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What is embouchure?
The method of blowing into the instrument to set the air column in motion either directly (flutes) or by the reed mechanism or mouthpiece (all other woodwinds).
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What is dependent upon the embouchure?
Pitch variation or intonation.
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How is overblowing accomplished?
By blowing with more force, compelling the vibrating air column to split fractionally
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Of what is overblowing the woodwind equivalent?
Touching a node on a string at the halfway mark, producing the first harmonic.
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What interval do flutes and all conical pipe instruments overblow?
the octave
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What interval do clarinets overblow?
the twelfth
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What instrument overblows the twelfth?
the clarinet
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What instruments overblow the octave?
the flute and all conical pipe instruments
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In what key is the piccolo?
C5 (octave higher than written)
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In what key is the alto flute?
G3 (P4 lower than written)
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In what key is the bass flute? (not on review)
C3 (8ve below written)
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In what key is the English horn?
F3 (P5 below written)
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In what key is the oboe d'amore? (not on review)
A3 (m3 below written)
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In what key is the alto clarinet?
Eb3 (M6 below written)
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In what key is the piccolo clarinet?
Eb4 (sounds m3 above)
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What is the nickname for the Eb clarinet?
piccolo clarinet
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In what key is the bass clarinet? (not on review)
Bb2 (M9 below written)
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In what key is the soprano sax?
Bb3 (M2 below written)
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In what key is the alto sax?
Eb3 (M6 below written)
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In what key is the tenor sax?
Bb2 (M9 below written)
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How do you produce vibrato on a wind instrument?
- 1. Movement of the lips and jaw- most difficult because it can upset the embouchure (normal for clarinet and saxophone, seldom for oboe and bassoon)
- 2. Movement of the throat muscles (sometimes for flute)
- 3. Movement of the abdominal muscles (normal for oboe and bassoon)
- 4. Combination of movements of the throat and abdominal muscles (normal for flute)
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What is vibrato when employed on a woodwind?
A rapid pulsation of the air column
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How are slurs executed on a woodwind? How can this be compared to a slur on a stringed instrument? What is this called?
The player performs all the pitches within the slur in one breath and tongues only the first note. This is similar to a string player playing all the notes on one bow. This in-one-breath articulation is called legato playing (although not all in-one-breath playing is necessarily legato).
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How are notes executed on a woodwind when there are no slurs marked in the music?
They are articulated separately.
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How do you designate a passage to be played with vibrato?
You don't have to specify this normally as the wind player will naturally color the tone with vibrato; however, if you are returning back to normal after playing non-vibrato, the indication "con vibrato" or "normal" ("normale") should appear.
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How do you indicate playing without vibrato in a certain passage?
"Senza vibrato," "non vibrato," or "white tone."
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What is flutter tonguing? How is it notated? To what string technique can this be compared? What is the German word for it?
A whirring sound produced either by a rapid roll or fluttering of the tongue, or by a prolonged guttural "r" rolled in the throat. The parts must be marked with three slashes through the stems or above whole notes, or with the words "flutter tongue" (abbr. Flt.) above the passage. It is not unlike the unmeasured tremolo for strings. The German term is Flatterzunge.
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How do you notate two clarinets playing a part? Three?
a2; a3
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How do you notate only the second oboe playing a part? The first?
2. or 2o; 1. or 10
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What are some 20th century woodwind effects?
- 1. Multiphonics
- 2. Microtones
- 3. Glissandi
- 4. Slap tonguing
- 5. Key clicking
- 6. Whistle tones
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What are the first three registers for the clarinet?
- 1. Chalumeau register- E3 to F#4- deep and rich
- 2. "Throat tones"- G4 to Bb4- rather pale
- 3. Clarion register- B4 to C6- bright, incisive, expressive
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In what order are the woodwinds placed on the score?
Piccolo, flute, oboe, English horn, clarinet, bass clarinet, bassoon, contrabassoon
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Which instruments have double reeds?
oboe, English horn, bassoon, contrabassoon
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What instruments are in the flute family?
piccolo, flute, alto flute, bass flute
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What instruments are in the oboe family?
oboe, oboe d'amore, English horn, heckelphone, bassoon, contrabassoon
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What instruments are in the clarinet family?
C, D, Eb, Bb, and A clarinets, alto clarinet, bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet, basset horn
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What instruments are in the saxophone family?
sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, and bass saxes
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What is multiphonics? To what string technique can this be compared?
The simultaneous sounding of more than one note, similar to double stops.
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What are microtones?
Creating special shadings of a pitch; some players can play these with trick fingerings or by changing their embouchure.
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How are glissandi used in orchestrating for woodwinds?
They are most successful on the clarinet and sax, but only in an upward direction. Downward glissandi are only effective between neighboring pitches.
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What is slap tonguing?
It produces a perky, snappy, overarticulated attack. It is most effective on clarinets and saxophones but is also possible on the flute.
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What is key clicking? To what string technique can this be compared? What is the opposite effect?
It can create a percussive, rhythmic effect; slapping down hard without any air blowing through the instrument can produce very faint pitches as well. It is much like a string player who puts his fingers down hard on the strings without using the bow. The opposite technique is blowing through the instrument without producing any pitches, which gives the sound of air blowing through a pipe.
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What is the written range of all flutes?
C4 (sometimes B3 with foot) to C7; piccolo starts at D4
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What is the written range of all clarinets?
E3 to A6
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What is the written range of all oboes?
Bb3 to G6 (English horn and oboe d'amore start B3)
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What is the written range of all saxophones?
Bb3 to G6
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What is the written range of the bassoon?
Bb1 to Eb5
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What is the written range of the contrabassoon?
Bb1 to Bb4
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Name and label all the woodwinds.
Do this separately.
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Where is the air blown into a clarinet? What kind of reed does it have?
mouthpiece; single reed
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What is the curved metal mouthpipe on the bassoon called?
bocal or crook
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What is the bell?
a flared end of a wind instrument which affects the instrument's resonation
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What is the shortest part of the flute? What does it contain?
the foot joint; contains a few keys
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What holds the reed against the aperture of the mouthpiece?
the ligature
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What is ligature?
holds the reed against the aperture of the mouthpiece
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What is underneath the keys?
pads
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What are the keys?
pressed by the fingers to cover an instrument's holes and change the pitch
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What is the register key?
a key on the clarinet used to play in the second register; raises all pitches by a twelfth
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What is a pipe which has one end that is larger than the other called?
a conical bore
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What is a straight pipe called?
a cylindrical bore
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What is meant by the break on the clarinet?
occurs between Bb4 and B4; fingering goes from no keys depressed to all keys depressed (except the vent hole); coordinating this transition is difficult
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What is single tonguing?
the way notes are normally articulated; the tongue touches the roof of the mouth and immediately pulls back; creates a "te" sound
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What is double-tonguing?
tonguing especially in fast passages; "te ke" is used, allows for more speed
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What is triple-tonguing?
similar to double tonguing; "te ke te" and "ke te ke" are used
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What are alternate fingerings?
when there's more than one way to play a note on an instrument?
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What are harmonics?
pitches above the open C#5 on the flute; created by playing the pitch an octave below how it should sound and overblowing
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Why is the designation "solo" sometimes used? Why is it superfluous?
to emphasize that a particular line or melody is the most important event occurring in the orchestral texture at that moment; each wind player is already given a separate part
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What are the registral characteristics of the flute?
gets more brilliant and powerful as it goes up in register
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What are the registral characteristics of the oboe?
most effect from F4 to C6; loses its pungency the higher it goes; lower = stronger
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What are the registral characteristics of the English horn?
sound gets thinner as it gets higher; the lowest 5th or 6th is the richest and most powerful
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What are the registral characteristics of the bassoon?
superb in all registers as a solo instrument; tends to be swallowed by other instruments especially in high registers; in its low register it is a strong and noble bass
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What can an orchestrator not expect from woodwinds that may be routinely expected from strings?
ability to play easily in any register; playing extremely long phrases without pausing for a breath; playing below the written range (string players can do this with scordatura)
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