Wind Instrument
Carnyx
Carnyx is an ancient Wind Instrument of the Iron Age Celtic people, used between 200 BC and 200 AD. It is basically a bronze Trumpet with an elongated S Shape, having a mouth piece, styled in the shape of an open-mouthed boar’s or other animal head and used in warfare. It consisted of a 12 foot long thin bronze tube, bent at right angles at both ends, the lower end terminated in a mouthpiece. The upper end flared out into a bell shaped in the form of a wild boar’s head. It was believed that the head contained a tongue as well which once flap up and down changes the sound produced by the instrument. The Carnyx was played in upright position so that the head portion was protruded well above the heads of the warriors. Newer versions of Carnyx and replicas are available now. The in...
Pipe Organ
We are going to see one of the giant Pipe Organs in the world, an instrument having the size of a building. This is in the Presbyterian Church in Downtown Chicago and Mr. John Shearer talking about the Pipe Organ. The Pipe Organ is actually a wind instrument. The church is the supporting structure and resonating chamber of the organ, making it a vital piece of the instrument itself. It is a multi-instrument in one single instrument of its kind. He says, each one the pipes weighs about thousand pounds and this organ has more than 8000 pipes in total. The pipes are up to 32 feet tall. The bigger the pipes, the lower the notes played by it. Some pipes are as small as the little finger, which play really high notes. The pipes are scattered all over the place – front, back and the side. T...