To see instrument exhibition 1

To see instrument exhibition2

There are many ways the different instrument make the sound.

Actually some instruments do not make the sound at all, only modulate sounds that the player himself makes. That is true about the trumpet and other horns. The trumpeter sets a mouthpiece against his lips. Then he presses air between his lips, holding his lips tight together. Then the lips are set into virbration.The player can to some extend modulate the sound himself and how strong it will be by the way he uses his lips and by the force he presses the air out. The vibrational energy is transfered to the column of air intside the instrument and the walls of the instrument and changed to the natural swinging frequency of the instrument. By opening or closing tubes in the instrument the player can make the channel that the air goes trough longer or shorter and thereby change the virbrational frequency of the instrument and the sound coming out.

I other blow instruments, the instrument itself plays a greater role in making the sound. In for example an oboe or paggot, there are mounted two thin blades at end where the player blows. The player then presses the two blades together with his lips and blows in between the blades, letting some air go into the instrument and some of it escape at each side between the blades. The blades are this way set in vibration. The instrument then modulates the sound. These instruments typically have holes in the walls that can be opened or closed with valves or with the fingers so that the virbaring air column caught inside the instrument gets longer or shorter.

Clarinets and saxophones have one such vibrating blade and a half mothpiece. The player closes his lips around the half mouthpiece and the blade and presses air between them. Some air goes inside the instrument and some escapes out at the sides between the half mouthpiece and the blade. Also these instruments typically have holes to be closed or opened to let the instrument modulate the sound in sveral ways.

Such vibrating blades have traditionally been made from natural materials, for example straws. Nowadays blades made of synthetic materials are often used, but many artists still prefere naturally made blades. Professional players often cut the blades to a shape they prefere themselves.

In flutes the sound is wholly made by the instrument itself. Just after the mouthpiece there is a opening formed as a slit.In the slit there is an edge so that some of the air goes further inside the instrument, some escapes out on the other side of the edge and some air will hit directly at the edge. The force of the air, sets the edge in vibrations. The virbarions are transfered into the instrument where it is modulated. Also these instruments typically will change the way of modulation and thereby the tune by means of holes opened or closed.

In a traditional organ, the sound are made by an assambly of flutes, the organ pipes. Each stroke at a tangent makes the sound goe through one particular flute with one particular dimmension so that it vibrates in one particular frequency making a tune of that frequency.

String instruments make the sound by means of strings set into virbrations by a frequency determined by the thickness and length of the string. The strings are however typically set up over or connected to an resonance box. Virbrations are transfered from the string to the box and go from the box into the air as sound. Without the box, much of the vibrational energy will be transgfered to heat in the string or the devices that the strings are fixed to instead of giving sound.

Another way to make the amount of sound une wishes, is using a microphone or an electric recorder device so that the vibrations of the strings are causing electric vibrations. The electric vibrations can then be modulated and amplified by circuits and fed into loadspeakers or sound generators. Electric guitars typically work this way.

The way that the string are set into vibration differs. In typical string instrument like a guitar or a harpe one use just the fingers. In stroke instruments like the violine a bow is stroked at the strings. In a piano hammers hit the string and the outer cage of the piano works as the resonance box.

Then you have instruments that make the sound by wooden or metallic bars or by bells that are hit by a hammer either hold in the player's hand or engaged by means of tangents like those on a piano. In these kind of instruments a resonanc ebox is not that necessary as by string instruments, because the bars or the bells have a great surface to be set in virbration, but still some resonance devices can be used. A professional xylophone often have resonance tubes under the bars.

In modern time you have got instruments where the sounds are made wholly electronically. However there are several ways this can be done. One can use electronic swinging curcuits that are combined to make a combination of a main frequency with several harmonic sub-frequencies. A harmonic sub-frequency is made in such a way that the main frequency is a whole multiple of each sub-frequency. The swinging curcuits are then connected through some amplifier device to loadspeakers or sound generators.

The other way to make the right frequencies, is using a microprocessor composing together repeated numbers symbolizing the frequencies and subfrequencies one wishes. The numbers are fed into a digital-analog converter so that the numbers are made into real swingings in an electric circuit. The swingings are amplified ad fed to loadspeakers or sound generators.

Such digitally made sounds can be modulated in a lot of different ways, and the player has enormous artistic posibilities. However it is difficult to modulate the sound and thereby the impression made by the sound dynamically when playing by means of electronic instruments. Electronic sounds allways will sond somewhat premade. Therefore wholly electronic instruments will probably never take over the scene from traditional manual instruments.

Also artists plying manual instruments is a sort of entertaining show that playing wholly electronic instruments will not give. Manual instruments also give some fluctuations in the tones du to stochastic physiacal processes, making the sounds appear more living than electronically made sounds. This effect is especially great in church organs. Many organists value this effect so much that they would prefere a simple organ with natural organ pipes instead of a very advanced electronic organ.

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