The triangle

The triangle is a musical instrument idiophone consisting of a metal bar of circular section bent at two points to form a triangle more or less regular. It is held in one hand by the player who hits top with a rod, also metallic.

His tone and acute crystal allows it to be noticeable even when played in an orchestra, bringing some rhythmic structuring the piece performed.

The size of a triangle determines the height of the sound it makes (directly proportional to the length of the metal rod used). The small triangles are about twenty centimeters square, the largest of up to 30 or 40 centimeters. To reduce the weight of the instrument and the musician's fatigue, the triangle can be made of aluminum rather than steel, but there are also triangles made of a simple concrete iron recovery.

The musician holds the triangle in one hand (his hand called weak or the left-handed and right to left): the weight of the instrument is covered by the index, the rest of the hand used to stifle the resonance of the metal closing in on one of its edges. On the other hand, he knocks in rhythm the bottom bar at the bottom corner farthest from him. The movement of the rod will hit bottom and turn the bar furthest from the bar, when the rod is partially involved in the opening of the triangle.

The musical forms in which the triangle is the most frequently used are:

• classical music
• the forro.