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  #1   Report Post  
Simon Customer
 
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Default musical instruments that can change pitch constantly?

I wasn't sure how to ask the question, but I'd like to know which of the
wind instruments can change pitch on a constant basis? To explain a little
better, a trumpet tone can be maintained and the pitch changed by sliding.
Thus, one goes throughout the different notes without pressing keys. Well,
how about the clarinet- can pitch be changed without changing keys?

Sorry, I'm a bit new with most musical instruments but I'm looking for winds
that can change pitch constantly for a special purpose.

Thanks,
Simon


  #2   Report Post  
Patrick Thompson
 
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Default

How does one SLIDE a TRUMPET?

A clarinet can change notes, like from A to B, without changing keys, like
from A minor to D major.




"Simon Customer" wrote in message
ink.net...
I wasn't sure how to ask the question, but I'd like to know which of the
wind instruments can change pitch on a constant basis? To explain a

little
better, a trumpet tone can be maintained and the pitch changed by sliding.
Thus, one goes throughout the different notes without pressing keys.

Well,
how about the clarinet- can pitch be changed without changing keys?

Sorry, I'm a bit new with most musical instruments but I'm looking for

winds
that can change pitch constantly for a special purpose.

Thanks,
Simon




  #4   Report Post  
Simon Customer
 
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"agent86" wrote in message
. ..
Simon Customer wrote:

I wasn't sure how to ask the question, but I'd like to know which of the
wind instruments can change pitch on a constant basis? To explain a
little better, a trumpet tone can be maintained and the pitch changed by
sliding.
Thus, one goes throughout the different notes without pressing keys.


Not sure what you're asking exactly. The slides on a trumpet are for
tuning. You *can* use them to bend a note while playing, but the range is
pretty limited. I wouldn't exactly call it "going throughout the

different
notes" because of the limited range.


Ok, I want to create an accelerating engine. Currently, I have an electric
guitar feeding a Moog ring modulator. By sliding my fingernail slowly up
and down the strings and with modulation, it sounds very similar to a boat
motor. However, the electric guitar isn't quite what I'm looking for and I
wanted to try whatever wind instruments could change pitch through
lengthening or shortening. If I have to change keys to change pitch, then
the constant acceleration I want is spoiled. A clarinet is the closest
sound to what I want, but I didn't know if it could change over a fairly
large range (whatever I use has to be able to double in frequency at the
highest pitch). I plan on feeding the real time output into the modulator.
Of course, the alternative is to record a constant tone and then use
software pitch changers to speed up/ slow down, but this is far from the
same effect as actually changing instrument pitch in real time.



Well, how about the clarinet- can pitch be changed without changing

keys?

In the hands of the right player, you betcha. Check out the intro of
Gershwin's Rapsody in blue, & listen for the clarinet that sounds like a
siren.


Are any samples of this available on the web? I wouldn't mind taking a
listen.



Sorry, I'm a bit new with most musical instruments but I'm looking for
winds that can change pitch constantly for a special purpose.


Trombone would be the most obvious, & maybe slide whistle. Or for a
wah-wah effect on trumpet, there's always the old toilet plunger for a

mute
trick.


A trombone, I'm going to listen to that now and see if that is close but I
really think the clarinet tone is what I'm looking for.

Simon


  #5   Report Post  
agent86
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Simon Customer wrote:

I wasn't sure how to ask the question, but I'd like to know which of the
wind instruments can change pitch on a constant basis? To explain a
little better, a trumpet tone can be maintained and the pitch changed by
sliding.
Thus, one goes throughout the different notes without pressing keys.


Not sure what you're asking exactly. The slides on a trumpet are for
tuning. You *can* use them to bend a note while playing, but the range is
pretty limited. I wouldn't exactly call it "going throughout the different
notes" because of the limited range.


Well, how about the clarinet- can pitch be changed without changing keys?


In the hands of the right player, you betcha. Check out the intro of
Gershwin's Rapsody in blue, & listen for the clarinet that sounds like a
siren.


Sorry, I'm a bit new with most musical instruments but I'm looking for
winds that can change pitch constantly for a special purpose.


Trombone would be the most obvious, & maybe slide whistle. Or for a
wah-wah effect on trumpet, there's always the old toilet plunger for a mute
trick.



  #7   Report Post  
blacktick
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Ok, I want to create an accelerating engine. Currently, I have an
electric
guitar feeding a Moog ring modulator. By sliding my fingernail slowly up
and down the strings and with modulation, it sounds very similar to a boat
motor. However, the electric guitar isn't quite what I'm looking for and

I
wanted to try whatever wind instruments could change pitch through
lengthening or shortening. If I have to change keys to change pitch, then
the constant acceleration I want is spoiled. A clarinet is the closest
sound to what I want, but I didn't know if it could change over a fairly
large range (whatever I use has to be able to double in frequency at the
highest pitch). I plan on feeding the real time output into the

modulator.
Of course, the alternative is to record a constant tone and then use
software pitch changers to speed up/ slow down, but this is far from the
same effect as actually changing instrument pitch in real time.


You need a synthesizer with a portamento control and a portamento-time
control. Hook that up to your moog.


  #8   Report Post  
play-on
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Trombone

Al

On Thu, 21 Oct 2004 16:52:50 GMT, "Simon Customer"
wrote:

I wasn't sure how to ask the question, but I'd like to know which of the
wind instruments can change pitch on a constant basis? To explain a little
better, a trumpet tone can be maintained and the pitch changed by sliding.
Thus, one goes throughout the different notes without pressing keys. Well,
how about the clarinet- can pitch be changed without changing keys?

Sorry, I'm a bit new with most musical instruments but I'm looking for winds
that can change pitch constantly for a special purpose.

Thanks,
Simon


  #9   Report Post  
agent86
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Simon Customer wrote:


Well, how about the clarinet- can pitch be changed without changing

keys?

In the hands of the right player, you betcha. Check out the intro of
Gershwin's Rapsody in blue, & listen for the clarinet that sounds like a
siren.


Are any samples of this available on the web? I wouldn't mind taking a
listen.


http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...424434-7240852

About a third of the way down the page, there are clips for RealPlayer &
Windows Media player


  #10   Report Post  
Carlos Alden
 
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How about using a slide on an electric guitar? You then have a nice signal
to work with.

Carlos



  #11   Report Post  
Rob Reedijk
 
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Simon Customer wrote:

A trombone, I'm going to listen to that now and see if that is close but I
really think the clarinet tone is what I'm looking for.


Why not a violin? It ain't no woodwind, but it has a similar timbre to
a clarinet and you can slide them.

Rob R.
  #12   Report Post  
Simon Customer
 
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"Carlos Alden" wrote in message
...
How about using a slide on an electric guitar? You then have a nice

signal
to work with.

Carlos


Sounds interesting. Since I'm new to electric guitars and effects in
general, I wasn't aware of a "slide". Can you give me a web example link
somewhere where I could see a pic of one? That may be what I need as the
fingernail and picks produce a tone that seems too chopped up.

Thanks,
Simon


  #13   Report Post  
Mark Steven Brooks
 
Posts: n/a
Default

why use a wind instrument? perhaps a theremin or a string instrument would work
better?
(Mark Steven Brooks/Elaterium Music)
  #14   Report Post  
Ricky W. Hunt
 
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Default

"Simon Customer" wrote in message
nk.net...

"Carlos Alden" wrote in message
...
How about using a slide on an electric guitar? You then have a nice

signal
to work with.

Carlos


Sounds interesting. Since I'm new to electric guitars and effects in
general, I wasn't aware of a "slide". Can you give me a web example link
somewhere where I could see a pic of one? That may be what I need as the
fingernail and picks produce a tone that seems too chopped up.

Thanks,
Simon



Knock yourself out: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=slide+guitar. A lot
of those show dobro's or resonators but the principle is the same with
regular guitar.


  #15   Report Post  
Ricky W. Hunt
 
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"Mark Steven Brooks" wrote in message
...
why use a wind instrument? perhaps a theremin or a string instrument would
work
better?
(Mark Steven Brooks/Elaterium Music)


Beat me to it. I was going to say Theremin. If you've go a PC game here's a
virtual one you can try:
http://homepages.ihug.com.au/~squires/vt/




  #16   Report Post  
Logan Shaw
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Simon Customer wrote:

"agent86" wrote in message
. ..

Simon Customer wrote:
Well, how about the clarinet- can pitch be changed without changing


keys?

In the hands of the right player, you betcha. Check out the intro of
Gershwin's Rapsody in blue, & listen for the clarinet that sounds like a
siren.



Are any samples of this available on the web? I wouldn't mind taking a
listen.


Go down to your local record store that lets you listen before you buy.
It shouldn't be hard to locate the clarinet slide since it's basically
the first note in the whole song (well, after the trill). And on most
recordings I've seen, Rhapsody in Blue is the first track. So just pop
the CD in and listen. (Be sure not to get a piano solo recording,
though...)

By the way, the now-famous slide at the beginning was apparently
not Gershwin's original idea, but the clarinet player during the
original rehearsals threw it in as a joke, and Gershwin loved it
and wrote it in that way.

Oh, here's a link to an MP3 of someone fooling around doing slides
on a clarinet:

http://lachesis.caltech.edu/jayeasto.../ClarGliss.mp3

I'm not a clarinet player, but it doesn't strike me as a the easiest
thing to pull off if you don't already know how to play the clarinet...

- Logan
  #17   Report Post  
dt king
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Simon Customer wrote:

A trombone, I'm going to listen to that now and see if that is close but I
really think the clarinet tone is what I'm looking for.


WX-5 controller, VL70m synth and an MFC10 foot controller. Exactly what you
need for only $1500.

dtk


  #18   Report Post  
Ragnar
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"Simon Customer" wrote in message link.net...
"agent86" wrote in message
. ..
Simon Customer wrote:

I wasn't sure how to ask the question, but I'd like to know which of the
wind instruments can change pitch on a constant basis? To explain a
little better, a trumpet tone can be maintained and the pitch changed by
sliding.
Thus, one goes throughout the different notes without pressing keys.


Not sure what you're asking exactly. The slides on a trumpet are for
tuning. You *can* use them to bend a note while playing, but the range is
pretty limited. I wouldn't exactly call it "going throughout the

different
notes" because of the limited range.


Ok, I want to create an accelerating engine. Currently, I have an electric
guitar feeding a Moog ring modulator. By sliding my fingernail slowly up
and down the strings and with modulation, it sounds very similar to a boat
motor. However, the electric guitar isn't quite what I'm looking for and I
wanted to try whatever wind instruments could change pitch through
lengthening or shortening. If I have to change keys to change pitch, then
the constant acceleration I want is spoiled. A clarinet is the closest
sound to what I want, but I didn't know if it could change over a fairly
large range (whatever I use has to be able to double in frequency at the
highest pitch). I plan on feeding the real time output into the modulator.
Of course, the alternative is to record a constant tone and then use
software pitch changers to speed up/ slow down, but this is far from the
same effect as actually changing instrument pitch in real time.



Well, how about the clarinet- can pitch be changed without changing

keys?

In the hands of the right player, you betcha. Check out the intro of
Gershwin's Rapsody in blue, & listen for the clarinet that sounds like a
siren.


Are any samples of this available on the web? I wouldn't mind taking a
listen.



Sorry, I'm a bit new with most musical instruments but I'm looking for
winds that can change pitch constantly for a special purpose.


Trombone would be the most obvious, & maybe slide whistle. Or for a
wah-wah effect on trumpet, there's always the old toilet plunger for a

mute
trick.


A trombone, I'm going to listen to that now and see if that is close but I
really think the clarinet tone is what I'm looking for.

Simon


Actually you can get a similar effect with a trumpet as well. If you
half valve, i.e. depress the valves about halfway you open up all the
slides, at which time you can glissando over a wide range. One example
of this is found at the end of Leroy Anderson's 'Sleigh Ride' where
the trumpet simulates the sound of a horse whinny.

For that continuous pitch shift I'd probably look for a Polymoog or
other analog synthesizer with a ribbon controller. That's probably the
most seamless gliss you can get over a wide tonal range. A trombone is
only going to give you seven semitones before you run out of slide.

I've seen working polymoogs go for reasonable prices on eBay from time
to time.

Ragnar
  #19   Report Post  
play-on
 
Posts: n/a
Default

I thought you wanted a wind instrument?

Al

On Thu, 21 Oct 2004 20:03:20 GMT, "Simon Customer"
wrote:


"Carlos Alden" wrote in message
...
How about using a slide on an electric guitar? You then have a nice

signal
to work with.

Carlos


Sounds interesting. Since I'm new to electric guitars and effects in
general, I wasn't aware of a "slide". Can you give me a web example link
somewhere where I could see a pic of one? That may be what I need as the
fingernail and picks produce a tone that seems too chopped up.

Thanks,
Simon


  #20   Report Post  
Ben Bradley
 
Posts: n/a
Default

On Thu, 21 Oct 2004 20:03:20 GMT, "Simon Customer"
wrote:


"Carlos Alden" wrote in message
...
How about using a slide on an electric guitar? You then have a nice

signal
to work with.

Carlos


Sounds interesting. Since I'm new to electric guitars and effects in
general, I wasn't aware of a "slide".


You gotta learn the blues. It was the precursor to much of rock,
sometimes literally (see legal issues involving some early Led Zepplin
songs). If I can whip up a little "folk history" (like folk
etymology), a slide most likely developed from the use of empty booze
bottles (non-empty ones were too valuable to risk breaking) of the old
blues players. While not a true blues song itself, the lyrics to
Lynyrd Skynyrd's "The Ballad of Curtis Lowe" give a bit of the image
of a blues player who would use a slide.

Can you give me a web example link
somewhere where I could see a pic of one?


We could, but that probably wouldn't be the Real Blues. For that
you need to find a street corner, and probably not one on Times
Square.


That may be what I need as the
fingernail and picks produce a tone that seems too chopped up.


You may have to raise the action (the string height from the
fretboard) to play a good slide on an electric guitar. Or maybe you
know a country player who has a steel guitar.

Or as someone else suggested, get a synth with portamento. Problem
solved.

Thanks,
Simon


-----
http://mindspring.com/~benbradley


  #21   Report Post  
Ricky W. Hunt
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"Ben Bradley" wrote in message
...

You gotta learn the blues. It was the precursor to much of rock,
sometimes literally (see legal issues involving some early Led Zepplin
songs). If I can whip up a little "folk history" (like folk
etymology), a slide most likely developed from the use of empty booze
bottles (non-empty ones were too valuable to risk breaking) of the old
blues players. While not a true blues song itself, the lyrics to
Lynyrd Skynyrd's "The Ballad of Curtis Lowe" give a bit of the image
of a blues player who would use a slide.


I heard a famous slide player (can't remember who at the moment) talk about
how slide came about. He said the only guitars most of the guys in the poor
neighborhoods could get were of such poor quality and bad action that you
could literally not press down the strings in some places and the slide was
simply a mechanical device to overcome that. That certainly sounds plausible
if you've ever played a cheap guitar.


  #22   Report Post  
Paul Stamler
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"Simon Customer" wrote in message
ink.net...
I wasn't sure how to ask the question, but I'd like to know which of the
wind instruments can change pitch on a constant basis? To explain a

little
better, a trumpet tone can be maintained and the pitch changed by sliding.
Thus, one goes throughout the different notes without pressing keys.

Well,
how about the clarinet- can pitch be changed without changing keys?


Within some limits, yes, a clarinetist can keep the same fingering and
"bend" the note. Otherwise klezmer music as we know it would not be
possible. (And neither would "Rhapsody in Blue".)

Peace,
Paul


  #23   Report Post  
Paul Stamler
 
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Default


"Ricky W. Hunt" wrote in message
news:JF1ed.285798$MQ5.15254@attbi_s52...
"Ben Bradley" wrote in message
...

I heard a famous slide player (can't remember who at the moment) talk

about
how slide came about. He said the only guitars most of the guys in the

poor
neighborhoods could get were of such poor quality and bad action that you
could literally not press down the strings in some places and the slide

was
simply a mechanical device to overcome that. That certainly sounds

plausible
if you've ever played a cheap guitar.


It is. Another plausible possibility: in the early 20th century there was
something of a craze for Hawaiian music on the US mainland, including
Hawaiian slide guitar (played with the guitar on the lap and a heavy steel
in the left hand). Hawaiian troupes toured, and may have been seen by early
blues guitarists.

On the third hand, apparently blues guitarists were playing slide-style
guitars using the blade of a knife for fretting before the Hawaiian music
craze, so the latter may have reinforced an already-present idea.

On the fourth hand, a lot of musicologists trace slide-style playing back to
African stringed instruments and their playing styles. A lot of
African-American blues players got their start playing a "diddley-bow", a
single string (often a piece of fence wire) nailed to the side of a building
with two pieces of sharp-edged wood wedged in as bridges, played with
something that served as a slide, be it a knife-blade, a bottle neck, a
medicine bottle or a deep socket from Sears. It was also called a
"bow-diddley", and now you know where *his* name came from. Confusingly, a
"bow-diddley" sometimes also referred to a mouth-bow.

Peace,
Paul


  #24   Report Post  
Laurence Payne
 
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Default

On Thu, 21 Oct 2004 11:29:16 -0700, play-on playonATcomcast.net
wrote:

Trombone


The trombone slide allows a maximum glissando of 6 semitones. Beyond
that, the trombonist has to use the same tricks as other brass
instruments. Lacking valves to half-depress, he actually finds this
harder than the trumpeter :-)

(Don't argue - I play trombone :-)

CubaseFAQ www.laurencepayne.co.uk/CubaseFAQ.htm
"Possibly the world's least impressive web site": George Perfect
  #25   Report Post  
Laurence Payne
 
Posts: n/a
Default

On 21 Oct 2004 19:42:51 GMT, Rob Reedijk
wrote:

Why not a violin? It ain't no woodwind, but it has a similar timbre to
a clarinet and you can slide them.


A 'cello does a nice slide. If you tell the player to press hard with
the bow (I don't know if there's a term for this - it isn't a very
musical effect:-) you can get a very nice "crunch". I've used it for
haunted house effects in theatre.

CubaseFAQ www.laurencepayne.co.uk/CubaseFAQ.htm
"Possibly the world's least impressive web site": George Perfect


  #26   Report Post  
Analogeezer
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"Simon Customer" wrote in message link.net...
I wasn't sure how to ask the question, but I'd like to know which of the
wind instruments can change pitch on a constant basis? To explain a little
better, a trumpet tone can be maintained and the pitch changed by sliding.
Thus, one goes throughout the different notes without pressing keys. Well,
how about the clarinet- can pitch be changed without changing keys?

Sorry, I'm a bit new with most musical instruments but I'm looking for winds
that can change pitch constantly for a special purpose.

Thanks,
Simon


The theremin changes pitch in a constant slide, although by working
the volume antenna you can get steps if you like (and you are really
good at playing it).

In fact the hardest thing about playing a theremin is NOT getting a
constant change in pitch.

I guess you could throw fretless bass in there as well, especially if
you only play it on one string.

Analogeezer
  #27   Report Post  
U-CDK_CHARLES\\Charles
 
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On Thu, 21 Oct 2004 17:29:37 GMT, Simon Customer wrote:


Ok, I want to create an accelerating engine. Currently, I have an electric
guitar feeding a Moog ring modulator.


On Rockapella's "Smilin'" CD, mouth drummer Jeff Thacher does that with
his . . um . . mouth at the end of "Jenny Come Away."

  #28   Report Post  
play-on
 
Posts: n/a
Default

On Fri, 22 Oct 2004 07:02:48 GMT, "Paul Stamler"
wrote:

On the fourth hand, a lot of musicologists trace slide-style playing back to
African stringed instruments and their playing styles. A lot of
African-American blues players got their start playing a "diddley-bow", a
single string (often a piece of fence wire) nailed to the side of a building
with two pieces of sharp-edged wood wedged in as bridges, played with
something that served as a slide, be it a knife-blade, a bottle neck, a
medicine bottle or a deep socket from Sears. It was also called a
"bow-diddley", and now you know where *his* name came from. Confusingly, a
"bow-diddley" sometimes also referred to a mouth-bow.



This is the real origin of blues bottleneck style... the Hawaiian
craze was a separate thing.

Al
  #29   Report Post  
Tony Evans
 
Posts: n/a
Default

In article . net,
"Simon Customer" wrote:

I wasn't sure how to ask the question, but I'd like to know which of the
wind instruments can change pitch on a constant basis? To explain a
little
better, a trumpet tone can be maintained and the pitch changed by
sliding.
Thus, one goes throughout the different notes without pressing keys.
Well,
how about the clarinet- can pitch be changed without changing keys?

Sorry, I'm a bit new with most musical instruments but I'm looking for
winds
that can change pitch constantly for a special purpose.

Thanks,
Simon



It's possible to slide up or down as much as an octave on a saxophone by
slowly opening/closing keys while doing a hell of a lot of lip work -
takes a good deal of practice to do so. Maybe it can be done on other
reed instruments too, but I haven't tried except on sax.
  #30   Report Post  
S O'Neill
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Patrick Thompson wrote:
How does one SLIDE a TRUMPET?




Press the valves halfway. The resonance of the tubing goes out the
window, but it works. The horse whinny in Sleigh Ride is an example you
may hear soon.
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