Instrumental idiom

Instrumental idiom
Non-idiomatic trombone part About this sound Play . Slide positions above the score indicate the large and swift change from the first to higher and then the highest positions required.

In music, an instrumental idiom refers to writing, parts, and performance, those being idiomatic or non-idiomatic depending on how well each is suited to the specific instrument intended, in terms of both ease of playing and quality of music.

For example, the trombone is played with a slide, making it one of the few wind instruments capable of glissando or sliding. However, pitches are different harmonics from the harmonic series on different slide positions. Thus, in the lower range, significant movement of the slide is required between positions, but for higher notes the player need only use the first four positions of the slide since the partials are closer together, allowing higher notes to be played in alternate positions. As an example, F4 (at the bottom of the treble clef) may be played in first, fourth or sixth position on a standard B trombone.

There are cross-instrument guidelines. For example, it is difficult to begin playing very quietly in the upper or lower range of an instrument, (it taking more energy to produce sound) with tone quality and/or intonation often suffering. Use of extended techniques and writing in or beyond the highest or lowest range is not recommended, especially for student ensembles, unless writing for a specific performer.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • music, Western — Introduction       history of Western music from ancient times to the present.       All ancient civilizations entered historical times with a flourishing musical culture. That the earliest writers explained it in terms of legend and myth is… …   Universalium

  • music — musicless, adj. /myooh zik/, n. 1. an art of sound in time that expresses ideas and emotions in significant forms through the elements of rhythm, melody, harmony, and color. 2. the tones or sounds employed, occurring in single line (melody) or… …   Universalium

  • Roman Turovsky-Savchuk — is a painter and lutenist composer. He was born in Kiev, Ukraine in 1961, and emigrated to New York City in 1979. He studied art from an early age under Mikhail Turovsky, his father (a prominent artist activein France and the U.S.A.). He… …   Wikipedia

  • Sub-Saharan African music traditions — A Mangbetu man playing an African harp See also: Rhythm in Sub Saharan Africa Sub Saharan African music traditions exhibit so many common features that they may in some respects be thought of as constituting a single musical system.[1] …   Wikipedia

  • Music of Mozambique — Music of Southern Africa Botswana Comoros …   Wikipedia

  • Mario Davidovsky — (born March 4, 1934) is an Argentine American composer. Born in Argentina, he emigrated in 1960 to the US, where he lives today. He is best known for his series of compositions called Synchronisms, which in live performance incorporate both… …   Wikipedia

  • MUSIC — This article is arranged according to the following outline: introduction written sources of direct and circumstantial evidence the material relics and iconography notated sources oral tradition archives and important collections of jewish music… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • South Asian arts — Literary, performing, and visual arts of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Myths of the popular gods, Vishnu and Shiva, in the Puranas (ancient tales) and the Mahabharata and Ramayana epics, supply material for representational and… …   Universalium

  • symphony — /sim feuh nee/, n., pl. symphonies. 1. Music. a. an elaborate instrumental composition in three or more movements, similar in form to a sonata but written for an orchestra and usually of far grander proportions and more varied elements. b. an… …   Universalium

  • performing arts — arts or skills that require public performance, as acting, singing, or dancing. [1945 50] * * * ▪ 2009 Introduction Music Classical.       The last vestiges of the Cold War seemed to thaw for a moment on Feb. 26, 2008, when the unfamiliar strains …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”