Sitar

The sitar is a stringed instrument that is played by plucking. It is prevalent in Hindustani classical music and has been around since the Middle Ages. It uses sympathetic strings which is common in Indian musical instruments. It also has a gourd resonating cavity and an extensive hollow neck.

The sitar came into the western musical industry when Pandit Ravi Shankar used it in his works. Subsequently, The Rolling Stones used the sitar in the song Paint It, Black.

Origin

The sitars originated from the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent during the late Mogul era. Its predecessors, the Persian lutes, had been used in the Mogul courts for hundreds of years. According to the Sangeet Sudarshana, the sitar was invented by Amir Khusru in the 1700's. He named this instrument based on the Persian setar.

There are plenty of theories about the source of the sitar. Regrettably, most of these are historically inaccurate and hence impossible.

Clarinet

The word Clarinet is derived from the Italian word clarino meaning trumpet with the suffix –et which means little. Thus, the name clarinet or little trumpet. In jazz, it is also called liquorice stick. An individual who plays it is a clarinetist.

The Clarinet is usually wooden and vertically played. It has a wider bore which has a single reed and this, when activated, vibrates against a removable mouthpiece. Traditionally, the wood used is granadilla wood from South America, Africa, or Asia. It is most commonly used today as a B-flat clarinet which is about sixty centimeters in length.

Lineage

Its roots can be traced back to the Middle Ages where single-reeds or hornpipes were used in Europe and in the Middle East. The contemporary clarinet was from the chalumeau, an instrument likened to the recorder but with a single-reed.

Trombone

The trombone is a wind instrument that is a member of the brass family. The trombone's differentiating characteristic is a telescope-like slide which is controlled by the player to change pitches with the exception of the valve trombone with three valves. Similar to other brass instruments, the vibrating lips of the player makes the air inside the trombone to vibrate and this produces sound.

The instrument's name is derived from the Italian word tromba meaning trumpet and -one which means large. Thus, it is literally named large trumpet. Both the trumpet and the trombone have generally cylindrical bores.

History

The creation of the trombone dates back more than six hundred years. Its original design was slightly similar to the sackbut, an Old English instrument. The term sackbut originated from the French saquer which means pull and bouter meaning push. Trompone is the Italian for sackbut and this is most plausibly the basis of the word trombone. Initially there were four types of trombones: soprano, bass, tenor, and alto.

Tuba

The lowest pitched and largest brass instrument known is the tuba. It is one of the latest members of the modern symphony orchestra. Taking the place of the ophicleide, it was first publicly played in the middle of the 19th century. The player produces sound by vibrating his lips against a large cup-shaped mouthpiece.

The term tuba is Latin for horn or trumpet. It is largely comparable to the baroque trumpet.

History

Richard Wagner, a German composer, invented the very first tuba. Aside from composing music and creating the tuba, Wagner also increased the significance of woodwinds in the orchestra. He broke the brass section into four divisions. The first section is a brass trumpet with three trumpets; the second is a bass tuba with three trombones; third, four French horns; last is four tubas.