The Art of the Trumpet-maker


Book Description

This is a study of the manufacture of brass instruments, particularly the trumpet, in Nuremberg during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The book begins with a brief history of the instrument and the city where it was made, and an introduction to the changes in style, shape, and ornamentation which occurred over more than two hundred years. The techniques of extraction and purification, and the chemical and physical structure of the metals are discussed, especially in relation to the use of authentic materials in reproductions. A separate chapter deals with solders for brass and silver and their use in the workshop. The tools and workshop facilities are identified and detailed using contemporary illustrations and examples from the author's workshop. The longest chapter, which is highly illustrated, deals with the techniques of fabrication as practised today, and draws parallels between them and historical practice. The book concludes with a discussion of the philosophy, ethics, and practicality of using historical instruments or accurate facsimiles in modern performance.




The Cambridge Companion to Brass Instruments


Book Description

This Companion covers many diverse aspects of brass instruments and in such detail. It provides an overview of the history of brass instruments, and their technical and musical development. Although the greatest part of the volume is devoted to the western art music tradition, with chapters covering topics from the medieval to the contemporary periods, there are important contributions on the ancient world, non-western music, vernacular and popular traditions and the rise of jazz. Despite the breadth of its narrative, the book is rich in detail, with an extensive glossary and bibliography. The editors are two of the most respected names in the world of brass performance and scholarship, and the list of contributors includes the names of many of the world's most prestigious scholars and performers on brass instruments.




The Trumpet


Book Description

In the first major book devoted to the trumpet in more than two decades, John Wallace and Alexander McGrattan trace the surprising evolution and colorful performance history of one of the world's oldest instruments. They chart the introduction of the trumpet and its family into art music, and its rise to prominence as a solo instrument, from the Baroque "golden age," through the advent of valved brass instruments in the nineteenth century, and the trumpet's renaissance in the jazz age. The authors offer abundant insights into the trumpet's repertoire, with detailed analyses of works by Haydn, Handel, and Bach, and fresh material on the importance of jazz and influential jazz trumpeters for the reemergence of the trumpet as a solo instrument in classical music today. Wallace and McGrattan draw on deep research, lifetimes of experience in performing and teaching the trumpet in its various forms, and numerous interviews to illuminate the trumpet's history, music, and players. Copiously illustrated with photographs, facsimiles, and music examples throughout, The Trumpet will enlighten and fascinate all performers and enthusiasts [Publisher description].













A Dictionary for the Modern Trumpet Player


Book Description

Titles in Dictionaries for the Modern Musician series offer both the novice and the advanced artist key information designed to convey the field of study and performance for a major instrument or instrument class, as well as the workings of musicians in areas from conducting to composing. Unlike other encyclopedic works, contributions to this series focus primarily on the knowledge required by the contemporary musical student or performer. Each dictionary covers topics from instrument parts to playing technique and major works to key figures. A must-have for any musician’s personal library! Trumpeters today perform a vast repertoire of musical material spanning 500 years, much of it in a variety of styles and even on a number of related instruments. In A Dictionary for the Modern Trumpet Player, scholar and performer, Elisa Koehler has created a key reference work that addresses all of the instruments in the high brass family, providing ready answers to issues that trumpeters, conductors, and musicians commonly—and sometimes not so commonly—encounter. Drawing on a broad range of scholarly sources, A Dictionary for the Modern Trumpet Player includes entries on historic instruments like the cornetto, keyed bugle, and slide trumpet; jazz trumpet techniques; mutes and accessories; and ancient ancestors of the trumpet and related non-Western instruments. In addition to its concise and detailed definitions, this work includes biographies of prominent performers, teachers, instrument makers, and composers of trumpet solo and ensemble literature often omitted from other musical references. Carefully labeled illustrations illuminate the inner workings of various valve mechanisms, allowing readers to visualize the more technical points of high brass instruments. Appendixes include a time line of trumpet history, a survey of valve mechanisms, a list of prominent excerpts from the orchestral and operatic repertoire, and an extensive bibliography. From quick definitions of confusing terms in a musical score to an in-depth overview of trumpet history, A Dictionary for the Modern Trumpet Player is an ideal reference for students, professionals, and music lovers.




The Baroque Clarinet


Book Description

The Baroque Clarinet is a sourcebook for the historical study of the European clarinet during the first half of the eighteenth century. The book is based on a comprehensive study of the theoretical, musical, and iconographical evidence, and many conclusions are presented here for the first time. The opening chapter provides a general view of the precursors of the clarinet. The remainder of the book looks in detail at the baroque clarinet: its design and construction, its playing techniques, the music written for it, and its use by both amateur and professional players. Of particular interest is the author's investigation into aspects of performance practice at various points in the instrument's development. The book is generously illustrated with pictures and music examples, and the appendix provides an inventory and short description of extant baroque clarinets. - ;List of illustrations; List of music examples; Abbreviations; Origins; The earliest instruments; Playing techniques of the baroque clarinet; Music for the baroque clarinet; The use of the baroque clarinet by amateurs and professionals; Appendix: A checklist of extant baroque clarinets; Bibliography; Index -




Continuo Playing According to Handel


Book Description

This book is an edition, with commentary, of Handel's exercises for continuo playing, which he wrote for the daughters of George II. The exercises, which until now have not been readily available, are supplemented by clear and concise commentary. Remaining faithful to his source, Ledbetter, who lectures in keyboard studies, has prepared an edition that will prove invaluable to students and performers of the music of Handel and his contemporaries.




The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Brass Instruments


Book Description

Some thirty-two experts from fifteen countries join three of the world's leading authorities on the design, manufacture, performance and history of brass musical instruments in this first major encyclopedia on the subject. It includes over one hundred illustrations, and gives attention to every brass instrument which has been regularly used, with information about the way they are played, the uses to which they have been put, and the importance they have had in classical music, sacred rituals, popular music, jazz, brass bands and the bands of the military. There are specialist entries covering every inhabited region of the globe and essays on the methods that experts have used to study and understand brass instruments. The encyclopedia spans the entire period from antiquity to modern times, with new and unfamiliar material that takes advantage of the latest research. From Abblasen to Zorsi Trombetta da Modon, this is the definitive guide for students, academics, musicians and music lovers.