Instrumentation
Terms : Instrumentation , Timbre , Genre
***Dictionary Definition: the particular instruments used in a piece of music; the manner in which a piece is arranged for instruments.
Easier Terms..: The combination of instruments/different sounds used in a certain song
***Timbre: is the quality of a musical note, sound, or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices and musical instruments, string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments.
Example: Think about the human voice... we all have distinctly different voices
This is how we tell different instruments apart
I.E. the specific sound of an instrument/voice (think of the human voice, no two of us sound the same, we all have slightly different timbres)****
EXAMPLE.......
These could be Big differences in timbre
Trombone vs Saxophone
or smaller differences in timbre
electric guitar vs. acoustic guitar
So... Instrumentation is the nomination / arrangement of a
variety of different Timbres
if we think about a band, it is generally a mixture of Different instruments/timbres, we would not usually see a band made up of all the same instrument - This is important because we can come up with unique sounds when we have combinations of different timbres
In Context.....
We have to think about this concept in terms of choices by the composer - why would the artist chose a certain combination of timbres in his/her song?
Ex. Why did John Mayer chose to use acoustic guitar instead of electric in the second video? and vice versa
They have a lot to chose from....
List Of Musical Instruments
Chart of Instruments
Questions to think about concerning Instrumentation/Timbres
Why Does Instrumentation Matter?
What affect does it have on the Music?
How does it influence the Song?
How does it influence our Musical Tastes?
***one way to get perspective on instrumentation is to imagine a song you like and imagine it with completely different instrumentation - for example, imagine a rock or hip hop song had it's instrumentation switched out with all violins, trumpets, flutes etc - ****
Example : House/HipHop/Techno played by Trumpet/Baritone Sax/Auxiliary Percussion
What other Physical Characteristics of music and song does Instrumentation Effect
1. Musical Genre
Genre
****Webster: A musical genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions.
The most important part of this definition is that genre is defined/decided by characteristics of a piece.
Shared traditions/set of convention = set of rules/characteristics
These rules/characteristics could be a long list of things: Instrumentation, Content/Subject matter, Persona of the Artist, Cultural Context, Delivery of the melody, etc.
Example: Think of a typical country-pop song. Imagine the sound and imagine looking at the band on a stage
Automatically we assume certain characteristics about the piece...
Instrumentation: Acoustic guitars, Fiddles, Banjos, drums, upright bass
Delivery of Melody: Southern Accent, Country-style singing
Persona of Artist: Cowboy boots/Hat, torn jeans, plaid shirt
Maybe we could even assume something about Content/Subject Matter..
Easier Terms..: The combination of instruments/different sounds used in a certain song
***Timbre: is the quality of a musical note, sound, or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices and musical instruments, string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments.
Example: Think about the human voice... we all have distinctly different voices
This is how we tell different instruments apart
I.E. the specific sound of an instrument/voice (think of the human voice, no two of us sound the same, we all have slightly different timbres)****
EXAMPLE.......
These could be Big differences in timbre
Trombone vs Saxophone
or smaller differences in timbre
electric guitar vs. acoustic guitar
So... Instrumentation is the nomination / arrangement of a
variety of different Timbres
if we think about a band, it is generally a mixture of Different instruments/timbres, we would not usually see a band made up of all the same instrument - This is important because we can come up with unique sounds when we have combinations of different timbres
In Context.....
We have to think about this concept in terms of choices by the composer - why would the artist chose a certain combination of timbres in his/her song?
Ex. Why did John Mayer chose to use acoustic guitar instead of electric in the second video? and vice versa
They have a lot to chose from....
List Of Musical Instruments
Chart of Instruments
Questions to think about concerning Instrumentation/Timbres
Why Does Instrumentation Matter?
What affect does it have on the Music?
How does it influence the Song?
How does it influence our Musical Tastes?
***one way to get perspective on instrumentation is to imagine a song you like and imagine it with completely different instrumentation - for example, imagine a rock or hip hop song had it's instrumentation switched out with all violins, trumpets, flutes etc - ****
Example : House/HipHop/Techno played by Trumpet/Baritone Sax/Auxiliary Percussion
What other Physical Characteristics of music and song does Instrumentation Effect
1. Musical Genre
Genre
****Webster: A musical genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions.
The most important part of this definition is that genre is defined/decided by characteristics of a piece.
Shared traditions/set of convention = set of rules/characteristics
These rules/characteristics could be a long list of things: Instrumentation, Content/Subject matter, Persona of the Artist, Cultural Context, Delivery of the melody, etc.
Example: Think of a typical country-pop song. Imagine the sound and imagine looking at the band on a stage
Automatically we assume certain characteristics about the piece...
Instrumentation: Acoustic guitars, Fiddles, Banjos, drums, upright bass
Delivery of Melody: Southern Accent, Country-style singing
Persona of Artist: Cowboy boots/Hat, torn jeans, plaid shirt
Maybe we could even assume something about Content/Subject Matter..
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Examples of Instrumentation by Genre
Rock: Lead Vocals, Guitars (usually electric), Bass, Piano/Keyboard, Drumset Orchestral (literally named after it's instrumentation; the orchestra): Violin, Viola, Cellos, Upright Bass', Clarinets, Flute, Oboes, Percussion, etc. The list of Possible Genres is Endless |
*****Quick Activity:*****
For the following Genres, research what would be a standard instrumentationwithin that Style (i.e. all the instruments used in that style) 1. Big Band Jazz 2. Salsa 3. Brass Quintet 4. Country 5. Heavy Metal ** Can you think of any Genres that would have ambiguous or weird instrumentation ? ** |