Roleplayer Guild - Forum Roleplaying Games

Hello, it’s me, Cookie, again! I wanted to make a good addition to the site, so I decided to take one of my passions (music), and use it to help my fellow roleplayers! In this article I’m gonna go over the different types of instruments, as well as some details about specific instruments, so people can use this knowledge for roleplaying. These are the basic types I’m going to explain:

-String
-Wind/Woodwind
-Brass
-Percussion

If you want me to elaborate on a specific instrument not included in here, just pm me and I’ll write about it. So here we go!

Strings
These instruments make sound from the many strings that give them their name. These strings can be plucked, strummed, rubbed with something, or struck to make sound. Here are some common string instruments:

-Harp (plucked)
-Guitar (strummed)
-Violin (rubbed)
-Cello (rubbed)
-Piano (struck) (Yes, it’s technically a stringed instrument!)

Winds/Woodwinds
The sound made from these instruments is made from vibrating air. This air can be vibrated with a reed (as in a clarinet), a ball (as in a whistle) or hit a sharp edge (like in a flute). What differentiates woodwind from brass? I mean, they’re both powered by vibrating air, so how can you tell the difference? Woodwinds generally make different notes by opening and closing holes for different pitch. Also, as the name suggests, some are made of wood. Some wind instruments:

-Flute
-Piccolo
-Recorder
-Ocarina

Brass
Brass instruments also make sound from vibrating air. However, this vibration is produced by the player, not the instrument itself. The player vibrates his or her lips, which sets the air in motion. This makes the sound. The pitch can be controlled in two ways. One way is to press the valves on the instrument. This decreases the space the air has to vibrate, thus making a different note. Another way to control the pitch is to change the frequency at which the player vibrates his or her lips. Different frequency, different pitch. Here are some brass instruments:

-Trumpet
-Tuba
-French horn
-Trombone

Percussion
These instruments make sound from the striking of a surface. If you have read all of this article, and are saying, “But Cookie! If percussions are defined by striking a surface, wouldn’t pianos be considered percussion?” Pianos are classified as string instruments because the surface that is hit is a string. If you look on the inside of a piano, you will see that there are many strings. One for each note, in fact. Anyways, onto the percussions. The surface that is hit can be metal, animal hide, and even fabric. I’ve made many a childhood drum that used a piece of taught cloth to make sound. The percussion instruments can be stuck with your hands, a stick, or hit together with another percussion. Some percussion instruments:

-Drum
-Xylophone
-Bell
-Cymbals

Well, that’s it for basic information! If you want me to continue with information on specific instruments, just pm me with what instrument you want me to write about. All comments, compliments, and criticism are welcome. Thanks!

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I think I'll start off with the ocarina! It's one of my favorites, so where better to start?

Ocarina

The ocarina is a wind instrument. It is similar to the recorder in the way it is played. There are holes on the top, and usually one or two on the bottom, that are covered to make different notes. There are many different types of ocarinas, all the way from little sopranos:


to (dun dun DAA!) TRIPLE ocarinas! (sorry for the large pic, couldn't resize)


Though you can't see it from the pictures, the smaller ocarinas have one internal chamber for one octave, and the triple ocarinas have three internal chambers for three whole octaves!

Now onto playing techniques. *please note, there will only be playing tecniques for the ocarina and piano, as I actually play these instruments myself*

-Let's pretend for a moment that the lowest note on your ocarina is a C (it probably is). By blowing a bit softer, you can slightly lower that C to a B! (For those of who have no idea what I'm talking about, C and a B are notes. C is one note higher than a B. So by blowing into your ocarina a bit softer, you can lower the pitch a little.)
-A cool effect that you can easily do with an ocarina is called a "trill". What you do is place then take away your finger over a single hole. However, you do this very rapidly, and many times. The result is something that sounds reminiscent of birdsong. Some combinations of trills are very pleasing to the ear; try C and B, or C and B flat.

Well, that's it for the ocarina! I'll probably add more to here as time goes by, so check back every so often! Thanks!

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All right, people. Break it up! This is an article, not a discussion. If you want to keep talking about this, take it to off-topic. Articles are not for up for discussion. They're up for being read and maybe light commentary.

Cookie, let me know if/when you want all the chatter here deleted.

EDIT: Soft deleted some of the posts (one from each of the users who posted here, so they know who this warning is aimed at) and physically removed further posts by the same users.

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Thanks Blackfire.


Alright, this next one is about the piano. I play it myself, so it shouldn't be too hard to write about it.

Piano

The piano is played by pressing the many keys that are aligned on the front. I classify the piano as a string instrument; if you have ever seen the inside of a piano, you will know why. Each key is connected to a wooden 'hammer', when you press it, it pushes the hammer down. The hammer then hits a string, which make the sound. Different notes are formed by different strings, each different string is a different length and/or width. When you take your finger off of the key, a piece of wood falls back down and stops the string from vibrating. Therefore, the sound stops.

There are pedals on the bottom of the piano, they each do different things. I'll just talk about the one to the far right, it is the one most commonly used. You use your foot to press down the pedal. The pedal lifts all of the wooden pieces that cause the sound to stop when you let go of a key. What use is this, you ask? Well, if you press the pedal down and play a note, you can lift your finger from the key and the sound won't stop. Also, the pedal can blend together a piece of music that would otherwise be very choppy.

Playing methods and tips:

-While using the pedal can make some music sound very lovely, you shouldn't use it for everything. If it is used thorughout a piece, it can blend the notes together too much, making the piece sound muddy and dischordant. If you have a piece of music that has the pedal in it, you will probably notice that there are small little breaks in it. When you see that in sheet music, that is a sign to up-down, or quickly remove and then replace, your foot on the pedal. This breaks up the notes so that they are distinct, and not a blended together.

-Even if you can't read notes, you can make some cool sounds on the piano. For instance, look at the black keys on the piano. If you look at the whole piano, you will see that they follow a pattern. There are three black keys, then two, then three, then two, and etc. So pick one of the white notes, any white note. Play it, skip a note, play a note, then skip another note, and finally play a note. Then do the same thing an octave higher. If you're saying, "Wait a minute, what an octave? You said I didn't need to know about music!" then listen to this next part. To play the same note an octave higher, just look at the grouping of black keys around the note you just played. Look for the next grouping of black keys that looks the same. Play the same note there, then do the same thing as before. Play a note, skip a note, play a note, skip a note, play a note. Then do this again, another octave higher. Practive this until you get really good at it and you can play it very fast, one octave after another. Once you can, add the pedal, and marvel at the wonderful sound!

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