Musical Instruments and Vocal Techniques: A Comprehensive Study
Musical Instruments and Vocal Techniques
Musical Instruments
Instruments are characterized by the existence of three basic elements for the production of sound: the type of the vibrating material, a mechanism capable of vibrating the material, and a soundboard that amplifies the sound.
String Instruments
String instruments: The sound is produced by the vibration of one or more strings stretched between two points. Depending on the ways in which the strings vibrate, we distinguish:
Bowed Strings: The sound is produced by rubbing the strings with a bow.
- Violin: The smallest, with the sharpest sound.
- Viola: A bit bigger, with a medium register.
- Cello: Clearly larger, with a serious register.
- Bass: The largest of the family, with a very serious register.
Plucked Strings: They produce the sound when you tap or press the strings with your fingers or a pick or plectrum.
- Harp: Strings ordered from least to most in length. To easily locate the strings, the C strings are red and the F strings are blue.
- Guitar: Six strings and a mast on which the frets are placed (small crossbars) that make a semitone upward progression along the strings.
Struck Strings: They produce sound by striking the strings with hammers operated through a keyboard.
- Piano: Has 88 keys covering over seven octaves. It is the king of musical instruments in its scope of registers. All pianos have two pedals. The shift pedal (left) deviates the trajectory of the hammers that strike the strings, but with less force. The sustaining pedal (right) raises the dampers, allowing the strings to continue vibrating when you have stopped pressing the keys.
Two Types of Pianos:
- Grand: The strings are arranged in a horizontal direction.
- Upright: The strings are arranged in a vertical direction.
Wind Instruments
Wind instruments: The sound results from the vibration of the air column inside the tube of the instrument. In wind instruments, the sound level is determined by the length and thickness of the air column and tubes. A greater length and thickness result in a more serious sound. With less size and girth, the sound is more acute. Most wind instruments have different mechanisms (holes, pistons, etc.) that make it possible to alter the length of the tube and therefore its tuning. Within the wind family, we distinguish (by the type of mouthpiece):
Woodwind: Three different types of mouthpiece:
- Bevel: The air vibrates when it breaks against the bevel, producing sound (flute).
- Single Reed: It is a thin, flexible rod that vibrates through the action of the murmur (clarinet and saxophone).
- Double Reed: The sound is produced by the vibration of two reeds or canes (oboe, English horn, and bassoon).
Brass: Instruments made of metal alloys. The instrument is a coiled or folded tube. The mouthpiece (cup-shaped or funnel) is introduced into one end of the tube. At the other end, there is a bell or pavilion. To produce sound, the lips touch against the mouthpiece and vibrate like a loose double reed. The looser the lips, the lower the sound. In addition to pressure from the lips, the sound’s height is controlled by a system of pistons. In the case of the trombone, it is a stick phone that slides over the main tube, lengthening or shortening the journey in 7 positions (trumpet, horn, trombone, tuba). These instruments can use a damper introduced into the pavilion end of the tube to soften the intensity of sound and change the timbre.
Percussion Instruments
Percussion instruments: These are instruments that produce sound when struck, shaken, or rubbed.
- Drums of Definite Pitch: These are instruments that can produce notes of a defined height and therefore interpret melodies (timpani, xylophone, chimes, glockenspiel, celesta, tubular bells).
- Drums of Indefinite Pitch: These instruments produce sounds of indefinite height and therefore can only interpret rhythms (drums, cymbals, triangles, boxes, tambourines, castanets, bongos, claves, maracas, bells).
Vocal Techniques
There are three distinct phases in the broadcasting of voice:
Breathing
The main respiratory organs are found in the ribcage, bounded by the ribs, the sternum, and the diaphragm. To breathe, first we take air (inspiration) and then expel it (expiration). Between these two times is a phase in which we keep the inspired air (retention). A good breathing technique is: inspiration-retention-expiration. There are two basic types of breathing:
- Upper Breathing: This is when we breathe deeply, elevating the shoulders and filling the chest with air. It is not the most advisable, because it only uses the top of the lungs, the smallest part, and it is a short and labored breathing apparatus.
- Abdominal Breathing: This is the type of breathing we generally practice when we are relaxed. The belly rises and falls by the action of the diaphragm. During inspiration, the stomach and diaphragm expand downward, allowing the bottom of the lungs to fill. During expiration, the diaphragm rises, ejecting air from the lungs. This is the most suitable type of breathing for singing because it allows the best possible filling of the ribcage.
Production
Voice occurs in the speech apparatus; its main organ is the larynx, where the vocal cords are located. The larynx sits atop the front of the trachea and the pharynx. The air expelled from the lungs reaches the vocal cords through the trachea. The vocal cords are two small muscles that contract and vibrate as the air passes, thus producing the different sounds according to the separation and tension of the vocal cords.
Resonation
Like any other instrument, the voice needs a sounding board to amplify the sound and allow it to be modeled. The resonator device is formed by the ribcage, trachea, nose, forehead, and mouth. It is in this last phase where each individual, each voice, acquires its characteristic timbre. To speak and sing well, it is important to learn to use the resonators of the voice properly, trying to keep the sound out by using different resonators. The throat is related to the different voice registers. Singers use the so-called head register for high notes and the chest register for low notes.
Voice Classification
Voices are classified according to two aspects:
- The extension or tessitura of the voice, the sound field of heights which may include: severe, medium, or acute.
- The distinction between male and female voices. The voice of a man sounds one octave more serious than the voices of women. Most white voices (children) correspond in name and tessitura to those of women.
Soprano (Acute) / Mezzo-Soprano (Medium) / Contralto (Grave) / Tenor (Acute) / Baritone (Medium) / Bass (Grave)
We call the total range of heights that a voice can encompass the ambitus, while the term tessitura refers to the most suitable medium register.
Classification According to Character
To the classification of voices according to their register heights, we often add a few adjectives that identify the type of voice color according to their character and timbre. For example:
- For agile voices highly developed in the sharp range, capable of ornamental passages of great virtuosity: coloratura soprano or light tenor or buffo.
- For more ample and expressive voices: lyric soprano, lyric tenor, lyric bass.
- For voices more developed in the low register and with a more intense and powerful timbre: dramatic soprano, dramatic or heroic tenor, dramatic baritone, basso profundo.
The timbral possibilities of the human voice are remarkably rich.
Vocal Ensembles
When it comes to vocal music, we can refer exclusively to the music performed by voices, called a capella music, or to the music performed by voices and instruments at once. Voices can be grouped according to the number of singers:
- Solo Singer: The simplest formation, represented by a single voice. Frequently, the solo voice appears accompanied by an instrument.
Small Ensembles:
- Duo: Two voices (the same or different).
- Trio: Three voices (the same or different).
- Quartet: Four voices (the same or different). A mixed quartet includes women and men at the extremes (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass).
- Octet: A double mixed quartet, known as an octave (two sopranos, two contraltos, two tenors, and two basses).
Choirs: A grouping of a large number of voices. Like smaller formations, they can be composed of different voices. Choirs include:
- Mixed-Voice Choir: Composed of sopranos, altos, tenors, and basses.
- Six Mixed-Voice Choir: Composed of all the voices of women and men.
- Equal-Voice Choir: Can be composed of male voices, female voices, or children’s voices.
According to the number of interpreters, we can distinguish:
- Chamber Choir: Like any other chamber ensemble, it has a limited number of singers, usually not more than twenty.
- Great Chorus: Composed of a high number of singers.