Perhaps it's not surprising that a xylophone is made from wood, since the word comes from two Greek words, 'xulon' meaning wood, and 'phone' meaning voice or sound. The instrument is made of a series of wooden bars of different lengths; the musician uses wooden mallets to hit the bars. The longer the bar, the lower the note made when it is struck. Modern xylophones have bars which are equivalent to the keys on a piano, although they have a much smaller range than a piano.
The xylophonist plays the instrument with one or two mallets in each hand. One memorable performance is that of Evelyn Glennie (born 1965) playing 'The Flight of the Bumblebee' by Rimsky-Korsakov, with the National Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Barry Wordsworth in 1990.
2. Didgeridoo
Answer: Wood
The didgeridoo is a wooden wind instrument from Australia. They have been played by the Aboriginal peoples of the country for hundreds of years. They are made from a hollow tree trunk, or possibly just a branch if it is big enough. Ideally the interior of the timber has been eaten by termites to produce the hollowed tube required. The longer the tube, the lower the pitch of the note produced. The tube may be cylindrical, but some are flared at the end furthest from the player, which will result in a slightly higher note. While many digeridoos are around 1.2m long, they can range from just one metre up to three metres in length. Some are intricately decorated, while others just have the natural wood markings.
The sound is produced by vibrating the lips into the mouthpiece, somewhat like blowing a raspberry. A skilled performer practices what is known as circular breathing. This involves inhaling through the nose while blowing out through the mouth, meaning that the music can be continuous, as there is no need to pause for a breath.
Although the instrument is commonly referred to as a digeridoo, that is not an Aboriginal word. There seem to be as many different words for the instrument as there are Aboriginal languages. The word 'digeridoo' was first seen in print in Australia at the beginning of the nineteenth century, and may mean hollow bamboo, as a description of the instrument.
3. Zither
Answer: Wood
Although there are many instruments in the zither family, the word usually refers to an instrument which became popular at the beginning of the nineteenth century for playing Alpine folk music. The name comes from the Latin 'cithara', which was a Roman instrument similar to a lyre. An instrument similar to a zither was found in a Chinese tomb dating from the fifth century BCE. Other similar instruments have been found in different parts of the world since then.
A zither is usually made of wood, with strings across it, which are tuned to different pitches. The instrument is placed on a table, or the player's lap, and the strings are plucked with a plectrum or the fingers.
A zither was used for the theme tune for 'The Third Man' in 1949, which was composed and played by Anton Karas, after the film director (Carol Reed) heard Karas playing in a Viennese wine bar. The theme became a best-seller in many parts of the world, and contributed to the film's popularity.
4. Alphorn
Answer: Wood
An alphorn is a simple wooden wind instrument which was used for communication in the Alpine valleys. It is usually about three to four metres long, and made from a pine tree. Traditionally the horn maker would select a suitable tree, preferably with a curve near the bottom. After the tree was cut down, it was sawn in half lengthways, and the inside hollowed out, then it was glued back together and bound with strips of bark. Modern alpenhorns are sometimes made in several sections for ease of transport.
The instrument dates back to the middle of the second millennium. The music came into favour with some classical composers in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and the melodies appeared in some of their works. It was used in 'Viver Senza Tei', which was Switzerland's entry for the 1989 Eurovision Song Contest. Music continues to be composed for the alphorn into the twenty-first century.
5. Castanets
Answer: Wood
Castanets are a very simple wooden percussion instruments. The name comes from the Latin 'castanea' meaning chestnut, which relates to their appearance. Castanets consist of two shell shaped pieces of wood joined across their straight edge by a string or cord. They are held in the hand and a clicking sound is produced when the two pieces of wood are knocked together. Performers usually hold one set in each hand, each having a slightly different pitch.
Castanets are well known for accompanying Spanish dancing and folk music such as the fandango or flamenco. However they have also appeared in classical music, where they are used in Bizet's 'Carmen' and Wagner's 'Tannhäuser', for example. Leonardo Balada Ibáñez (born 1932) has even composed a Concertino for Castanets and Orchestra.
6. Saxophone
Answer: Metal
The saxophone was invented by Belgian Adolphe Saxe (1814-1894) in the 1840s. Despite the fact that the instrument is usually made of brass, and so fits into the 'metal' category, it is regarded as a woodwind instrument because it has a reed for the mouthpiece. Although one usually hears of 'a saxophone', there is actually a family of instruments of different sizes. The smallest, called a soprillo, plays the highest pitched music, and the largest, known as a subcontrabass, plays the lowest pitch.
The saxophone was first used in military bands, especially in France and Belgium. It has been used in classical music, with many concertos and sonatas being written for it. It also appears in such well-known pieces as Gershwin's 'Rhapsody in Blue' and Mussorgsky's 'Pictures at an Exhibition'. The saxophone became very popular for playing jazz music in the 1920s, when it was taken into use by many of the dance bands.
7. Triangle
Answer: Metal
One of the simplest of metal percussion instruments, the triangle gets its name from its triangular shape. It usually has a gap at one corner, which improves the sound quality. It can be made from many different types of metal, including aluminium, brass, copper, or steel. The instrument is usually suspended from a thin thread held in one hand and struck rhythmically with a metal beater held in the other hand. Different effects can be obtained by using different size beaters, and even other materials such as wood on occasion.
The instrument is used widely in folk music around the world. It is also used in classical compositions. Although it seems simple, the triangle can have some complicated parts written for it. Percussionist James Blades (1901 - 1999) wrote, "the triangle is by no means a simple instrument to play".
8. Penny whistle
Answer: Metal
The penny whistle is also known as a flageolet or a tin whistle, which gives a clue as to which category it belongs in here, although most tin whistles are not made from tin, but brass, which may be nickel-plated, and they have plastic mouthpieces. The name penny whistle arose from the fact that they could be bought for a penny. Whistles are one of the simplest instruments in the woodwind family. Each whistle has six holes which can be covered, or not, with the fingers to make different notes. Generally a whistle will only play in one key, but the instruments are relatively inexpensive (although they probably cost more than a penny now), and a whistler will have several different whistles in different keys.
Penny whistles have been used to play traditional and modern folk music from the British Isles, particularly in Ireland and Scotland. However Kwela music was created in South Africa in the 1950s which used tin whistles to create a jazzy sound.
9. Cymbals
Answer: Metal
Cymbals get their name from the Greek 'kumbe' meaning cup. They are usually used in pairs, and are circular in shape. The centre of the circle is cup shaped, and has a hole with a strap through to enable the musician to hold the cymbal without dampening the sound. That sound is produced by knocking the two cymbals together. This can be done very gently by tapping the edge of one against the other, or the two can be scraped together, or they can be held apart and clashed together for a much louder effect.
Some drum kits include cymbals. In these, one of the cymbals is usually fixed horizontally, and the other can be operated by a foot pedal to be lifted up, and come down on the fixed plate to make the desired sound. These are known as hi-hats.
10. Steelpan
Answer: Metal
The steelpan, sometimes called a steel drum or just a pan, comes from Trinidad and Tobago. The instruments first appeared at the beginning of the twentieth century. By the middle of the century they were being made from old steel oil drums. Their first major appearance on an international stage was at the Festival of Britain, in 1951, when the Trinidad All-Steel Pan Percussion Orchestra gave a performance.
The pans are constructed with a cylindrical 'skirt', and a concave metal surface inside it. The concave surface has been hammered to different degrees of thickness to produce different notes when it is struck with a rubber-tipped stick or mallet. Each pan will be able to produce a number of different notes. The steel drums may be played by a solo pannist, or by a group of pannists together, or to accompany other instruments or voices.
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