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#1
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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
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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 |
#3
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#4
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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
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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. |
#6
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Simon Customer wrote:
"Patrick Thompson" Pat wrote in message news:S4Sdd.282652$MQ5.161455@attbi_s52... How does one SLIDE a TRUMPET? Oops! My mistake. I guess I was thinking of a horn or similar.... anyway, whatever winds that allow changing of notes by sliding. I am very new at this. A trombone is a brass instrument which has a slide. The sackbut is an earlier example of the same design. The slide whistle is a wind instrument that has a slide. Perhaps you are not in the correct newsgroup for this. --scott -- "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." |
#7
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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
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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
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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
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How about using a slide on an electric guitar? You then have a nice signal
to work with. Carlos |
#11
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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
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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
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why use a wind instrument? perhaps a theremin or a string instrument would work
better? (Mark Steven Brooks/Elaterium Music) |
#14
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"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
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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
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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
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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. WX-5 controller, VL70m synth and an MFC10 foot controller. Exactly what you need for only $1500. dtk |
#18
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"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
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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
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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
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"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
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"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
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"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
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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
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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
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"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
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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
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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
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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
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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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