Woodwind Instruments & Their History

From the Publisher

"This excellent book ought to be in every library." — Musical Times
Widely acclaimed for its scholarship, comprehensiveness, and originality, this superior study by a leading authority is considered the definitive work on woodwind instruments. Author Anthony Baines — musicologist, conductor, instrumentalist, and curator of the Bate Collection of Historical Wind Instruments at Oxford University — combines a discussion of design and construction with a detailed history of the evolution of woodwinds from earliest times to the present.

Part One introduces the woodwinds, describing their basic components, construction, variations, and idiosyncrasies as well as playing technique, matters of acoustics and pitch, and types of reeds. Part Two traces a variety of technical changes, particularly in terms of recent processes of mechanization. This profusely illustrated survey features 75 photographs and drawings, 25 musical examples, and 16 fingering charts.

Contents

Part One - The Woodwind Today

1. General Introduction
2. The Flute
3. Reeds and Reed-making
4. The Oboe
5. The Clarinet
6. The Bassoon

Part Two - History

1. The Primitive Flute World
2. Early Reed Instruments and Double-Piping
3. Medieval Wind Music
4. The Sixteenth Century and the Consorts
5. The Eigthteenth Century and the Classical Woodwind
6. Mechanization

Item Details

Category: Instrument History
Publisher: Dover Publications
Publisher's reference: 0486268853
Our Stock Code: 921053
Media Type: Paperback (384 pages [score])