Instrumentation Flashcards
The Afro Celt Sound System song Release is a mix of…
Irish folk and West African instruments.
[Celtic instruments] Hurdy gurdy
a stringed instrument that uses mechanical wheels to rotate and rub against the strings to create the tone. The instrument sounds similar to the bagpipes.
[Celtic instruments] Accordion
an instrument that produces sound from the air compressed and expanded in its body, while the keys on the side open holes for the air to release and sound.
[Celtic instruments] Low whistle
similar to the recorder or tin whistle but deeper in pitch.
[Celtic instruments] Bodhrán
an Irish drum that is played with a beater looks similar to a skinned tambourine but without the cymbals. A bodhrán is played with a beater called a tipper. A player will choose different types of tipper depending on the rhythms required.
[Celtic instruments] Fiddle
another term for ‘violin’.
[West African instruments] Kora
a West African 21-string instrument with similarities to a harp and a lute. Here, a kora is held by Kouyaté from Afro Celt Sound System.
[West African instruments] Djembe
a skin-covered West African drum played by hands and tuned by ropes along the side. It sits between the performer’s legs.
[West African instruments] Talking drum
a West African instrument that has drum skins on both the top and bottom of its body. It is played with a beater and the performer is able to squeeze the drum’s tension chords, which changes the pitch of the drum, imitating a human voice.
Loops fade in and out of Release gradually, and not all at the same time. This is possible through the use of…
multitracking and music technology.
The same technology is also used to determine the volume of each loop.
For example, when the instrumental solos take place, their part comes to the front of the mix.
