----- Original Message ----- From: "Toby Rider" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Sunday, October 05, 2003 11:58 PM Subject: Re: [scots-l] Skinner's Colours
Toby Rider wrote: > It's interesting how keys have totally different tonal > characteristics on different instruments.. Example, the key of E has > very different tonal qualities on the fiddle, the guitar, the banjo, the > piano, the flute or the voice. > I think his observations reflect the physical characteristics of the > fiddle. Different methods of tone production seem to give different > character to the same notes in the same keys on different instruments. > Then again, it could all be hot air.. Which was all know J.S. Skinner > had plenty of.. :-) There are many reasons why different instruments, even different string instruments sound different in the same key. First, the unplucked, unbowed strings contribute significantly to the overall sound and they are tuned differently, guitar Vs fiddle say. Also guitars have many different tunings, presumably a specific tuning being "better" even for one tune Vs. another in the same key. Secondly there is a significant difference between the sound produced by a string which is allowed to vibrate freely, [damped or natural vibration] such as a piano of a plucked instrument and the sound produced by a bowed instrument such as the fiddle where the string is being continuously excited. There are many other reasons, for example, type of wood, shape thickness,etc,etc. Alexander Mac Donald Posted to Scots-L - The Traditional Scottish Music & Culture List - To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
