to E is five notes, so it is a perfect interval.

If we look at the fifth note on the top stave with the treble clef. It is an F#, so the interval between the A on the bottom stave and the F# on the top stave is a compound major 6th or a major 13th, A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#, A, B, C#, D, E, F#.

If we look at the seventh note on the top stave with the treble clef. It is a G#. The interval between the A on the bottom stave and the G# on the top stave is a compound major 7th or a major 14th, A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#, A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#.

As with all intervals, the interval is worked out from the lowest note. If it is A, we use the scale of A major, if it is D, we use the scale of D major. All the intervals we have worked out from the picture have an A as the lowest note, so we think in the scale of A major. It has A, B, C#, D, E F#, G#, A.

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Taylor, E. (1990). Music Theory In Practice Grade 5. London: The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, pp. 27 and 28.

Cadences

A cadence is a completed phrase or musical sentence. There are four main cadences; Perfect, Plagal, Imperfect and Interrupted.

The Perfect Cadence uses chords V (five) to I (one). This cadence sounds finished when performed.

The Plagal Cadence uses chords IV (four) to I (one). This cadence also sounds finished and it is often performed at the end of hymns, sometimes called the Amen cadence.

The Imperfect Cadence uses chords I (one) to V (five) or chords IV (four) to V (five). This cadence sounds unfinished. This cadence can also be II - V, III - V, VI - V and VII - V, but the I - V and IV - V chord sequences are more common.

The Interrupted Cadence uses chords V (five) to VI (six). This cadence also sounds unfinished.

There is another cadence called the Phrygian Cadence. It uses chords IVb (four first inversion) to V (five). This cadence is an Imperfect Cadence in a minor key.

If we performed a perfect cadence in the key of D major, chord V would consist of notes A,C#,E to chord I which would be D, F#, A. If we look at the chart below, it shows us the chords in C major and D major.


Image By Louise MacPherson 24/12/2016

To work out the chords in the scale, the first task is to work out the notes of the scale. The scale of D major is D E F# G A B C# D. The next step is to work out the notes in the chords. For chord I we take the first note of the scale which is D, miss a note, F#,miss a note, A. If we want to work out chord IV, we start with the fourth note of the scale which is G, miss a note, B, miss a note, D. The same system can be applied to working out the chords of different scales.

The keyboard in the picture below can help to work out the chords.

Image By Louise MacPherson 24/12/2016

Baxter, Harry and Michael Baxter. The Right Way To Read Music. Tadworth: Right Way, 1993. Print, pp. 86 to 88.

Warburton, Annie O. Basic Music Knowledge. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Print, pp. 119 and 120.

Phrasing

A phrase is a musical sentence. Music is the same as writing, it is divided into sections.

If we look at the picture below, the music consists of four bar phrases. The length of phrases can vary depending on the piece, but here they are every four bars.

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Phrasing shapes the music. It is also necessary for breathing points for performers of woodwind and brass instruments as well as singers.

The music below consists of shorter phrases. The line joining up the notes show the phrases. These shape the music in this piece to imitate the singing of a bird.

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Baxter, Harry and Michael Baxter. The Right Way To Read Music. Tadworth: Right Way, 1993. Print, p.129.

Warburton, Annie O. Basic Music Knowledge. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Print, p. 66.

Musical Instruments: The Recorder

The recorder is an instrument that is very popular in schools. It is quite easy to play and comes in a variety of sizes; sopranino, descant, treble, alto, tenor and bass. The descant is the recorder that is most widely used. It is a very old instrument and was very popular during the reign of Elizabeth I.

Recorders can be made of wood, ivory or plastic. Today the plastic recorder is the most popular. It is held vertically and the performer blows into the head joint and covers different holes along the tube to create different notes. All recorders apart from the bass have a range of two octaves. The bass range is under two octaves.

The recorder can be dismantled into three pieces for ease of storage as in the picture below.

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The pictures below show the various sizes of recorders.

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Warburton, Annie O. Basic Music Knowledge. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Print, p. 137.

Taylor, E. (1991). The AB guide to music theory, part II. 1st ed. London: Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. p. 207.