stalinetta 's List: book stuff

maintanance and instrument choice section for the guitar

"Learn to play percussion
Learn to Play Percussion
Related links

Learn to play brass
Learn to play the guitar
Learn to play strings

Percussive instruments are much more than just a group of drums. They can be played by shaking, or striking either a bar of wood or metal (e.g. cymbals, triangles, glockenspiel) or a membrane (e.g. tambourine, drums).

Percussive instruments are much more than just a group of drums. They can be played by shaking, or striking either a bar of wood or metal (e.g. cymbals, triangles, glockenspiel) or a membrane (e.g. tambourine, drums).

Why learn?
Solo exponents of classical percussion, including Evelyn Glennie and Colin Currie, have shown just how colourful and exciting percussion can be. From timpani to the xylophone and tubular bells, you'll never be bored - just look at the back of an orchestra to see the huge array of instruments laid out for one percussionist.

Getting a Taste
Drum Dances (1993)
John Psathas
Drum Kit & Piano
Commissioned by Evelyn Glennie

Street Songs
Evelyn Glennie / King's Singers
RCA 09026631752

Striking a Balance
Colin Currie
EMI Debut CDZ 57722672

Buying advice
Most players start learning the drums - you can pick up a good set for around £550. As for buying the rest - timpani, tambourines, cow bells, gongs, cymbals and triangle, to name but a few - most orchestras and colleges have their own kit. It is a question of learning on site.

Webwatch
An excellent guide to all the instruments in the drum family is on the Drum Encyclopedia site.

Visit the Yamaha websit"

"Learn to play brass
learn to play brass
Related links

Learn to play the piano
Learn to play the guitar
Learn to play woodwind

The world of brass uncovered

Jump to: Trombone , French Horn , Tuba

Trumpet

The trumpet is a folded tube opening at the end into a bell, normally with three valves and a separate mouthpiece.

Why learn?

The trumpet has got guts. It can go beyond the volume of most other instruments, but it can also hide beneath the softest of textures. Bold, brash, colourful, exciting, comical and tender, the trumpet offers many performance opportunities.

Getting a Taste
From Moscow with Love
Sergei Nakariakov
Teldec 8573855582

Haydn/Hummel
Trumpet Concertos
Hakan Hardenberger
Philips 4202032

Buying advice
The trumpet is quite a simple instrument, so a new instrument may cost you as little as £200. The more money you spend, the better quality the brass. If you're a beginner take a teacher or friend along to help you select the right instrument for you.

Webwatch
A world-wide network of trumpeters and a good place to start is the International Trumpet Guild

Back to the top
trombone Trombone

This is the long cylindrical brass instrument with a slide which the player uses to vary the length of the tube - hence the term 'slide trombone'.

Why learn?
The trombone is a great 'show-off' instrument. For example, listen to Wagner's 'Ride of the Valkyries'. If a composer wants a theme to stand out, then the trombone is a great choice. And it is a great instrument for reggae music. New concertos are being written all the time for the trombone as it enjoys a solo renaissance.

Getting a Taste
The Trombone
Armin Rosin / Berlin RAIS Sinfonietta
Koch 31342

Yoshimatsu
Symphony No.4
Ian Bousfield / BBC Philharmonic
Chandos CHAN 9960

Buying advice
A good trombone costs around £300. However, it is worth looking at second-hand instruments also - brass instruments are pretty solid and tend to last longer than other types. Unlike the compact trumpet, small children will have difficulty extending the slide to its full length due to the size of their arms.

Webwatch
The online magazine for the British Trombone Society - with plenty of news and discussion groups.

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French Horn French Horn

The French Horn mainly consists of a tube in the form of a circle with five parts - the body, bell, valve system, mouthpiece and mouthpipe.

Why learn?
The French Horn has some of the best orchestral score lines. Sometimes classified as a woodwind instrument, it can sound heroic in film music, evoke the outdoors in Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony and ooze romance in the Rachmaninov piano concertos. There is also some fabulous chamber music written for the French Horn.

Getting a Taste
R.Strauss - Horn Concerto
Dennis Brain / Philharmonia
EMI CDC 47834

Mozart - Horn Concertos
Dennis Brain / Philharmonia
EMI CDM 5668982

Buying advice
The complex nature of the horn makes it expensive. Factory-made rather than custom-made horns are around £1,000 with the latter requiring a small mortgage. Get advice from a pro.

Webwatch
Find out all you need to know about French Horns here.

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tuba Tuba

One of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century. It has a massive tone so is more like the horn than trumpet or trombone and is an impressive instrument not only physically, as one of the largest low-brass instruments, but also tonally.

Why learn?
The tuba is an instrument that, probably due to its sheer size, less people seem to be taking up as their instrument of choice. Therefore, if you do choose the tuba, and work hard, you may have some great career opportunities.

Getting a Taste
Wagner, Faust overture, performed 1855
Hector Berlioz 'Symphonie Fantastique' - this was the first major work orchestrated for tuba.

Webwatch
Visit the International Tuba Euphonium Association

Back to the top

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