Bow & Bridge Violin and bow makers, as the old books printed them

Books › Musical instruments, 1908 › scan 108

Scan 108

Musical instruments, 1908

8 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 84. See the scan on archive.org.

1more than a flutter, which is felt rather than heard in every fiber of the appreciative listener.
3The wood-winds include the piccolos, the flutes, the oboes, the clarinets, the English horns, the bassoons and the contra bassoons. The piccolo, which is in reality a small flute, can give the highest notes of the entire orchestra. It is not pleasant when heard alone, but used with the flute can produce good tones that are several semi-tones higher than those of the first violin. It is often used with the first violins, sounding an octave higher.
5The flute used in the orchestra is the concert flute in C, and is a most important and effective instrument. It adds brilliancy to the violin tones when used with them to fill out in loud passages, and produces a sweet and tranquil effect when written an octave above the first violins. Pathetic melodies are effective when the flute accompanies the oboe an octave higher, and the two instruments are capable of producing a bird-like "twitter" when thus combined. The clarinet and flute, the latter an octave higher, may be combined to advantage, but with less romance than the oboe and flute. The latter pair is found in operatic scores, an octave above the voice, assisting the singer. Chords for the wind instruments alone are made especially effective by writing notes for two flutes close together. Two flutes in thirds or sixths may be made to figure in stormy passages.
7The most refined of the wood-winds is the oboe, with its delicate mechanism and its double-beating reed mouth-piece. It has a tone that is very penetrating, and yet may be soft and tender. The lower notes tend to be extremely piercing when united with those of other instruments, and unless handled carefully will usurp to a disagreeable extent the principal place in the harmony. The tone quality of the oboe makes it especially qualified to express romantic passages, and two sounded together are successful in pastoral effects. Two written in thirds and lightly accompanied are heard to advantage. The oboe blends beautifully with the French horn.

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