|
The flexatone is a modern percussion instrument (an indirectly struck idiophone) consisting of a small flexible metal sheet suspended in a wire frame ending in a handle. 〔"(Flexatone Sound Samples )", ''CompositionToday.com''.〕 Used in classic cartoons for its glissando effect, its sound is comparable to the musical saw.〔Kalani (2008). ''All About Hand Percussion: Everything You Need to Know to Start Playing Now!'', p.27. ISBN 9780739049648.〕 ==History, construction and technique== An invention for a flexatone occurs in the British Patent Records of 1922 and 1923. In 1924 the 'Flex-a-tone' was patented in the USA by the Playatone Company of New York. The instrument was first used in 1920s jazz bands as an effect but is now mainly and rarely used in orchestral music.〔Holland, James (2005). ''Practical Percussion: A Guide to the Instruments and Their Sources'', p.23-4. ISBN 9781461670636.〕 Wooden knobs mounted on strips of spring steel lie on each side of the metal sheet. The player holds the flexatone in one hand with the palm around the wire frame and the thumb on the free end of the spring steel. The player then shakes the instrument with a trembling movement which causes the beaters to strike the sides of the metal sheet. While shaking the handle, the musician makes a high- or low-pitched sound depending on the curve given to the blade by the pressure from his thumb. A vibrato is thus produced. While the instrument has a very limited dynamic range, volume can be controlled by how vigorously or delicately the player shakes the Flexatone.〔Karl Peinkofer and Fritz Tannigel, Handbook of Percussion Instruments, (Mainz, Germany: Schott, 1976), 75.〕 An alternate technique involves removing the two wooden knobs and their mounting springs, and then using a small metal rod (e.g., a triangle beater) held in the free hand striking the strip of spring steel. The pitch is altered in the same manner as the previous technique. This method of playing results in a different, more constrained sound. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Flexatone」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|