Here are some weird and wacky instruments you may have seen in an orchestra... and some you may never see in an orchestra!
1. Cornetts and Serpents
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| Mute cornett, curved cornett and tenor cornett |
Cornetts (also known as cornettos or zinks) are hybrids of woodwinds
and brass: they have the toneholes and fingering systems of woodwinds but the
cup mouthpiece of brass.
Their unique sound is very similar to the human voice
and were often used to support church choirs.
The Serpent is the contrabass
member of the cornett family.
2. Shawm
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| Spanish soprano shawm in C', Spanish alto shawm in G, Spanish alto shawm in F |
The shawm was a woodwind instrument used in Europe between the 12th and
17th centuries. It's the predecessor of the modern oboe and was developed from
the zurma, an early Middle Eastern woodwind.
Shawms were made in several sizes
and ranged from sopranino to great bass.
3. Sackbut
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| Sackbut! |
The sackbut was the predecessor of the slide trombone and was in use in
Europe during the 15th century, when it began to develop into the trombone we're
familiar with today.
4. Basset Horn
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| The basset horn in action |
The basset horn is a member of the clarinet family and is still in use
today. Mozart used it in several of his works, including Die Entführung
aus dem Serail, La Clemenza di Tito and Die Zauberflöte.
4. Cor anglais
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| The cor anglais |
The cor anglais (or English horn) belongs to the oboe family. It's
pitched a perfect fifth lower than the oboe and is consequently one and a half
times the length of the oboe.
It has a pear-shaped bell and is regarded as the
alto member of the oboe family, with the oboe d'amore as the mezzo-soprano
member.
5. Contrabassoon
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| The contrabasson in action |
The contrabassoon sounds an octave lower than the bassoon. It's so long
that it curves around on itself twice and is supported by an endpin and a strap
around the players's neck. Some models cannot be disassembled without a
screwdriver.
6. Contrabass Clarinet
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| Contrabass clarinet in B-flat and Contrabassoon |
The contrabass clarinet is one of two largest members of the clarinet
family that have ever been used commonly , the second being the contra-alto
clarinet. Some contrabass clarinets have a range down to
low E♭ or even further
to low C. Subcontrabass clarinets, pitched even lower than the contrabass, have
been built only on an experimental basis. (Photo from fellerich.lu¸)
