FLUTE

The flute is a musical instrument first discovered as a fragment of the femur of a juvenile cave bear with two or four holes in it. It was supposedly found about 43,000 years ago in Slovenia.The flute is also a member of the woodwind family. But unlike other woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument. This (aerophone and reedless wind instrument) means that it produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening. Because of this, flutes are categorized as edge-blown aerophones. People that play the flute can be called fluters and are almost always or generally great musicians with other different skills. Some different types of flutes (the most important ones) are the Indian flute, the Chinese flute, the Japanese flute, the Sodina and Suling flute, and the Sring flute. Other types are the Diple, the Frula, the Irish flute, the Jazz flute, the kaval flute, the Native American flute, and also the Palendag flute. The flute is one of the instruments used in a lot o different kinds of music like the harmonica (one of the instruments I have written about in one of my recent blogs), for example in classical music, jazz, and here in Colombia, my country, folkloric music.

        

THE HARP

          The harp is a multi-string musical instrument organologically, in the category of the chordophones and the harps (its own category). Its an instrument whose plane of the strings is positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. All harps have a resonator, a neck, and also strings. There are some called frame harps, that also have a pillar, and some without the pillar called open harps.They also have different sizes, and depending on the size of the harp, it could be played on your knee or on the floor. Harps began to evolve since the beginning of the 20th century. Its origins go back to Mesopotamia, were the first harps and lyres were found in 3500 BCE. 

          

         Some different types of harps are:

• The Cross-strung chromatic harp: Consists of one row of diatonically tuned strings and another row of chromatic rows.
• Inline chromatic harp: Harp were the strings of the 12 chromatic notes of the octave are placed in one row.
• Modern electric harps: Amplified, hollow body  and solid body electric lever harps.

          Those are three of the most important or famous types of harps that exist. Another important fact about harps is that they are mostly used in orchestras or also for solo concerts were there is only the harpist playing. 

     

 

                         

HARMONICA

The harmonica, also called blues harp, french harp, and mouth organ, is an instrument (free reed wind instrument) used all around the world and also in a lot of different kinds of music like rock and roll, blues, country music, jazz, American Folk music, and also in my country, Colombia, where its sometimes used for salsa. Harmonicas were developed in the 19th century and from there they started slowly to evolve to different types and to how they look today. the different types of harmonicas are: Chromatic harmonica, diatonic harmonica, tremolo tuned harmonica, orchestral harmonica, orchestral melody harmonica, chord harmonica, chengGong harmonica, and the pitch pipe. They all have the same function but are used for different types of music.

         The harmonica was first created or developed in Europe in the early 19th century and it was invented by Christian Friedrich Ludwig Buschmann in 1821. The reason the harmonica and the rest of the mouth-blown free reed instruments appeared, was for their use in classical music. They appeared in the United States of America, the United Kingdom, South America, and in Europe almost the same time because of this. Free reed instruments were, and are still very common today for different types of music specially jazz and classical music.

           

MARIMBA

The Marimba is an old but still used musical instrument in the percussion family. Its a type of xylophone but with lower and also broader tonal range and resonators.Xylophones were first used in West and Central Africa and then introduced as Marimba (many single-bar xylophones) in the 16th or 17th century in Central America. They are mostly mad of rosewood and padouk that are two types of wood, or synthetic material that although its not as good quality as pure wood, its more suitable for outdoor use because of its good weather resistance. Although they were created in Africa, today the Marimba is especially popular in Guatemala with the marimba bands, and where they are the national symbol of culture. Some classical and famous marimba performers are Keiko Abe (born in 1937 and also a Japanese composer), Ruth Stuber Jeanne (born in 1910 and also violinist, percussionist, and arranger), Jack Imel (born in 1932 and also singer, dancer, and television producer), and Colin Currie (born in 1976). There are also many classical works like for example, ´´Feel the Sunlight for Marimba solo´´, of Ludwig Albert, and ´´The Library of Babel´´, for two five-octave marimbas, of David A. Jaffe. As you can see marimbas are not a very popular instrument but are still common in places like Guatemala and Africa.