The Musical Instrument Desk Reference
A Guide to How Band and Orchestral Instruments Work
By (author) Michael J. Pagliaro
Publication date:
16 August 2012Length of book:
200 pagesPublisher
Scarecrow PressDimensions:
290x226mm9x11"
ISBN-13: 9780810882706
In The Musical Instrument Desk Reference, Michael Pagliaro, musical instrument authority extraordinaire, provides the one-stop shop for those in need of a quick, visually-rich reference guide to band and orchestral instruments. Descriptions and illustrations of everything from the physics of sound to detailed discussions of each orchestra and band instrument make this work the ideal desktop reference tool for the working musician. Through its Quick Start and In Depth features, readers can quickly decide how deeply they want to delve into the instrument at hand. Following a contemporary format designed to facilitate what any musician or music instructor needs to know, The Musical Instrument Desk Reference eliminates the need to leaf through multiple method books or trawl through websites to find information.
The Musical Instrument Desk Reference includes general information on fingering, the anatomy of musical instruments, sound production, amplification, and control, as well as the science of sound. Readers will find individual chapters on woodwinds, brass instruments, non-fretted string instruments, and percussion instruments. In each category, Pagliaro delves deeper, describing for woodwinds such things as tuning, key systems, fingerings, sound production, tone holes, assembly, materials, embouchures, and reed use; for brass instruments such matters as valve systems, fingering patterns, French horn types, mouthpiece selection, and intonation; for non-fretted string instruments such issues as tuning and fingering, playing position, bowing technique, instrument parts, and materials; and for percussion instruments such elements as instrument types and their classifications, tuning procedures, and accessories.
The Musical Instrument Desk Reference is the perfect guide for anyone interested in or responsible for working with varieties of instruments and their players. Teachers, students, teachers in training, music instructors, instrument technicians, and musicians can quickly locate any specific detail related to any band or orchestral instrument.
The Musical Instrument Desk Reference includes general information on fingering, the anatomy of musical instruments, sound production, amplification, and control, as well as the science of sound. Readers will find individual chapters on woodwinds, brass instruments, non-fretted string instruments, and percussion instruments. In each category, Pagliaro delves deeper, describing for woodwinds such things as tuning, key systems, fingerings, sound production, tone holes, assembly, materials, embouchures, and reed use; for brass instruments such matters as valve systems, fingering patterns, French horn types, mouthpiece selection, and intonation; for non-fretted string instruments such issues as tuning and fingering, playing position, bowing technique, instrument parts, and materials; and for percussion instruments such elements as instrument types and their classifications, tuning procedures, and accessories.
The Musical Instrument Desk Reference is the perfect guide for anyone interested in or responsible for working with varieties of instruments and their players. Teachers, students, teachers in training, music instructors, instrument technicians, and musicians can quickly locate any specific detail related to any band or orchestral instrument.
At first glance, this relatively short book would appear likely to attract only a small audience, chiefly K–12 music educators who have a need for broad-based knowledge of instruments—in particular, how to maintain and repair them. And certainly they will find this book indispensable. But because, as the author states in his preface, “this manual provides important information for teachers, students, and technicians who work with musical instruments on which they are not accomplished performers,” it will likely appeal to a wide variety of musical practitioners outside of those fortunate few who can make their living on performance. Pagliaro’s (Everything You Should Know About Musical Instruments But Didn’t Have Time To Learn) first chapter contains a layman’s review of the physics of sound. Subsequent chapters cover woodwind, brass, non-fretted string instruments, and percussion. Each section begins with an “Easy Reference Quick Start” that provides illustrated information that may be needed during a lesson. This is followed by in-depth information on each instrument including illustrations and diagrams of its major parts and an analysis of how it produces sound. Also included are basic fingering charts, tuning procedures, and discussions of the various materials used to construct instruments. VERDICT This excellent title will appeal to everyone from amateur enthusiasts to veteran teachers.