Re: [Finale] OT: dynamic range for musical anvils?
There's an Alec Wilder band piece that calls for anvil. And of course there's that best known of all anvil parts, the one in Maxwell's Silver Hammer.--Not soft, of course, but hey... Andrew Stiller Kallisti Music Press http://www.kallistimusic.com/ ___ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
Re: [Finale] OT: dynamic range for musical anvils?
Maxwell's Silver Hammer? Can you enlighten me as to what that is? Not the Maxwell House Coffee jingle, I wouldn't think. ajr Andrew Stiller kalli...@ix.netcom.com wrote: There's an Alec Wilder band piece that calls for anvil. And of course there's that best known of all anvil parts, the one in Maxwell's Silver Hammer.--Not soft, of course, but hey... Andrew Stiller Kallisti Music Press http://www.kallistimusic.com/ ___ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale ___ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
Re: [Finale] OT: dynamic range for musical anvils?
The Beatles. They have a few other hummable tunes. On Tue, Apr 27, 2010 at 12:13 PM, arabus...@austin.rr.com wrote: Maxwell's Silver Hammer? Can you enlighten me as to what that is? Not the Maxwell House Coffee jingle, I wouldn't think. ajr Andrew Stiller kalli...@ix.netcom.com wrote: There's an Alec Wilder band piece that calls for anvil. And of course there's that best known of all anvil parts, the one in Maxwell's Silver Hammer.--Not soft, of course, but hey... Andrew Stiller Kallisti Music Press http://www.kallistimusic.com/ ___ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale ___ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale ___ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
Re: [Finale] OT: dynamic range for musical anvils?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESwtizE0l5U On Apr 27, 2010, at 3:13 PM, arabus...@austin.rr.com wrote: Maxwell's Silver Hammer? Can you enlighten me as to what that is? Not the Maxwell House Coffee jingle, I wouldn't think. ajr Andrew Stiller kalli...@ix.netcom.com wrote: There's an Alec Wilder band piece that calls for anvil. And of course there's that best known of all anvil parts, the one in Maxwell's Silver Hammer.--Not soft, of course, but hey... Andrew Stiller Kallisti Music Press http://www.kallistimusic.com/ ___ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale ___ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale ___ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
Re: [Finale] OT: dynamic range for musical anvils?
I feel obligated to point to a Beatles novice that, although this song comes from one of the greatest pop albums of all time (Abbey Road), this song often shows up on lists as one of the Beatles worst. Bob Morabito wrote: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESwtizE0l5U On Apr 27, 2010, at 3:13 PM, arabus...@austin.rr.com wrote: Maxwell's Silver Hammer? Can you enlighten me as to what that is? Not the Maxwell House Coffee jingle, I wouldn't think. ajr Andrew Stiller kalli...@ix.netcom.com wrote: And of course there's that best known of all anvil parts, the one in Maxwell's Silver Hammer.--Not soft, of course, but hey... Andrew Stiller Kallisti Music Press http://www.kallistimusic.com/ ___ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
Re: [Finale] OT: dynamic range for musical anvils?
At 8:37 PM -0500 4/25/10, Aaron Rabushka wrote: Is anyone acquainted with the musical use of anvils, and their possible dynamic range? Every instance I can thing of is loud, and I noticed that Wagner does not give any dynamic's for Mime's hammering in Siegfried. Is anyone here familiar with any quiet uses of them? Certainly they can be played p or mp--just a lighter beater or a lighter stroke. But you're right, mostly when the effect's called for it's for the sound of a Blacksmith at work, which would be loud hits to shape the metal. That's true even in its use in the Neil Diamond song, Headed for the Future. John -- John R. Howell, Assoc. Prof. of Music Virginia Tech Department of Music College of Liberal Arts Human Sciences Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.A. 24061-0240 Vox (540) 231-8411 Fax (540) 231-5034 (mailto:john.how...@vt.edu) http://www.music.vt.edu/faculty/howell/howell.html We never play anything the same way once. Shelly Manne's definition of jazz musicians. ___ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
Re: [Finale] OT: dynamic range for musical anvils?
Is anyone acquainted with the musical use of anvils, and their possible dynamic range? on and off ___ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
Re: [Finale] OT: dynamic range for musical anvils?
On Apr 25, 2010, at 9:37 PM, Aaron Rabushka wrote: Is anyone acquainted with the musical use of anvils, and their possible dynamic range? Every instance I can thing of is loud, and I noticed that Wagner does not give any dynamic's for Mime's hammering in Siegfried. Is anyone here familiar with any quiet uses of them? I can't believe so many responses can be so wrong and/or beside the point! Wagner and Verdi had in mind real anvils (jeweller size!) but nowadays the anvil is a real percussion instrument made by percussion manufacturers for purely musical use. Think of it as a sort of metal clave: It's a solid metal bar, cylinder or tube, playable at any dynamic you please depending on the mallets you use. Like the slapstick, thundersheet, lion's roar, etc., there is absolutely no requirement that the anvil be restricted to smithy imitations. An excellent abstract example of itsr use is in Varèse's *Ionisation* (player 12), where two of them are called for (high and low), and asked to play as softly as pp. For more (much more!), see my *Handbook of Instrumentation* pp. 194-195. ___ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
Re: [Finale] OT: dynamic range for musical anvils?
There's an Alec Wilder band piece that calls for anvil. I will check it for dynamics; that will iron out all our problems. As we all know, Alec was one of the few composers who truly understood the lyrical potential of the anvil and sought to unlock it. Sent from my iPhone, so please pardon all the typos. On Apr 26, 2010, at 11:37 PM, Andrew Stiller kalli...@ix.netcom.com wrote: On Apr 25, 2010, at 9:37 PM, Aaron Rabushka wrote: Is anyone acquainted with the musical use of anvils, and their possible dynamic range? Every instance I can thing of is loud, and I noticed that Wagner does not give any dynamic's for Mime's hammering in Siegfried. Is anyone here familiar with any quiet uses of them? I can't believe so many responses can be so wrong and/or beside the point! Wagner and Verdi had in mind real anvils (jeweller size!) but nowadays the anvil is a real percussion instrument made by percussion manufacturers for purely musical use. Think of it as a sort of metal clave: It's a solid metal bar, cylinder or tube, playable at any dynamic you please depending on the mallets you use. Like the slapstick, thundersheet, lion's roar, etc., there is absolutely no requirement that the anvil be restricted to smithy imitations. An excellent abstract example of itsr use is in Varèse's *Ionisation* (player 12), where two of them are called for (high and low), and asked to play as softly as pp. For more (much more!), see my *Handbook of Instrumentation* pp. 194-195. ___ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale ___ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
Re: [Finale] OT: dynamic range for musical anvils?
Thanx for the continued interest! I don't know if my intentions here are exactly lyrical, but at least some of them are quiet. Aaron J. Rabushka arabus...@austin.rr.com - Original Message - From: Williams, Jim jwilli...@franklincollege.edu To: finale@shsu.edu Sent: Monday, April 26, 2010 10:47 PM Subject: Re: [Finale] OT: dynamic range for musical anvils? There's an Alec Wilder band piece that calls for anvil. I will check it for dynamics; that will iron out all our problems. As we all know, Alec was one of the few composers who truly understood the lyrical potential of the anvil and sought to unlock it. Sent from my iPhone, so please pardon all the typos. On Apr 26, 2010, at 11:37 PM, Andrew Stiller kalli...@ix.netcom.com wrote: On Apr 25, 2010, at 9:37 PM, Aaron Rabushka wrote: Is anyone acquainted with the musical use of anvils, and their possible dynamic range? Every instance I can thing of is loud, and I noticed that Wagner does not give any dynamic's for Mime's hammering in Siegfried. Is anyone here familiar with any quiet uses of them? I can't believe so many responses can be so wrong and/or beside the point! Wagner and Verdi had in mind real anvils (jeweller size!) but nowadays the anvil is a real percussion instrument made by percussion manufacturers for purely musical use. Think of it as a sort of metal clave: It's a solid metal bar, cylinder or tube, playable at any dynamic you please depending on the mallets you use. Like the slapstick, thundersheet, lion's roar, etc., there is absolutely no requirement that the anvil be restricted to smithy imitations. An excellent abstract example of itsr use is in Varèse's *Ionisation* (player 12), where two of them are called for (high and low), and asked to play as softly as pp. For more (much more!), see my *Handbook of Instrumentation* pp. 194-195. ___ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale ___ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale ___ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
Re: [Finale] OT: dynamic range for musical anvils?
I wrote a concert band piece that used a Brake Drum, similar to an anvil, at all dynamic levels. The change in dynamics is achieved mostly by the striking distance the performer uses. Using different types of mallets may help as well. It's been performed several times and none of the performing groups mentioned that executing a piano was impossible, nor did I have to tell the performer to play it softer during the rehearsals i attended. On Sun, Apr 25, 2010 at 6:37 PM, Aaron Rabushka arabus...@austin.rr.comwrote: Is anyone acquainted with the musical use of anvils, and their possible dynamic range? Every instance I can thing of is loud, and I noticed that Wagner does not give any dynamic's for Mime's hammering in Siegfried. Is anyone here familiar with any quiet uses of them? Aaron J. Rabushka arabus...@austin.rr.com ___ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale ___ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
Re: [Finale] OT: dynamic range for musical anvils?
I can't recall a piece scored for a quiet anvil other than my own (This Hallowed Ground - The Farms of Gettysburg has a brake drum down as low as mp, at least briefly!), but there's no reason it can't be done. Of course, the trick is to not use a real anvil - they are so solid that you can't get them to vibrate at all. In a real blacksmith shop it's not the anvil you hear, but the metal which is being worked. To my ear the best anvil-like sound comes from a brake drum, muffled with a rag if you don't want much sustain. You can use a light lexan bell mallet or even a triangle beater to get a light, quiet sound. You can also get them in different sizes, from truck down to subcompact, for different tones. Chuck May Percussion, Eagles Band Pittsfield MA -Original Message- From: Aaron Rabushka arabus...@austin.rr.com Subject: [Finale] OT: dynamic range for musical anvils? Is anyone acquainted with the musical use of anvils, and their possible dynamic range? Every instance I can thing of is loud, and I noticed that Wagner does not give any dynamic's for Mime's hammering in Siegfried. Is anyone here familiar with any quiet uses of them? ___ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
Re: [Finale] OT: dynamic range for musical anvils?
Well, if you guys got quiet anvil sounds out your players it must be possible, so I'll put it in the score as such and, if/when it gets played, I'll see what the players do. When IU Opera Theater presented a faculty opera a buncha years ago the anvils were tuned lengths of u-tubing--always, IIRC, loud. Thanx for your help! Aaron J. Rabushka arabus...@austin.rr.com - Original Message - From: Chuck May chuck...@may-engineering.com To: finale@shsu.edu; finale@shsu.edu Sent: Sunday, April 25, 2010 9:07 PM Subject: Re: [Finale] OT: dynamic range for musical anvils? I can't recall a piece scored for a quiet anvil other than my own (This Hallowed Ground - The Farms of Gettysburg has a brake drum down as low as mp, at least briefly!), but there's no reason it can't be done. Of course, the trick is to not use a real anvil - they are so solid that you can't get them to vibrate at all. In a real blacksmith shop it's not the anvil you hear, but the metal which is being worked. To my ear the best anvil-like sound comes from a brake drum, muffled with a rag if you don't want much sustain. You can use a light lexan bell mallet or even a triangle beater to get a light, quiet sound. You can also get them in different sizes, from truck down to subcompact, for different tones. Chuck May Percussion, Eagles Band Pittsfield MA -Original Message- From: Aaron Rabushka arabus...@austin.rr.com Subject: [Finale] OT: dynamic range for musical anvils? Is anyone acquainted with the musical use of anvils, and their possible dynamic range? Every instance I can thing of is loud, and I noticed that Wagner does not give any dynamic's for Mime's hammering in Siegfried. Is anyone here familiar with any quiet uses of them? ___ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale ___ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
Re: [Finale] OT: dynamic range for musical anvils?
On 4/25/2010 7:07 PM, Chuck May wrote: To my ear the best anvil-like sound comes from a brake drum, muffled with a rag if you don't want much sustain. You can use a light lexan bell mallet or even a triangle beater to get a light, quiet sound. You can also get them in different sizes, from truck down to subcompact, for different tones. Chuck May Percussion, Eagles Band Pittsfield MA This just makes me think of someone showing up to a gig with a drum set made up of brake drums. :) cd -- http://members.cox.net/dershem/index.html http://dershem.livejournal.com/ ___ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
Re: [Finale] OT: dynamic range for musical anvils?
On Apr 25, 2010, at 6:37 PM, Aaron Rabushka wrote: Is anyone acquainted with the musical use of anvils, and their possible dynamic range? Every instance I can thing of is loud, and I noticed that Wagner does not give any dynamic's for Mime's hammering in Siegfried. Is anyone here familiar with any quiet uses of them? Can I take this opportunity to vent a pet peeve about the anvil chorus in Verdi's Trovatore? The scene features a troop of gypsies. Among the things gypsies were known for in that historical context is jewelry. The anvils they carry would be the small jewelers' anvils one uses for crafting jewelry. And yet, in so many productions they are shown with dozens of big forging anvils, banging on them with giant mallets. Gypsies are also known for being nomadic. Does it never occur to the director how absurd it is to thing they'd be lugging around those 100- pound monsters in a nomadic lifestyle? mdl ___ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
Re: [Finale] OT: dynamic range for musical anvils?
Hmm--are those same directors trying to get extra mileage out of their Rheingold anvils? lol Aaron J. Rabushka arabus...@austin.rr.com - Original Message - From: Mark D Lew markd...@earthlink.net To: finale@shsu.edu Sent: Sunday, April 25, 2010 10:09 PM Subject: Re: [Finale] OT: dynamic range for musical anvils? On Apr 25, 2010, at 6:37 PM, Aaron Rabushka wrote: Is anyone acquainted with the musical use of anvils, and their possible dynamic range? Every instance I can thing of is loud, and I noticed that Wagner does not give any dynamic's for Mime's hammering in Siegfried. Is anyone here familiar with any quiet uses of them? Can I take this opportunity to vent a pet peeve about the anvil chorus in Verdi's Trovatore? The scene features a troop of gypsies. Among the things gypsies were known for in that historical context is jewelry. The anvils they carry would be the small jewelers' anvils one uses for crafting jewelry. And yet, in so many productions they are shown with dozens of big forging anvils, banging on them with giant mallets. Gypsies are also known for being nomadic. Does it never occur to the director how absurd it is to thing they'd be lugging around those 100- pound monsters in a nomadic lifestyle? mdl ___ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale ___ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
