The Concert Band
The Concert Band

An orchestra of harmony (or concert band) is a musical set consisting of woodwind, the brass family and the family of percussion (not to be confused with the band formed entirely of brass and percussion). His repertoire includes many arrangements, but some composers have written and developed this formation.
Historical
In 1764, the French-guards are the first wind formation (1 flute, 6 clarinets, 3 bassoons, 1 trumpet, 2 horns, 1 snake, cymbals and bass drum). From the French Revolution and throughout the XIXth century, the instrumental bill and the development of wind instruments enhances the development of wind bands. After the consecration of the clarinet in the second half of the XVIIIth century technological revolutions like those of Theobald Boehm and the advent of new instruments such as those of Adolphe Sax enrich the wind music born in the revolution of 1789 and disseminated in the whole of Europe to the New World. If certain courses are specialized in military music, ambulatory or street party with bands sometimes joining or battery-bands, others have preferred to develop the concert music kiosks or indoors. In the late XIXth century and early XXth century many wind bands have been created by groups of workers (factories, coal-mines, etc. ...). These bands were later developed their music in schools to educate future musicians able to join them and contributed to a first grid education in France.
Repertoire
If the original directory of wind bands consisted primarily of works of military music, over time, he amassed arrangements of music classical (opera overtures, concertos, masses) of light music (operetta. ..), but also many original compositions highlighting the qualities of these wind ensembles. For several years now, many arrangements of film music and jazz have appeared in the repertoire of wind bands.
Typical composition
Even today, the enrolment of an orchestra to another can be very variable in number and variety of musical instruments. Generally, it found :
- - small timber :
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- Flutes, one of which can play the Piccolo
- Oboe, including one that can play the English Horn
- Bassoons which one can play the contrabassoon (rare)
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- - single-reed instruments :
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- Small Clarinet in E
(optional), Clarinet in B
, in 2 or 3 voices, console the most numerous, Alto Clarinet in E
(optional), Bass-Clarinet(s) and sometimes a Contrabass Clarinet (rare)
- Soprano Saxophone (rare), Alto Saxophone, in two voices, Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone(s) and Bass Saxophone (rare)
- Small Clarinet in E
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- - brass :
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- Trumpets, Cornets, Flugelhorns in 2 or 3 voices
- Horns, Altos Saxhorns, in 2 ou 4 voices
- Trombones slide (more rarely piston), in 3 voices, one that can play the Bass Trombone
- Euphonium, Baritone Saxhorns
- Tubas, Bass and Contrabass Saxhorns
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- - percussion :
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- Timpani
- Battery
- Bass Drum, Cymbals
- Accessories
- Xylophone, Vibraphone, Glockenspiel
-
- - optional :
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- Sting Bass
- Harp
- Electric Bass
- Synthetizer
-
(Source: wikipedia.org - copyright authors - article under GFDL)
Glossary
Antoine-Joseph Sax
Anthony-Joseph Sax , better known by the name of Adolphe Sax (November 6, 1814 in Dinant, Belgium - February 4, 1894 in Paris) is a Belgian mailman of musical instrument, best known for inventing the saxophone. His father, Charles Joseph Sax, who was already himself a mailman of musical instrument, has made several changes to hunting horn. Adolphe Sax began making his own instruments very young, with two flutes and a clarinet into a competition at the age of 15 years. He then studied those two instruments at the Royal School of Singing in Brussels. It becomes a master of the clarinet to the point that competition is forbidden in his country.
The arrangement
An arranger is the name of the person that specializes in creating arrangements. In most cases, a composer "classic" is also his own arranger. Nowadays, composers create varieties of melody, but rarely have the technical skills demanded by arrangement. However, with the development of home studio, they can sketch out some ideas using synthesizers and color guide to giving a piece. But the final arrangement, very technical, will be entrusted to the arranger.
Classical period
The harmony
Harmony is the deliberate use of frequencies simultaneously, with a view to provide relief and depth to the song or instrumental performance : she represents the aspect vertical music, while the melody is the aspect horizontal.
The jazz
Theobald Boehm
Theobald Boehm (April 9, 1794 to November 25, 1881) is a musician - flute to the Court of Bavaria - composer, instrument maker of music, acoustics and inventor of Bavaria.
The son of a goldsmith, he is best known for having developed the flute as we know it today.
He developed the first flute in 1832 "Boehm system" (as opposed to previous systems, so-called "simple systems"), which is adopted by famous flautists of the time, but also meets strong opposition, including that of John Louis Tulou the Paris Conservatoire.
In 1847, he built his first metal flute, whose body was cylindrical bore and conical head. It is this instrument that will give birth to the modern flute.
The Boehm system was applied with varying degrees of success to other wind instruments of the woodwind family, especially the clarinet.