You know, the one's that aren't always prominent, the ones who don't get the glory of the saxophone, violins guitar or piano, yet make music (especially orchestral music) so rich and layered.
I present the English horn.
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You know, the one's that aren't always prominent, the ones who don't get the glory of the saxophone, violins guitar or piano, yet make music (especially orchestral music) so rich and layered.
I present the English horn.
by Anonymous | reply 108 | December 10, 2020 12:34 PM |
Contrabassoon. As a bassoonist, I've never had the opportunity to play one, and it saddens me. I played bari sax for years (among others), and quite enjoy the lower end of the woodwind family.
by Anonymous | reply 1 | November 29, 2020 5:31 PM |
What would the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy be without the celesta?
by Anonymous | reply 2 | November 29, 2020 5:35 PM |
The French horn! Lovely instrument, incredibly difficult to play.
by Anonymous | reply 3 | November 29, 2020 5:43 PM |
The French horn is not under-rated so what's it doing on this thread?
by Anonymous | reply 5 | November 29, 2020 6:00 PM |
Here’s a twofer - the Serpent and the Ophicleide:
by Anonymous | reply 6 | November 29, 2020 6:05 PM |
Love it, R6! Thank you.
by Anonymous | reply 7 | November 29, 2020 6:06 PM |
Let’s hear it for the euphonium, a brass instrument with the range of a trombone that looks like a miniature tuba. I’m convinced it’s the easiest instrument to play in the high school band because the mouthpiece fits normally to a human embouchure (not tiny like a trumpet or huge like a tuba) and it uses keys to change notes, as opposed to the trombone which has those capricious little slide positions that seemed impossible to master. And for those reasons, I choose you, euphonium.
by Anonymous | reply 8 | November 29, 2020 7:36 PM |
the most kick ass instrument that went extinct is without a doubt the theorbo
by Anonymous | reply 9 | November 29, 2020 7:53 PM |
I rocked a bass trombone with a dual axial flow Thayer valve in high school and college. Dunno if I could blow a flat note on one now.
Looked like this, but not exactly. I think this picture is a tenor trombone.
by Anonymous | reply 10 | November 29, 2020 7:56 PM |
R9 - LOVE the Theorbo!! Wonderful for intimate accompaniments, both for voice and figured bass usage.
It’s cousin, the Archlute, is also an amazing instrument (and Thomas Dunford is easy on the eyes . . . ):
by Anonymous | reply 11 | November 29, 2020 8:03 PM |
The Appalachian dulcimer.
I love watching it being played. Like a dance for the hands.
The sound makes me think of a harpsichord more than a guitar.
by Anonymous | reply 12 | November 29, 2020 8:06 PM |
R9 - My bad!! Thomas Dunford is also playing the Theorbo in the video I posted (although I’ve heard him play the Archlute masterfully).
Here is the Archlute:
by Anonymous | reply 13 | November 29, 2020 8:17 PM |
I play English Horn & Oboe.
by Anonymous | reply 14 | November 29, 2020 8:31 PM |
The glass harmonica is just eerie. Donizetti originally used it for the mad scene in Lucia di Lammermoor, but it's usually replaced by a flute.
by Anonymous | reply 15 | November 29, 2020 9:47 PM |
I don't play any instruments, but I have always loved the sound of the clarinet. Here's Aaron Copland's Clarinet Concerto.
by Anonymous | reply 16 | November 29, 2020 10:01 PM |
I love the wind quintet in Samuel Barber's Summer Music.
by Anonymous | reply 17 | November 29, 2020 10:01 PM |
I've played the guitar for 15 years and love the instrument, but I've always secretly wanted to learn to play the harp—it sounds so pure and beautiful. There's a reason it's associated with the heavens. It's very impractical, though, and they're so expensive that most people have to rent them out.
by Anonymous | reply 18 | November 29, 2020 10:19 PM |
Bass clarinet. Piccolo. Triangle. Last chair in the second violins.
(You left out Me!)
by Anonymous | reply 19 | November 29, 2020 10:26 PM |
I enjoy a nice rusty trombone.
by Anonymous | reply 20 | November 29, 2020 10:35 PM |
The tubular bells got a big break, but couldn't sustain the momentum.
by Anonymous | reply 21 | November 29, 2020 10:35 PM |
The English Horn has the starring role in Sibelius' marvelous tone poem, The Swan of Tuonela.
The French Horn??!! Underrated??!
Jesus.
Listened to, inter alia, the Brahms 1st and 4th lately? The beautiful horn calls for his 2nd Piano Concerto? Tchaikovsky's 5th? Swaths of Mahler and Wagner? Dvorak?
by Anonymous | reply 22 | November 29, 2020 10:36 PM |
Thank you R14, we’ll make note of that if there’s ever a relevant thread
by Anonymous | reply 23 | November 29, 2020 11:02 PM |
R18, I wish the harp got its due beyond background noise at aspirational weddings.
I saw this singer/harpist perform at a bar last year, and I was mesmerized.
by Anonymous | reply 24 | November 29, 2020 11:12 PM |
I’m the bandoneon. So difficult to play, but elegant.
by Anonymous | reply 25 | November 29, 2020 11:22 PM |
The Hurdy Gurdy - An instrument in a class by itself. It’s like the platypus of the music world:
by Anonymous | reply 26 | November 29, 2020 11:25 PM |
The autoharp! Our elementary school music teacher played it back in the 60s. She would wheel her cart of instruments and music books from class to class. We learned patriotic songs, military anthems, international folk songs, cowboy songs (this was Texas, after all). We even learned beginning music notation.
by Anonymous | reply 27 | November 29, 2020 11:28 PM |
I’m a recorder. I’m the basic bitch of musical instruments.
by Anonymous | reply 28 | November 29, 2020 11:29 PM |
OP - Thanks for starting this thread!
I searched YouTube for other hurdy gurdy performances and found this neat video that demonstrates how timeless its sound is. That which is old is new again:
by Anonymous | reply 30 | November 30, 2020 12:21 AM |
r26 I have a recording of Schubert's Winterreise on which Matthias Loibner plays hurdy gurdy. I can't find a complete recording online, unfortunately. Nataša Mirković De Ro sings.
by Anonymous | reply 31 | November 30, 2020 12:47 AM |
I play the Skin flute like profesional lady.
by Anonymous | reply 33 | November 30, 2020 12:48 AM |
R32 - Sometimes the Triangle is irreplaceable:
by Anonymous | reply 34 | November 30, 2020 1:01 AM |
I lived in a big house with other students. We cooked communally some nights. And we had a triangle on the back porch we'd ring to call people to dinner in the summer, when people would be outside or next door.
by Anonymous | reply 36 | November 30, 2020 1:05 AM |
Cheers, OP. Cheers, R14. Another oboist & English hornist here as well!
by Anonymous | reply 37 | November 30, 2020 1:08 AM |
R24, I love this harpist. He outshines the guitarists, so don't give up right away. I don't think you really see how good he is until about 1:15.
by Anonymous | reply 38 | November 30, 2020 1:17 AM |
R35 - The Freak Instrument for which Tchaikovsky composed The Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy (right after it was invented!).
by Anonymous | reply 39 | November 30, 2020 1:20 AM |
I think we all need more castanets in our lives.
by Anonymous | reply 40 | November 30, 2020 1:21 AM |
R39 Never heard that before. Very cool! Kinda creepy.
by Anonymous | reply 41 | November 30, 2020 1:22 AM |
The Koreans seem very taken with that, r40, if you look at the comments.
by Anonymous | reply 42 | November 30, 2020 1:27 AM |
R28, I have this feeling that he is secretly trying to signal that his buns are hot.
by Anonymous | reply 43 | November 30, 2020 1:27 AM |
OP here and enjoying all of your posts! I stand by my posts about the French horn being underrated. They don't get near the recognition that other orchestral instruments get, and in brass sections, the trumpet gets most of the attention! In school band programs, they're often considered a "specialty" instrument.
Here they are being featured in Tchaikovsky's Waltz of the Flowers. Beautiful. The clarinetist is hot btw, and the conductor has a very unique style.
by Anonymous | reply 44 | November 30, 2020 1:28 AM |
R22, not to mention the glorious horn parts of Strauss tone poems and songs. I always bust a fat nut at the end of Beim Schlafengehen.
Anyway, my favorite underrated instrument is the Wagner Tuba. Gets me excited for some earth shattering Ring powah!
by Anonymous | reply 45 | November 30, 2020 1:29 AM |
Another vote for Castanets! This piece wouldn’t be the same without them (and the dancing is a great touch).
by Anonymous | reply 46 | November 30, 2020 1:37 AM |
She's even wearing a bolero, r46.
by Anonymous | reply 47 | November 30, 2020 1:43 AM |
Agreed here that the trombone isn't necessarily underrated ("76 Trombones," anyone?). I will say from personal experience, however, that it's easy to fake playing it...I started playing in 6th grade and by 8th grade was completely checked out (but my parents had bought the poor trombone as opposed to renting it, and I was expected to get their money's worth out of it). Of course I could read the music, but was so bored with playing it that I got away most all of that academic year with just faking it. No one suspected a thing because I was going through the motions of sliding back and forth. Needless to say I didn't join the high school band in 9th grade.
by Anonymous | reply 48 | November 30, 2020 2:00 AM |
Slap bass,
by Anonymous | reply 49 | November 30, 2020 2:09 AM |
Love this thread so much. The serpent and ophicleide win this hands-down, I think. Fascinating instruments. I only saw a serpent in person once, in Boston, which is a period-instrument haven. I've never seen an ophicleide.
I also love these unusual saxophones, here playing "Lisbon" by Grainger, a piece I love with all my heart. And the military guy leading it is VERY HOT.
by Anonymous | reply 50 | November 30, 2020 2:25 AM |
The Stroh violin! The only place I've seen or heard one is in [italic]Finding Forrester[/italic].
by Anonymous | reply 51 | November 30, 2020 2:30 AM |
I second the vote for the mountain dulcimer. In the right hands, it can move you to tears.
by Anonymous | reply 53 | November 30, 2020 2:37 AM |
Didn't read all the posts, sorry. I played oboe in the local orchestra; all the other instruments tuned to me. For 30 seconds, I was the most important person in the orchestra. As a high school band member, I couldn't be in the marching band because the reed couldn't take the chill so I was a 'flag bearer'.
by Anonymous | reply 54 | November 30, 2020 2:42 AM |
R50, I assume you’re a fellow band nerd if you love a movement from Lincolnshire Posy. Like the Holst suites and Elsa’s Procession from Lohengrin, Fennell and the EWE played it in the early 20th century and it’s consistently been one of the most popular concert band pieces around. In my experience every program cycles it in every 10 years or so.
I was an alto sax player and had loads of fun navigating those crazy meter changes in the middle movements. It definitely made me appreciate Grainger and classical music overall tho.
My favorite is the easiest (IMO) movement “The Brisk Young Sailor” as it has lots of fancy woodwind highlights.
by Anonymous | reply 55 | November 30, 2020 2:57 AM |
When Mama finds herself a nice piece of cage meat her mussy whistles like the Delta Queen calliope on full steam. You can hear it from three counties away.
by Anonymous | reply 56 | November 30, 2020 3:00 AM |
And smell it, R56!
Here’s David Spillane on the gorgeous Uilleann Pipes from Riverdance the Show (1995).
by Anonymous | reply 57 | November 30, 2020 3:05 AM |
The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment has a great series on period instruments that some might find interesting.
here's one on the oboe da caccia.
by Anonymous | reply 58 | November 30, 2020 7:24 AM |
I'm into Renaissance music and many of the instruments are no longer used except for playing Renaissance music. many of them can be bought today. Of course they are replicas and are tuned to present day A-440 Hz. I have a small collection including Recorders (Soprano, Alto, Tenor and the equivalent of a Fife), Krummhorn, Hirtenschalmei (or shepherd’s shawm), Dulcian, and Rauschpfeife
I enjoy listening to recordings of Renaissance bands which also include other instruments such as Serpent, Rackett, Sackbutt, and the many early string instrument.
I think these are all underrated.
by Anonymous | reply 59 | November 30, 2020 9:55 AM |
I'm into Renaissance music and many of the instruments are no longer used except for playing Renaissance music. many of them can be bought today. Of course they are replicas and are tuned to present day A-440 Hz. I have a small collection including Recorders (Soprano, Alto, Tenor and the equivalent of a Fife), Krummhorn, Hirtenschalmei (or shepherd’s shawm), Dulcian, and Rauschpfeife
I enjoy listening to recordings of Renaissance bands which also include other instruments such as Serpent, Rackett, Sackbutt, and the many early string instrument.
I think these are all underrated.
by Anonymous | reply 60 | November 30, 2020 9:55 AM |
The sheng (笙), an instrument from ancient China, is an acquired taste if there ever was one. I didn't discover it until I did a deep dive into Chinese culture.
by Anonymous | reply 61 | November 30, 2020 10:01 AM |
R8 I played the euphonium (we used the alternative name of baritone horn) in elementary school and junior high school. The downside of it is that it rarely gets any solid noticeable parts.
by Anonymous | reply 62 | November 30, 2020 10:06 AM |
Viola da gamba. Developed in 15th century Spain from the vihuela. Here played by master Jordi Savall.
by Anonymous | reply 65 | November 30, 2020 10:33 AM |
Anglo concertina. Played here spectacularly by the handsome Mohsen Amini.
by Anonymous | reply 66 | November 30, 2020 11:12 AM |
Thanks, R63! That “thing” reminded me of the Theremin:
by Anonymous | reply 67 | November 30, 2020 11:38 AM |
The saxophone seems like a member of the instrumental demi-monde: it socializes/interacts with the “high brow” members of the orchestra in pieces like this, but seems more at home in burlesque clubs and speakeasies.
I had never heard a Soprano Saxophone until a college friend played this piece for his senior recital; I fell in love with it INSTANTLY. To me, it sounds like one of Henri Rousseau’s lush canvases brought to life:
by Anonymous | reply 68 | November 30, 2020 11:55 AM |
The harp has numerous solo works created for it, some quite famous (check out Handel and works such as, for example, Debussy's Sacred and Profane Dances, where it features notably) so I don't know why poster upthread said it hasn't "gotten its due" beyond aspirational weddings. The harp also has extensive use in neo-classical ballet, where it introduces many of the most famous solos, waltzes, and pas de deux in Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, and The Nutcracker, to name the most famous. De Falla's Spanish Dance.
And last but hardly least, Mozart's famous concerto for flute, harp, and orchestra.
by Anonymous | reply 69 | November 30, 2020 12:31 PM |
The sackbut.
I just like the name. It also seems like something eldergays get. As in Oh dear, I hear he's come down with a case of sackbut now.
by Anonymous | reply 71 | November 30, 2020 1:06 PM |
Sackbut = Trombone’s grandfather
by Anonymous | reply 72 | November 30, 2020 1:30 PM |
R71 - Your post reminded me of this scene from The Ladykillers (2004 remake):
by Anonymous | reply 73 | November 30, 2020 1:34 PM |
The nyckelharpa from Sweden, a keyed fiddle with sympathetic strings giving it a drone-like, hypnotic resonance.
by Anonymous | reply 74 | November 30, 2020 2:05 PM |
Not to brag, r8, but in high school I was the best baritone player in the state two years in a row.
by Anonymous | reply 75 | November 30, 2020 2:20 PM |
The viola organista designed by Leonardo da Vinci and only recently built.
by Anonymous | reply 76 | November 30, 2020 2:29 PM |
Marry me, R60.
I would like to proffer, if I may, the rackett (ranket, racketts). (Note that the picture is of krummhorns, which are also very beautiful but not what you're hearing.)
by Anonymous | reply 77 | November 30, 2020 3:00 PM |
Every so often there is a stealthy thread on DL on a topic that I wouldn’t think was interesting but is fascinating. This thread is that topic. In the midst of Meghan drama, pictures of half naked men, and debates over how to drain pasta, this topic is holding my attention. Well done, OP.
by Anonymous | reply 78 | November 30, 2020 3:02 PM |
[quote] and the conductor has a very unique style.
Oh, [italic]dear.[/italic]
You can't be 'very unique." "Unique" is an absolute quality.
by Anonymous | reply 79 | November 30, 2020 3:06 PM |
R79 In this age, EVERYONE and EVERYTHING is considered unique. I see "very unique" becoming "very common."
by Anonymous | reply 80 | November 30, 2020 3:52 PM |
There's nothing very unique about persnickety grammar police, unfortunately.
I've been a professional editor and writer for 20 years. The CEO of my organization is better than average with language and he has taught me a lesson: people who correct other people's usage in casual conversation are universally reviled assholes. Chit chat and formal written and spoken words are held to different standards.
by Anonymous | reply 81 | November 30, 2020 4:04 PM |
Tori Amos made really interesting use of the harpsichord on her 1996 album. I absolutely love it mixed with guitar and drums and I don't really understand why she and others haven't continued to use it.
by Anonymous | reply 85 | November 30, 2020 5:47 PM |
Quills - An African-American panpipe made from reeds
by Anonymous | reply 86 | November 30, 2020 6:01 PM |
R87 - See R27 and R29.
by Anonymous | reply 88 | December 1, 2020 12:10 AM |
For the poster who mentioned the panpipe - Peter Weir's "Picnic at Hanging Rock" included one in its score:
"The main title music was derived from two traditional Romanian panpipe pieces: "Doina: Sus Pe Culmea Dealului" and "Doina Lui Petru Unc" with Romanian Gheorghe Zamfir playing the panpipe (or panflute) and Swiss born Marcel Cellier the organ. Australian composer Bruce Smeaton also provided several original compositions (The Ascent Music and The Rock) written for the film."
by Anonymous | reply 89 | December 1, 2020 1:05 PM |
Bump
by Anonymous | reply 90 | December 2, 2020 1:05 AM |
Blues Harp (harmonica). Nothing "wails" quite like it. It's as close as you can get to the musical equivalent of crying...if it's played just a certain way.
by Anonymous | reply 91 | December 2, 2020 1:26 AM |
R91 - Not an instrument, but a Sound Effect. Not unlike Celeste Holmes’ observation in the film Road House: “It’s great, if you like the sound of gravel.”
by Anonymous | reply 92 | December 2, 2020 3:10 AM |
[quote] Not an instrument, but a Sound Effect
R92, I pointed out the harmonica's "wailing" feature--what you refer to as a "sound effect" in your gloriously snobby arrogance--because most people think of the 10-hole diatonic harmonica as more akin to a novelty toy rather than an actual musical instrument, which BTW, actually takes a fair amount of practice, effort and technique to master in the blues harp playing style.
You're a condescending, pretentious prick.
by Anonymous | reply 94 | December 2, 2020 3:54 AM |
Great thread. Will come back to it many times.
by Anonymous | reply 96 | December 2, 2020 4:16 AM |
R94 - And after all that “wailing” protest, it still sounds likes fingernails on a chalkboard. Accept it.
by Anonymous | reply 97 | December 2, 2020 4:16 AM |
R97 "all that 'wailing' protest"? You make it seem like I went on in a lengthy discourse. Some people are reared as assholes. Accept it.
by Anonymous | reply 100 | December 2, 2020 4:26 AM |
Anybody know what the name of the percussion instrument that sound like a sack of bbs that you hear in this piece is? It’s the one that the percussionist shakes like a cocktail shaker
by Anonymous | reply 101 | December 2, 2020 4:28 AM |
R101 - Maracas. See R93.
by Anonymous | reply 102 | December 2, 2020 4:34 AM |
The "Great Organ" at the Methuen Memorial Musical Hall. Truly underappreciated instrument. Attended a recital there several years ago and the sound was amazing.
by Anonymous | reply 103 | December 2, 2020 4:42 AM |
The bagpipes as long as they aren't playing the gawdawful Amazing Grace or Scotland the Brave.
by Anonymous | reply 104 | December 2, 2020 7:19 AM |
Bump
by Anonymous | reply 105 | December 10, 2020 6:01 AM |
The Oboe for me .
I like this aria transposed for instrumentals only b/c you can hear how difficult coloratura is..
Voces8 did a version of Jesus Bleibet Meine Freudethat had a kickass oboist.
by Anonymous | reply 106 | December 10, 2020 7:08 AM |
Oh yes R106, I was listening to that yesterday. The entire recording is perfect!
by Anonymous | reply 107 | December 10, 2020 8:16 AM |
I was playing piano for a performance of Peter Maxwell Davies' "Miss Donnithorne's Maggot" and there was a section where I had to "play" a balloon. I had to scrunch it back and forth to the beat.
by Anonymous | reply 108 | December 10, 2020 12:34 PM |
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