Multi-instrumentalist
Multi-instrumentalist is a newer term for a musician who has mastered several instruments .
The MGG (The Music in Past and Present) in its first edition and the Riemann Musiklexikon do not use the term. In 1977 the term appears in the dtv -Atlas zur Musik and in 1982 in Brockhaus Musik. In the USA, the term can already be identified in the 1930s.
history
16th to 18th century
The European town pipers learned a variety of instruments during their training, including trumpet , trombone , zinc , shawm , oboe , bassoon , recorder and the common string instruments . Musicians trained as town piper were Gottfried Reiche , Johann Joachim Quantz , Johann Christoph Pezel and Sigmund Theophil Staden . Mastery of several instruments was also common among the cantors, bandmasters and composers. Georg Philipp Telemann played the violin , viola da gamba , recorder, transverse flute , oboe, shawm, trombone, double bass and the keyboard instruments used at the time. The simultaneous execution of a polyphonic work by one person was quite common in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Baldassare Castiglione describes singing to the lira in the Libro del Cortegiano in 1528 . In 1543, Silvestro Ganassi gave information on the practice of intavolation and music-making in madrigals . Johann Mattheson reports on Nikolaus Bruhns that he played the organ and violin at the same time .
"Because he was very strong on the violin, and knew how to play those with double fingerings as if their 3rd or 4th, he had the habit of making the change now and then on the organ that he had the Violin at the same time, with a well-suited pedal voice all alone, could be listened to in the most pleasant way. "
19th century
With the end of the town pipers' guilds and the reorientation of the Latin schools, music training shifted to the numerous newly founded conservatories after 1800 . In order to meet the increased demands of orchestral music, the musicians specialized more strongly in one main instrument.
20th century and present
Classical music
The 19th century trend towards specialization in music education continued. The teaching of basic knowledge on a keyboard instrument as well as singing ( university choir ) will become standard in German music studies. Violinist care also as a secondary instrument, the viola, oboe sometimes the oboe d'amore or English horn . According to the needs of smaller theaters, double bass players sometimes study the tuba subject . The study of church music includes organ , piano and singing as compulsory subjects . Often a brass instrument is used as a secondary instrument. Pronounced multi-instrumentalists are primarily encountered in the area of " historical performance practice " ( Arnold Dolmetsch , Peter Harlan , David Munrow , Helmut Kickton ).
Popular music
In contrast to classical music, in which a singer is usually accompanied by a separate musician or instrumental ensemble, in popular music it is very common to use a chordal instrument such as guitar or piano to accompany one's own singing. In some music groups there is a simultaneous performance of vocals and instruments by all members of the band ( The Beatles , Die Ärzte ). Thanks to modern studio technology, a single musician who has mastered a wide range of instruments can create a sound carrier production all by himself. Playing several instruments at the same time is also known as a one-man band or one-man orchestra .
Musical and jazz music
Musical ensembles and big bands also often require multi-instrumentalists. In Leonard Bernstein's musical West Side Story, for example, the first woodwind player is required to switch between piccolo and transverse flute, alto saxophone, and Bb and bass clarinet.
In big bands, it is not uncommon for saxophonists to be able to switch from their main instrument to the flute or clarinet. The bass player must also often be able to master the double bass and electric bass equally.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Google Books: Ma vie - Fédor Chaliapine, Fyodor Ivanovich Chaliapin - Google Books , accessed November 8, 2014
- ↑ Riemann Musiklexikon 1967: Art. Stadtpfeifer
- ^ The music in the past and present , Bärenreiter-Verlag
- ↑ Music in the past and present
- ↑ Music in the past and present
- ↑ Telemann: Singing is the foundation of music in all things . Ed. Werner Rackwitz; Reclam
- ↑ Baldassare Castiglione: Il Libro del Cortegiano, Venice 1528, Libro II, Chapter XIII
- ↑ Silvestro Ganassi: Regola Rubertina . 1542/43
- ^ The Official West Side Story Web Site - FAQ. (No longer available online.) In: www.westsidestory.com. Archived from the original on March 12, 2016 ; Retrieved March 19, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
