Effect instrument
Effect instrument is a musical instrument that is mainly not used to play melodies , rhythms or chords , but to create sound effects.
These include, above all, percussion instruments such as gong , cymbals , chimes , rattles and the American rain maker .
Other special effect instruments are Mirliton ( Kazoo ), horn , trute , whistle , recorder head , ratchet . The demarcation to toy instruments and noise instruments is fluid. Household items and objects in general that primarily serve other purposes can also be used as effects instruments.
Known occurrences of effect instruments and effect noises in classical music :
- Zimbelstern on organs (a few instruments also have a "twittering of birds" register, a "cuckoo" or a "nightingale")
- The “ Children's Symphony ” (c. 1770, attributed to Edmund Angerer ), in which various toy instruments are used
- Gun shots in the orchestral piece Wellington's Victory by Beethoven
- Anvils in the opera Das Rheingold by Richard Wagner
- Cannons and church bells in Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture
- Wind machine and thunder machine in Richard Strauss ' Alpine Symphony
- Typewriter in Leroy Anderson's The Typewriter
In classical music, effect instruments are usually operated by the percussionists .