string family - uploads-ssl.webflow.com
TRANSCRIPT
What makes a String Instrument? ❖ These are instruments where
sound is made with a vibrating string held in tension
❖ Stringed instruments are called
chordophones
Violin
❖ Smallest and highest string instrument in the orchestra
❖ Almost all famous composers wrote for the violin
❖ In the 1800s, Paganini was a violinist famous for writing some of the most difficult music ever written
Viola
Photographer Leah Nash and the Oregon Symphony
❖ Slightly larger and lower than the violin
❖ Featured in orchestras and string quartets
❖ Often described with a dark and mellow tone
Cello
❖ The cello emerged in the 1500’s
❖ Many composers have written virtuosic solo works for the cello
❖ The cello has been used by many music groups, such as the Beatles
Double Bass
Photographer Leah Nash and the Oregon Symphony
❖ Also called the upright bass
❖ Featured in many other musical genres like bluegrass, jazz, or folk
❖ The lowest of all the string instruments in the orchestra
Harp
❖ The harp is a very old instrument, dating back to around 3000 B.C.
❖ Harps can have up to 90 strings
❖ Most modern harps have foot pedals to change the notes their strings can play
Photographer Leah Nash and the Oregon Symphony
The Bow
❖ The bow is drawn across the strings
❖ Made of real horse hair
❖ Grabs the string using a sticky substance called Rosin
Choosing the Pitch
❖ String players place their fingers on strings precisely where a certain pitch will be made.
❖ Strings can play lots of notes as well as all the pitches in between!
Video Clips
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MP2_6OLummA&feature=youtu.be
A quick and fun way to see and hear the string instruments we learned about. A presentation with the BBC National Orchestra.
About 3 minutes long.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfuEIHEZobc
A performance by a the famous string ensemble, the Danish String Quartet. This performance was for NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert Series.
About 20 minutes long.
End
Thank you from the Bellingham Symphony Orchestra! We hope you enjoy your Music in the Schools performance
Photo Credits
• https://dlpng.com/png/247950• https://www.gollihurmusic.com/product/3426-ENGELHARDT_UPRIGHT_BASSES_VAR
IOUS_MODELS.html• http://www.pngmart.com/image/tag/cello• https://www.classicalmpr.org/story/2009/05/27/hineputehue• https://www.connollymusic.com/stringovation/string-instruments-different-roles-in-an-orches
tra• https://www.videoblocks.com/video/musician-plays-on-an-old-wooden-violin-bow-lovely-clas
sical-music-an-orchestral-symphony-at-the-concert-classical-string-instrument-bg9zjjfaitnbu2pd• https://www.folkmusician.com/products/cremona-viola-outfit-sva-130• https://www.google.com/search?biw=592&bih=598&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=se9NXYH0GYSrt
QbAupr4DQ&q=pizzicato+musician&oq=pizzicato+musician&gs_l=img.3...1445.5763..6019...1.0..0.146.1329.0j10......0....1..gws-wiz-img.......0j0i67j0i8i30j0i30j0i5i30j0i24.46Ppb0RqLEc&ved=0ahUKEwjBkLS15_bjAhWEVc0KHUCdBt8Q4dUDCAY&uact=5#imgrc=2nfNJ84gAVDZIM:
• http://thevault.musicarts.com/an-introduction-to-orchestral-strings/• https://mlblog.musiclearningworkshop.com/1405/an-intro-to-string-instruments-the-heart-of-
the-orchestra• http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia_of_music/S/stringed_instruments.html• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bow_(music)• https://www.simplyforstrings.com.au/products/student-violin-bow-1-4• https://www.lelong.com.my/high-class-transparent-orange-rosin-humblehub-182527325-2020-
09-Sale-P.htm
Photos from the Oregon Symphony used with permission from:
Photographer Leah Nash and the Oregon Symphony