There are a range of different metal percussion instruments that can be found in the modern western orchestra, even though many of them have origins that are not only ancient in nature, but also global as well.

The Anvil - The Anvil is a specific type of sound effect that is used when playing orchestral music, specifically attempting to imitate the sound of a blacksmith's anvil. This sound is perhaps heard most famously in the Anvil Chorus from Il Trovatore by Giuseppe Verdi from 1853 and Wagner's Rheingold from 1876. The anvil is also capable of being used to create dramatic musical effects as well, which is where it has gained much of its popularity throughout history.

Real anvils are a little bit impractical when it comes to play in an orchestra simply because they are so heavy. There are a number of unique substitutes that are effective for creating a similar sound without the size and weight however, including sections of scaffolding poles or pieces of railway track, which are capable of providing a similar clanging sound. When the anvil is used in an orchestra, it is typically played using a heavy metal hammer or mallet in order to produce the unique sound that it is known for.

The Musical Saw - The musical saw is actually a fine bladed saw lacking in teeth that is played using a bow from a double bass or a cello. The saw handle is held between the knees of the player and then the tip of the saw is held in the non bowing hand which is typically the left hand. As the right hand bows the saw, the let hand will bend it in order to create a wide variety of different pitches.

Both the pressure of the bowing and the amount of bending need to be controlled carefully in order to create a true pitch on the behalf of the saw as well as a musical line that is sustained. There is a high singing tone that is created by this instrument and it is capable of playing both vibrato and also glissandi. The origins of the musical saw as an instrument are relatively obscure, but this instrument may have originated from the rural parts of North America in and around the latter half of the 19th century.

This has been a popular instrument in musical hall music as well as vaudeville, especially right around the turn of the 20th century, and this instrument was even included in an opera known as the Nose between 1927 and 1928 by Shostakovitch.

The Flexatone - This instrument is not unlike the musical saw. The flexatone was invented to serve as a jazz instrument in and around the 1920s. The flexatone is a triangular steel plate that is thin and flexible. It is fixed at the wide end to a metal frame that is approximately 30 cm or 12 in in length that possesses rubber beater or wooden beaters at the lower end, attached to rods. The player will wave the flexatone instrument around so that the beaters are made to hit the plate, and the player is also responsible for changing his thumb pressure on the plate so that the pitch is changed when the sounds are made by the beaters. There is a limited pitch range offered by this instrument, but it has been known to play some truly melodic parts such as in the Piano Concerto of 1936 by Aram Khatchaturian.

Photo Credits: Thunderbird Cafe

Originally posted 2009-08-20 03:07:13. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Acoustic Musical Instruments, Instrument History

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anvil chorus, anvils, different pitches, double bass, giuseppe verdi, il trovatore, metal hammer, metal percussion, orchestral music, percussion instruments, railway track, rheingold, saw handle, scaffolding, similar sound, sound effect, true pitch, unique sound, vibrato, western orchestra