Timeline for Non-Chromatic Orchestral Instruments?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
12 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Jul 8, 2019 at 15:20 | comment | added | Carl Witthoft | I disagree with the claim that any (skilled) wind instrument player can't produce a fast chromatic run or trill. Since every note in the 12-tone scale is producible, it's just a matter of skill & experience. | |
| Jul 8, 2019 at 4:52 | comment | added | trlkly | Presumably a tympani player would take advantage of multiple drums and muting the previous one before tuning to the next note, rather than just use a single drum. I'm not sure that makes it possible to play "quickly," but that would be a way to avoid a glissando effect. | |
| Jul 8, 2019 at 4:28 | comment | added | Your Uncle Bob | @Pyromonk I guess the exact definition would be down to Andy, but I see "high speed" as playing several notes per second, and not having to do anything (like retune) that you would normally only do while you're not playing, and that would slow you down or force you to leave a pause between some notes. The "cheating" fingerings are okay, I guess, if they can be done fluently. | |
| Jul 8, 2019 at 4:20 | comment | added | Pyromonk | @YourUncleBob, thank you, I missed it somehow. Can we have a more clear definition of "high speed"? I assume, "limited" capability means that a "high speed" cannot be reached. Does it also apply to instruments where chromaticisms can only be achieved through "cheating" (such as not fully pressing a key or half-covering a tone hole)? | |
| Jul 8, 2019 at 4:13 | comment | added | Your Uncle Bob | @Pyromonk I posted an answer with a list of instruments and made it a Community Wiki so that anyone can edit information into it. If you know where to add the saxophone (or other instruments) and know details of the range in which they could or couldn't do a chromatic run, then please do. | |
| Jul 8, 2019 at 4:05 | comment | added | Pyromonk | @YourUncleBob, do you mean Matt Putnam's original post or are you referring to something else? Thank you. | |
| Jul 8, 2019 at 2:18 | comment | added | Your Uncle Bob | @Pyromonk Feel free to edit any information into the Community Wiki answer. | |
| Jul 8, 2019 at 1:56 | comment | added | Pyromonk | @MattPutnam, you are absolutely right. I could not find any good alternative fingerings for D#->E and G#->A (and they are also problematic, because G, G#, D and D# are often stuffy/squeaky). The low end switches you list are probably some of the most painful indeed. Even professional musicians with decades of experience struggle with those. Thank you for clarifying your answer. | |
| Jul 8, 2019 at 1:14 | comment | added | Max | Trombones will also struggle with fast chromatic runs and trills... | |
| Jul 7, 2019 at 18:16 | comment | added | MattPutnam | Right, like I said they're all possible. But some are pretty awkward. Aside from the low ones (Bb-B, B-C#, C#-D#), I think that D#-E and G#-A are bad. You either have to trill two fingers, or leave the pinky down and trill the ring finger. Not impossible by any means, but if you wanted to write a really fast trill those would be bad spots. | |
| Jul 7, 2019 at 14:59 | comment | added | Pyromonk | What about saxophones? Modern professional instruments are more than capable of half-step and whole-step trills (there are even additional F# keys for those who are lazy/incompetent). Unless you mean high register or altissimo, of course. There are plenty of resources out there for alternative fingerings as well. I've personally had no trouble with any trills on tenor or alto. | |
| Jul 7, 2019 at 14:24 | history | answered | MattPutnam | CC BY-SA 4.0 |