Variant instrument

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A Variant instrument is in the language of music education and the orchestra practice a musical instrument whose control may be required by the musician in addition to his main instrument.

Many scores in classical music require a change between flute and piccolo , between oboe and cor anglais , between clarinet , small clarinet and bass clarinet , between bassoon and contrabassoon or between trumpet and flugelhorn . The change to variant instruments is usually carried out by the second player in the symphony orchestra .

Due to the development of historical performance practice since the 20th century, many musicians have mastered not only the modern instrument (such as the trombone or oboe ) but also a historical design (such as the baroque trombone or baroque oboe ). Many professional pianists play the harpsichord or clavichord .

In the practice of big bands , saxophonists are required to switch to flute and clarinets. The flute corresponds roughly to the saxophone in terms of its fingerings , the clarinet corresponds to its approach . The double bass is expected from the electric bass player as a variant instrument.

Today, for reasons of sound quality, only variant instruments that are similar to the main instrument in terms of design and playing technique are common. In the practice of salon orchestras and military orchestras in the 19th and 20th centuries, a much wider range of variant instruments was common. For example, the pairing of cello and trombone or saxophone and violin was required in order to be able to play the same orchestral part while sitting (for example at a spa concert ) and while walking (at a military parade ).

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