Wind machine
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The wind machine (also called aeoliphone) is a friction idiophone, which is a class of instrument which produces sound through vibrations within the instrument itself.[1] It is a specialist musical instrument used to produce the sound of wind in orchestral compositions and musical theater productions.[2]
Construction
The wind machine is constructed of a large cylinder made up of several wooden slats which measures approximately 75–80 centimeters in diameter.[3][4] The cylinder body of the instrument rests upon a stand and is typically covered with silk, canvas, or other material which is in a fixed position. A crank handle, used by the player to rotate the cylinder and create the sound, is attached to the cylinder.[5] Another method of construction implements an electric fan, which is fitted with lengths of cane, rather than blades. However, this method is less popular because it does not provide the player with the ability to control the speed of rotation.
Technique
The wind machine is played by rotating the crank handle, which is attached to the cylinder, to create friction between the wooden slats and the material covering that touches the cylinder but does not rotate as the crank handle is turned. This friction between the wood and the material covering creates the sound of rushing wind.[6] The volume and pitch of the sound is controlled by the rate at which the crank is turned. The faster the handle is turned, the higher the resulting pitch and the louder the sound. The slower the handle is turned, the lower the pitch and the softer the volume. The sound of the wind machine can also be controlled by the tightness of the fabric covering the cylinder.[7][8]
Classic works that use the instrument
- Jean-Philippe Rameau: Les Boréades
- Giacomo Puccini: La Fanciulla del West
- Gioachino Rossini: The Barber of Seville
- Richard Wagner: Der fliegende Holländer
- Richard Strauss: Don Quixote, Eine Alpensinfonie (An Alpine Symphony), Die ägyptische Helena, Die Frau ohne Schatten
- Maurice Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé, L'enfant et les sortilèges
- Olivier Messiaen: Des canyons aux étoiles…, Saint François d'Assise and Éclairs sur l'au-delà…
- Schoenberg: Die Jakobsleiter[9]
- Milhaud: Les choëphores[10]
- Benjamin Britten: Noye's Fludde
- Gyorgy Ligeti: Le Grand Macabre
- Ralph Vaughan Williams: Sinfonia antartica
- Ferde Grofé: Grand Canyon Suite
- Jerry Goldsmith: The Blue Max
- Philip Sparke: Music Of The Spheres
- Roger Cichy: First Flights
- Fazıl Say: Symphony No 3 Universe
In popular music
- Pink Floyd: The instrumental piece "One of These Days" from the album Meddle (1971).
- Ringo Starr, on the Beatles' song I Want You (She's So Heavy).
References
- ↑ Baines, Anthony, The Oxford Companion to Musical Instruments, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992), 104, 173.
- ↑ Peinkofer, Karl and Fritz Tannigel, Handbook of Percussion Instruments, (Mainz, Germany: Schott, 1976), 16, 172-173.
- ↑ Peinkofer, Karl and Fritz Tannigel, Handbook of Percussion Instruments, (Mainz, Germany: Schott, 1976), 16, 172-173.
- ↑ Blades, James, Percussion Instruments and their History, (Westport, CT: Bold Strummer, 1992), 346, 394-395.
- ↑ Baines, Anthony, The Oxford Companion to Musical Instruments, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992), 104, 173.
- ↑ Peinkofer, Karl and Fritz Tannigel, Handbook of Percussion Instruments, (Mainz, Germany: Schott, 1976), 16, 172-173.
- ↑ Peinkofer, Karl and Fritz Tannigel, Handbook of Percussion Instruments, (Mainz, Germany: Schott, 1976), 16, 172-173.
- ↑ James Blades and James Holland. "Wind machine." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed October 5, 2014, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/30403.
- ↑ Baines, Anthony, The Oxford Companion to Musical Instruments, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992), 104, 173.
- ↑ Baines, Anthony, The Oxford Companion to Musical Instruments, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992), 104, 173.
External links
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmYoAmFcD3o
- Wind Machine Part from Strauss, An Alpine Symphony
- Strauss, An Alpine Symphony wind machine enters at 2:30
Sources
- The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Musical Instruments, ISBN 1-85868-185-5, p. 109