Instruments During The Renaissance Era
During the Renaissance of Europe in the years prior to the Black Death, many instruments were made during the time as an improvement of musical appreciation. Many instruments that were made during the time are still used today (bagpipes and harps), while the rest eventually transformed into instruments people currently know about and play (trumpets, guitars, flutes, violins, etc.). During a Renaissance fair, people can listen to the sounds the instruments made back then, and how those sounds became similar to the instruments used today.
Invented in Persia 2,000 years ago, the hammered dulcimer has a wide variety of dynamics. Its pitch is very high and it is usually played very fast in tempo, making the pace the dulcimer produces quick and hard
to perfectly follow. The hammer beating against the strings quickly give out a quick rhythm with beats that immediately follow each other.
The serpent was the next instrument played at the fair. It is the opposite of the hammered dulcimer in pitch, tone, and texture. Its pitch is low sounding and lets out a low choir-like sound, making it sound dull in tone and texture. The tempo made by the serpent is at a slow steady pace. In the fair, it was played alongside a mandolin and a lute, with the low rumbling noise it made sound very different than the fast and upbeat string instruments, which were much higher in tone and dynamics.
Speaking of the mandolin, it had a very soft tone to it and listening to it feels relaxing to the ear. The pitch produced by rubbing a fiddle against strings lets out a soft and a quiet sound, making a soft and peaceful melody. The tempo of the mandolin is at a basic pace, while the dynamics are soft and not piercing to listen to.
The lute was the loudest of the three instruments playing simultaneously at the fair. When the strings were plucked by a finger, the pitch produced depended on how tight the strings were: tighter with a higher pitch or looser with a low pitch. The tempo of the lute played in the Renaissance is at a fast pace, with loud dynamics and a high pitch, meaning the strings were tight to give it a higher pitch.
Invented in Persia 2,000 years ago, the hammered dulcimer has a wide variety of dynamics. Its pitch is very high and it is usually played very fast in tempo, making the pace the dulcimer produces quick and hard
to perfectly follow. The hammer beating against the strings quickly give out a quick rhythm with beats that immediately follow each other.
The serpent was the next instrument played at the fair. It is the opposite of the hammered dulcimer in pitch, tone, and texture. Its pitch is low sounding and lets out a low choir-like sound, making it sound dull in tone and texture. The tempo made by the serpent is at a slow steady pace. In the fair, it was played alongside a mandolin and a lute, with the low rumbling noise it made sound very different than the fast and upbeat string instruments, which were much higher in tone and dynamics.
Speaking of the mandolin, it had a very soft tone to it and listening to it feels relaxing to the ear. The pitch produced by rubbing a fiddle against strings lets out a soft and a quiet sound, making a soft and peaceful melody. The tempo of the mandolin is at a basic pace, while the dynamics are soft and not piercing to listen to.
The lute was the loudest of the three instruments playing simultaneously at the fair. When the strings were plucked by a finger, the pitch produced depended on how tight the strings were: tighter with a higher pitch or looser with a low pitch. The tempo of the lute played in the Renaissance is at a fast pace, with loud dynamics and a high pitch, meaning the strings were tight to give it a higher pitch.