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Handout One

Lesson One

Starting for Real

As musicians, do we really understand the material we are working with?

What is the material of musicians?          Sound

What is Sound?                               Sound is Vibration

Sound comes in many forms and can be caused in various ways.  Sound can be visible when seen on an oscilloscope and is in the shape of a wave pattern.

This wave pattern alters when the speed of vibration alters and the speed of vibration is measured by its frequency.

Listening

Before sound can be heard, or for that matter, measured, certain essentials MUST be present:

How Many ?                         THREE

What Are They?                    “Originator”

                                                  “Medium”

                                                  “Receptor”

“Originator”     is the vibrating body which can be anything being Plucked, Struck, Scraped, or Blown.

“Medium”     in this case the medium is the air through which the vibration is allowed free movement.  Water is a possible medium, when you learn that the click of a Dolphin can travel 5 miles, or the sound of the Whale can travel many hundreds of miles.  

Many sounds vibrate at levels where the human ear cannot operate.  One good example of this is the low rumble of the African Elephant which has been recorded with specialist equipment at distances of several miles.  Then of course we have the domestic dog whose high pitched whistle is beyond us at the other end of the spectrum.

“Receptor”     The ear or even the microphone.

Types of Sound

There are two types of sound               Musical     and     Unmusical

Musical     Pleasant to the ear, recognizable. This also produces an even wave pattern and can be easily reproduced.

Unmusical     (Noise) Sudden,  Sharp, random and even abrasive.  This wave pattern normally starts loud and then quickly dies away.  It cannot be readily reproduced.  The wave pattern is normally something like this:

Sound is Vibration

We, as musicians, are expected to understand, and accurately use this tool.

How can the sound be altered, and how do we refer to this?

PITCH = The height or depth of sound.

In the case of a drone, we can raise (#) or lower (b) the sound by making the column of air shorter(#) or longer(b).  Discuss the Chanter.

The Violin is an instrument which is scraped.  How is this scrape transformed into sound.  Altering the pitch of one string is done by tension.  Tighten to raise(#) and slacken to lower (b).   Discuss the bending of strings.

Intonation

 Simply - Being in tune.

Tuning one drone. =                                          

Tuning two Tenor Drones =                          

                                                                                            

Tuning all three Drones =