103-560: Gretsch is an American company that manufactures and markets musical instruments . The company was founded in 1883 in Brooklyn , New York by Friedrich Gretsch, a 27-year-old German immigrant, shortly after his arrival to the United States. Friedrich Gretsch manufactured banjos , tambourines , and drums until his death in 1895. In 1916, his son, Fred Gretsch Sr. moved operations to a larger facility where Gretsch went on to become
206-610: A Decker Brothers piano dealership and, and in 1866, Baldwin hired Lucien Wulsin as a clerk. Wulsin eventually became a partner in the dealership, which by then was known as the D.H. Baldwin & Company. The Baldwin Company became the largest piano dealer in the Midwestern United States by the 1890s. In 1889–1890, Baldwin vowed to build "the best piano that could be built" and subsequently formed two production companies: Hamilton Organ, which built reed organs, and
309-492: A bone flute to signal the start of a hunt does so without thought of the modern notion of "making music". Musical instruments are constructed in a broad array of styles and shapes, using many different materials. Early musical instruments were made from "found objects" such as shells and plant parts. As instruments evolved, so did the selection and quality of materials. Virtually every material in nature has been used by at least one culture to make musical instruments. One plays
412-402: A horn to signal success on the hunt, or a drum in a religious ceremony. Cultures eventually developed composition and performance of melodies for entertainment. Musical instruments evolved in step with changing applications and technologies. The exact date and specific origin of the first device considered a musical instrument, is widely disputed. The oldest object identified by scholars as
515-456: A prominent manufacturer of American musical instruments. Through the years, Gretsch has manufactured a wide range of instruments, though they currently focus on electric , acoustic and resonator guitars, basses , ukuleles , and drums. Gretsch instruments enjoyed market prominence by the 1950s. In 1954, Gretsch began a collaboration with guitarist Chet Atkins to manufacture a line of electric guitars with Atkins' endorsement, resulting in
618-486: A whole-tone scale . These excavations, carried out by Leonard Woolley in the 1920s, uncovered non-degradable fragments of instruments and the voids left by the degraded segments that, together, have been used to reconstruct them. The graves these instruments were buried in have been carbon dated to between 2600 and 2500 BC, providing evidence that these instruments were used in Sumeria by this time. Archaeologists in
721-423: A better historical picture. Until the 19th century AD, European-written music histories began with mythological accounts mingled with scripture of how musical instruments were invented. Such accounts included Jubal , descendant of Cain and "father of all such as handle the harp and the organ" ( Genesis 4:21) Pan , inventor of the pan pipes , and Mercury , who is said to have made a dried tortoise shell into
824-451: A challenge. Despite even the efforts of two organized international summits attended by noted composers like Hector Berlioz , no standard could be agreed upon. The evolution of traditional musical instruments slowed beginning in the 20th century. Instruments such as the violin, flute, french horn, and harp are largely the same as those manufactured throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Gradual iterations do emerge; for example,
927-435: A drastic increase in the number and variety of musical instruments. However, identifying and classifying the instruments remains a challenge due to the lack of artistic interpretations. For example, stringed instruments of uncertain design called nevals and asors existed, but neither archaeology nor etymology can clearly define them. In her book A Survey of Musical Instruments , American musicologist Sibyl Marcuse proposes that
1030-823: A fiddle would; both were prominent folk instruments in the Middle Ages. Southern Europeans played short and long lutes whose pegs extended to the sides, unlike the rear-facing pegs of Central and Northern European instruments. Idiophones such as bells and clappers served various practical purposes, such as warning of the approach of a leper . The ninth century revealed the first bagpipes , which spread throughout Europe and had many uses from folk instruments to military instruments. The construction of pneumatic organs evolved in Europe starting in fifth-century Spain , spreading to England in about 700. The resulting instruments varied in size and use from portable organs worn around
1133-555: A great relief of Amenhotep III , and are of particular interest because similar designs have been found in far-reaching places such as Tbilisi , Georgia and among the Native American Yaqui tribe. The people of Mesopotamia preferred stringed instruments , as evidenced by their proliferation in Mesopotamian figurines, plaques, and seals. Innumerable varieties of harps are depicted, as well as lyres and lutes,
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#17327810179441236-765: A long violent period of war and destruction. This period saw the Kassites destroy the Babylonian empire in Mesopotamia and the Hyksos destroy the Middle Kingdom of Egypt . When the Pharaohs of Egypt conquered Southwest Asia in around 1500 BC, the cultural ties to Mesopotamia were renewed and Egypt's musical instruments also reflected heavy influence from Asiatic cultures. Under their new cultural influences,
1339-467: A melody. In contrast, pre-Columbian South American civilizations in areas such as modern-day Peru , Colombia , Ecuador , Bolivia , and Chile were less advanced culturally but more advanced musically. South American cultures of the time used pan-pipes as well as varieties of flutes, idiophones, drums, and shell or wood trumpets. An instrument that can be attested to the Iron Age Celts
1442-458: A merger with United Corp. In 1980, the company opened a new piano manufacturing facility in Trumann , Arkansas . By 1982, however, the piano business contributed only three percent of Baldwin's $ 3.6 billion revenues. Meanwhile, the company had taken on significant debt to finance its acquisitions and new facilities, and was finding it increasingly difficult to meet its loan obligations. In 1983,
1545-466: A mixture of timbres, a development needed for the complexity of music of the time. Trumpets evolved into their modern form to improve portability, and players used mutes to properly blend into chamber music . Beginning in the seventeenth century, composers began writing works to a higher emotional degree. They felt that polyphony better suited the emotional style they were aiming for and began writing musical parts for instruments that would complement
1648-638: A musical instrument by interacting with it in some way — for example, by plucking the strings on a string instrument , striking the surface of a drum , or blowing into an animal horn. Researchers have discovered archaeological evidence of musical instruments in many parts of the world. One disputed artifact (the Divje Babe flute ) has been dated to 67,000 years old, but consensus solidifies around artifacts dated back to around 37,000 years old and later. Artifacts made from durable materials, or constructed using durable methods, have been found to survive. As such,
1751-690: A musical instrument, is a simple flute , dated back 50,000–60,000 years. Many scholars date early flutes to about 40,000 years ago. Many historians believe that determining the specific date of musical instrument invention is impossible, as the majority of early musical instruments were constructed of animal skins, bone, wood, and other non-durable, bio-degradable materials. Additionally, some have proposed that lithophones , or stones used to make musical sounds—like those found at Sankarjang in India—are examples of prehistoric musical instruments. Musical instruments developed independently in many populated regions of
1854-675: A new piano factory in Greenwood, Mississippi . Subsequently production of upright pianos was moved from Cincinnati, Ohio to Greenwood. The company next attempted to capitalize on the growth of pop music . After an unsuccessful bid to buy Fender Musical Instruments Corporation , Baldwin bought Burns of London in 1965 for $ 380,000, and began selling the guitars through the company's piano retail outlets. During this time period, Baldwin engineer Robert C. Scherer develo Academy of Music Concert, Indianapolis Maennerchor, November 26, 1920 - DPLA - 7b312695966c6161043d3e45c8fb2ad3 (page 3) (cropped).jpg ped
1957-486: A resounding success, lessons learned in constructing plywood aircraft wings ultimately assisted in Baldwin's development of its 21-ply maple pinblock design used in its postwar piano models. After the war ended, Baldwin resumed selling pianos, and by 1953 the company had doubled production figures from prewar levels. In 1946, Baldwin introduced its first electronic organ (developed in 1941), which became so successful that
2060-578: A series of Traveling Wilburys commemorative guitars, which bore little resemblance to prior Gretsch models. In 1989, Gretsch restarted large-scale production of new guitars based on classic Gretsch models. In late 2002, Gretsch and the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation reached an agreement giving Fender control over marketing, production, and distribution of guitars, with the Gretsch family retaining ownership of
2163-571: A total debt of over $ 9 billion. In 1984, former Baldwin CEO Richard Harrison bought the Baldwin music divisions and brought back former Gretsch employee, Duke Kramer, to run the Gretsch division. In 1985, the Gretsch company once again came under the leadership of the Gretsch family when Fred W. Gretsch, great-grandson of Friedrich and nephew of Fred Gretsch Jr, assumed presidency of the company. The first Gretsch guitars after Fred W Gretsch became president were released in 1988. They were
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#17327810179442266-624: A unique system of classifying their musical instruments according to their material makeup. In Vietnam, an archaeological discovery of a 2,000-year old stringed instrument gives important insights on early chordophones in Southeast Asia. Idiophones were extremely important in Chinese music, hence the majority of early instruments were idiophones. Poetry of the Shang dynasty mentions bells, chimes, drums, and globular flutes carved from bone,
2369-666: A wider variety of expression. Large orchestras rose in popularity and, in parallel, the composers determined to produce entire orchestral scores that made use of the expressive abilities of modern instruments. Since instruments were involved in collaborations of a much larger scale, their designs had to evolve to accommodate the demands of the orchestra. Some instruments also had to become louder to fill larger halls and be heard over sizable orchestras. Flutes and bowed instruments underwent many modifications and design changes—most of them unsuccessful—in efforts to increase volume. Other instruments were changed just so they could play their parts in
2472-565: Is also not reliable, as it cannot always be determined when and how cultures contacted one another and shared knowledge. Sachs proposed that a geographical chronology until approximately 1400 is preferable, however, due to its limited subjectivity. Beyond 1400, one can follow the overall development of musical instruments over time. The science of marking the order of musical instrument development relies on archaeological artifacts, artistic depictions, and literary references. Since data in one research path can be inconclusive, all three paths provide
2575-650: Is among many indications that the Indus Valley and Sumerian cultures maintained cultural contact. Subsequent developments in musical instruments in India occurred with the Rigveda , or hymns. These songs used various drums, shell trumpets, harps, and flutes. Other prominent instruments in use during the early centuries AD were the snake charmer's double clarinet , bagpipes , barrel drums, cross flutes, and short lutes. In all, India had no unique musical instruments until
2678-601: Is an American piano brand. It was once the largest US-based manufacturer of keyboard instruments and was known by the slogan, "America's Favorite Piano". Since 2001 , it has been a subsidiary of Gibson Brands, Inc. Baldwin ceased domestic production in December 2008, moving its piano manufacturing to China. The company traces its origins back to 1857, when Dwight Hamilton Baldwin began teaching piano, organ, and violin in Cincinnati , Ohio . In 1862, Baldwin started
2781-435: Is misleading to arrange the development of musical instruments by workmanship, since cultures advance at different rates and have access to different raw materials. For example, contemporary anthropologists comparing musical instruments from two cultures that existed at the same time but differed in organization, culture, and handicraft cannot determine which instruments are more "primitive" . Ordering instruments by geography
2884-401: Is misleading, since advancements in musical instruments have sometimes reduced complexity. For example, construction of early slit drums involved felling and hollowing out large trees; later slit drums were made by opening bamboo stalks, a much simpler task. German musicologist Curt Sachs , one of the most prominent musicologists and musical ethnologists in modern times, argues that it
2987-424: Is the carnyx , which is dated to c. 300 BC. The end of the bell, which was crafted from bronze, was into the shape of a screaming animal head which was held high above their heads. When blown into, the carnyx would emit a deep, harsh sound; the head also had a tongue which clicked when vibrated. It is believed the intention of the instrument was to use it on the battleground to intimidate their opponents. During
3090-475: Is used to make musical sounds . Once humans moved from making sounds with their bodies — for example, by clapping—to using objects to create music from sounds, musical instruments were born. Primitive instruments were probably designed to emulate natural sounds , and their purpose was ritual rather than entertainment. The concept of melody and the artistic pursuit of musical composition were probably unknown to early players of musical instruments. A person sounding
3193-558: The Alboka (from Arab, al-buq or "horn") nowadays only alive in Basque Country . It must be played using the technique of the circular breathing. Southeast Asian musical innovations include those during a period of Indian influence that ended around 920 AD. Balinese and Javanese music made use of xylophones and metallophones , bronze versions of the former. The most prominent and important musical instrument of Southeast Asia
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3296-584: The Bible and the Talmud . The Hebrew texts mention two prominent instruments associated with Jubal : the ugab (pipes) and kinnor (lyre). Other instruments of the period included the tof ( frame drum ), pa'amon (small bells or jingles), shofar , and the trumpet-like hasosra . The introduction of a monarchy in Israel during the 11th century BC produced the first professional musicians and with them
3399-588: The Chukchi people of the Russian Far East , the indigenous people of Melanesia , and many cultures of Africa . In fact, drums were pervasive throughout every African culture. One East African tribe, the Wahinda , believed it was so holy that seeing a drum would be fatal to any person other than the sultan. Humans eventually developed the concept of using musical instruments to produce melody , which
3502-608: The Gretsch 6120 hollowbody guitar and other later models such as the Country Gentleman. Electric guitars before 1957 used single coil pickups that have significant hum problems as an inherent part of their design. Frustration with the hum of these pickups prompted Atkins to collaborate with American inventor and engineer Ray Butts on the development of a new "humbucking" pickup by connecting two single-coil pickups serially and out of phase. This resulted in what may have been
3605-534: The Han dynasty . Although civilizations in Central America attained a relatively high level of sophistication by the eleventh century AD, they lagged behind other civilizations in the development of musical instruments. For example, they had no stringed instruments; all of their instruments were idiophones, drums, and wind instruments such as flutes and trumpets. Of these, only the flute was capable of producing
3708-491: The Jiahu site of central Henan province of China have found flutes made of bones that date back 7,000 to 9,000 years, representing some of the "earliest complete, playable, tightly-dated, multinote musical instruments" ever found. Scholars agree that there are no completely reliable methods of determining the exact chronology of musical instruments across cultures. Comparing and organizing instruments based on their complexity
3811-634: The Royal Cemetery in the Sumerian city of Ur . These instruments, one of the first ensembles of instruments yet discovered, include nine lyres (the Lyres of Ur ), two harps , a silver double flute , a sistrum and cymbals . A set of reed-sounded silver pipes discovered in Ur was the likely predecessor of modern bagpipes . The cylindrical pipes feature three side holes that allowed players to produce
3914-480: The ground harp , ground zither , musical bow , and jaw harp . Recent research into usage wear and acoustics of stone artefacts has revealed a possible new class of prehistoric musical instrument, known as lithophones . Images of musical instruments begin to appear in Mesopotamian artifacts in 2800 BC or earlier. Beginning around 2000 BC, Sumerian and Babylonian cultures began delineating two distinct classes of musical instruments due to division of labor and
4017-553: The post-classical era . Musical instruments such as zithers appeared in Chinese writings around 12th century BC and earlier. Early Chinese philosophers such as Confucius (551–479 BC), Mencius (372–289 BC), and Laozi shaped the development of musical instruments in China, adopting an attitude toward music similar to that of the Greeks. The Chinese believed that music was an essential part of character and community, and developed
4120-441: The theremin . Musical instrument classification is a discipline in its own right, and many systems of classification have been used over the years. Instruments can be classified by their effective range, material composition, size, role, etc. However, the most common academic method, Hornbostel–Sachs , uses the means by which they produce sound. The academic study of musical instruments is called organology . A musical instrument
4223-468: The urghun ( organ ), shilyani (probably a type of harp or lyre ), salandj (probably a bagpipe ) and the lyra . The Byzantine lyra, a bowed string instrument, is an ancestor of most European bowed instruments, including the violin . The monochord served as a precise measure of the notes of a musical scale, allowing more accurate musical arrangements. Mechanical hurdy-gurdies allowed single musicians to play more complicated arrangements than
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4326-633: The "New Violin Family" began in 1964 to provide differently sized violins to expand the range of available sounds. The slowdown in development was a practical response to the concurrent slowdown in orchestra and venue size. Despite this trend in traditional instruments, the development of new musical instruments exploded in the twentieth century, and the variety of instruments developed overshadows any prior period. Baldwin Piano Company The Baldwin Piano Company
4429-624: The "father" was the bigger or more energetic instrument, while the "mother" was the smaller or duller instrument. Musical instruments existed in this form for thousands of years before patterns of three or more tones would evolve in the form of the earliest xylophone . Xylophones originated in the mainland and archipelago of Southeast Asia , eventually spreading to Africa, the Americas, and Europe. Along with xylophones, which ranged from simple sets of three "leg bars" to carefully tuned sets of parallel bars, various cultures developed instruments such as
4532-520: The 1920s. A piano factory was constructed in Cincinnati, Ohio . Player piano models became unpopular by the end of the 1920s, which, coupled with the beginning of the Great Depression , could have spelled disaster for Baldwin. However, Wulsin's son, Lucien Wulsin II, had become the company's president and had created a large reserve fund for such situations. These reserves enabled Baldwin to ride out
4635-529: The Baldwin Hamilton studio models B243 and B247, which are the most popular school pianos ever built. The much larger factory in Dongbei is not building pianos at this time. Baldwin grand pianos are being built to Baldwin specification by Parsons Music, China. All new pianos are being sold under the Baldwin name and not Wurlitzer, Hamilton or Chickering. Baldwin stopped manufacturing new pianos in
4738-506: The Baldwin Piano Company, which made pianos. The company's first piano, an upright, began selling in 1891. Baldwin introduced its first grand piano in 1895. Dwight Baldwin died in 1899 and left the vast majority of his estate to fund missionary causes. Wulsin ultimately purchased Baldwin's estate and continued the company's shift from retail to manufacturing. The company won its first major award in 1900 when its model 112 won
4841-748: The Grand Prix at the Exposition Universelle in Paris, becoming the first American manufactured piano to win such an award. Baldwin-manufactured pianos also won top awards at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition and the 1914 Anglo-American Exposition. By 1913, business had grown substantially, with Baldwin exporting to thirty-two countries in addition to having retailers throughout the United States. Baldwin, like many other manufacturers, began building player pianos in
4944-598: The Gretsch Sparkle Jet. He was also inspired by the American cars of the era in introducing new finishes to their guitars. During this time, Chet Atkins became an endorser of Gretsch and they sold guitars with Atkins' name on the pickguard. After The Beatles first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show , Gretsch sales soared overnight, due to George Harrison playing a Gretsch Country Gentleman for
5047-571: The Middles Ages came from Asia. The lyre is the only musical instrument that may have been invented in Europe until this period. Stringed instruments were prominent in Middle Age Europe. The central and northern regions used mainly lutes, stringed instruments with necks , while the southern region used lyres, which featured a two-armed body and a crossbar. Various harps served Central and Northern Europe as far north as Ireland, where
5150-507: The Prismatone pickup for nylon string guitars. Unaccustomed to marketing guitars, the Baldwin stores failed to interest many guitar buyers, and sales proved disappointing. In 1967, Baldwin also bought Gretsch guitars, which had its own experienced guitar sales force and a distribution network of authorized retail outlets. However, Fender and Gibson continued to dominate, and sales did not reach expected levels. The Gretsch guitar operation
5253-508: The United States in 2008, briefly retaining staff at its Trumann, Arkansas factory for specialist work before closure and disposal of remaining inventory. In 2020, Baldwin was inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame . Grand Piano Models (as of 2020 ): Upright Piano Models (as of 2020 ): Many distinguished musicians have chosen to compose, perform and record using Baldwin pianos, including
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#17327810179445356-639: The area. Rather, the history of musical instruments in the area begins with the Indus Valley civilization that emerged around 3000 BC. Various rattles and whistles found among excavated artifacts are the only physical evidence of musical instruments. A clay statuette indicates the use of drums, and examination of the Indus script has also revealed representations of vertical arched harps identical in design to those depicted in Sumerian artifacts. This discovery
5459-515: The band's early years. Gretsch was founded in 1883 by Friedrich Gretsch, a young German immigrant who opened his own musical instrument shop on 128 Middleton Street in Brooklyn, New York that year. His shop was designed for the manufacture of tambourines and drums . The operation moved to South 4th Street in 1894. In 1895, Gretsch died at the age of 39 and the company was taken over by his wife and fifteen-year-old son Fred. Fred Gretsch expanded
5562-491: The business, adding Gretsch Building #1 at 109 South 5th Street in 1903, Gretsch Building #2 at 104-114 South 4th Street in 1910, and a new ten-story Gretsch Building #4 at 60 Broadway in 1916. The company ultimately owned or operated six properties in the immediate area, including a warehouse on Dunham Place. Gretsch Building #4 was owned by the Gretsch family until 1999. Guitar production by the Gretsch Company began in
5665-505: The changes to timbre and volume was a shift in the typical pitch used to tune instruments. Instruments meant to play together, as in an orchestra, must be tuned to the same standard lest they produce audibly different sounds while playing the same notes. Beginning in 1762, the average concert pitch began rising from a low of 377 vibrations to a high of 457 in 1880 Vienna. Different regions, countries, and even instrument manufacturers preferred different standards, making orchestral collaboration
5768-686: The company changed its name to the Baldwin Piano & Organ Company. In 1961, Lucien Wulsin III became president. By 1963, the company had acquired German piano maunfacturer C. Bechstein Pianofortefabrik and remained its owner until 1986. In 1959, Baldwin constructed a new piano manufacturing plant in Conway, Arkansas , originally to manufacture upright pianos: by 1973, the company had built 1,000,000 upright pianos. In 1961 Baldwin constructed
5871-485: The company laid off some workers from its Trumann, Arkansas manufacturing plant while undergoing restructuring. As a subsidiary of Gibson Guitar Corporation, the company has manufactured instruments under the Baldwin, Chickering , Wurlitzer, Hamilton, and Howard names. Baldwin bought two piano factories in China in which they manufacture grand and vertical pianos. Models built in the factory in Zhongshan , China include
5974-418: The company moved its headquarters from Loveland to nearby Deerfield Township . Throughout the 1990s, the company's fortunes improved, and by 1998, the company's 270 employees at its Conway, Arkansas facility were building 2,200 grand pianos a year. However, in 2001, Baldwin was again facing difficulties, and filed for bankruptcy once again, when the company was bought by Gibson Guitar Corporation . In 2005,
6077-557: The company was again run by Fred Jr. By the mid-1950s the company introduced several models, including the 6120 "Nashville," and the 6128 Duo Jet chambered "solid body", which was played by Bo Diddley . Two other models were introduced - the Country Club, and the White Falcon . In 1954, guitarist and Gretsch employee, Jimmie Webster suggested adding the sparkle finishes from Gretsch drums onto their guitars, resulting in
6180-494: The company. Musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds . In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who plays a musical instrument is known as an instrumentalist . The history of musical instruments dates to the beginnings of human culture. Early musical instruments may have been used for rituals, such as
6283-568: The cultural contacts seem to have dissipated; the lyre, a prominent ceremonial instrument in Sumer, did not appear in Egypt for another 800 years. Clappers and concussion sticks appear on Egyptian vases as early as 3000 BC. The civilization also made use of sistra, vertical flutes , double clarinets , arched and angular harps, and various drums. Little history is available in the period between 2700 BC and 1500 BC, as Egypt (and indeed, Babylon) entered
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#17327810179446386-453: The early 1930s, and Gretsch guitars became highly sought after, most notably in the 1950s and 1960s. Fred Gretsch Sr. handed over the family business to his son, Fred Gretsch Jr., after retiring in 1942. Soon after taking over, Fred Jr. left to serve in WWII as a Navy commander, leaving the business in the hands of his younger brother, William Walter "Bill" Gretsch. Bill Gretsch died in 1948 and
6489-502: The evolving class system. Popular instruments, simple and playable by anyone, evolved differently from professional instruments whose development focused on effectiveness and skill. Despite this development, very few musical instruments have been recovered in Mesopotamia . Scholars must rely on artifacts and cuneiform texts written in Sumerian or Akkadian to reconstruct the early history of musical instruments in Mesopotamia. Even
6592-484: The first bowed zithers appeared in China in the 9th or 10th century, influenced by Mongolian culture. India experienced similar development to China in the post-classical era; however, stringed instruments developed differently as they accommodated different styles of music. While stringed instruments of China were designed to produce precise tones capable of matching the tones of chimes, stringed instruments of India were considerably more flexible. This flexibility suited
6695-523: The first humbucker pickup (a claim lost to Gibson Guitars because Gibson was able to file a patent for their humbucker design first). Butts' design became the Gretsch Filter'Tron and was used on Gretsch guitars beginning in 1957, and is highly regarded for its unique sound properties. The popularity of Gretsch guitars soared in the mid-1960s because of its association with Beatles guitarist George Harrison , who played Gretsch guitars beginning in
6798-464: The first lyre . Modern histories have replaced such mythology with anthropological speculation, occasionally informed by archeological evidence. Scholars agree that there was no definitive "invention" of the musical instrument since the term "musical instrument" is subjective and hard to define. Among the first devices external to the human body that are considered instruments are rattles , stampers, and various drums . These instruments evolved due to
6901-454: The first such book was Sebastian Virdung 's 1511 treatise Musica getuscht und ausgezogen ('Music Germanized and Abstracted'). Virdung's work is noted as being particularly thorough for including descriptions of "irregular" instruments such as hunters' horns and cow bells, though Virdung is critical of the same. Other books followed, including Arnolt Schlick 's Spiegel der Orgelmacher und Organisten ('Mirror of Organ Makers and Organ Players')
7004-537: The following year, a treatise on organ building and organ playing. Of the instructional books and references published in the Renaissance era, one is noted for its detailed description and depiction of all wind and stringed instruments, including their relative sizes. This book, the Syntagma musicum by Michael Praetorius , is now considered an authoritative reference of sixteenth-century musical instruments. In
7107-462: The forerunner of modern stringed instruments such as the violin . Musical instruments used by the Egyptian culture before 2700 BC bore striking similarity to those of Mesopotamia, leading historians to conclude that the civilizations must have been in contact with one another. Sachs notes that Egypt did not possess any instruments that the Sumerian culture did not also possess. However, by 2700 BC
7210-402: The gods. Greeks played a variety of wind instruments they classified as aulos (reeds) or syrinx (flutes); Greek writing from that time reflects a serious study of reed production and playing technique. Romans played reed instruments named tibia , featuring side-holes that could be opened or closed, allowing for greater flexibility in playing modes. Other instruments in common use in
7313-488: The harp eventually became a national symbol. Lyres propagated through the same areas, as far east as Estonia . European music between 800 and 1100 became more sophisticated, more frequently requiring instruments capable of polyphony . The 9th-century Persian geographer Ibn Khordadbeh mentioned in his lexicographical discussion of music instruments that, in the Byzantine Empire , typical instruments included
7416-708: The holding company and several of its subsidiaries were forced into bankruptcy with a total debt of over $ 9 billion—at that time, the largest bankruptcy ever. However, the piano business was not part of the bankruptcy. During bankruptcy proceedings in 1984, the Baldwin piano business was sold to its management. The new company went public in 1986 as the Baldwin Piano and Organ Company and moved its headquarters to Loveland, Ohio . However, difficulties continued as demographic changes and foreign competition slowed sales of keyboard instruments. The company responded by acquiring Wurlitzer to increase market share and by moving manufacturing overseas to reduce production costs. In 1998,
7519-630: The human motor impulse to add sound to emotional movements such as dancing. Eventually, some cultures assigned ritual functions to their musical instruments, using them for hunting and various ceremonies. Those cultures developed more complex percussion instruments and other instruments such as ribbon reeds, flutes, and trumpets. Some of these labels carry far different connotations from those used in modern day; early flutes and trumpets are so-labeled for their basic operation and function rather than resemblance to modern instruments. Among early cultures for whom drums developed ritual, even sacred importance are
7622-574: The latter half of the sixteenth century, orchestration came into common practice as a method of writing music for a variety of instruments. Composers now specified orchestration where individual performers once applied their own discretion. The polyphonic style dominated popular music, and the instrument makers responded accordingly. Beginning in about 1400, the rate of development of musical instruments increased in earnest as compositions demanded more dynamic sounds. People also began writing books about creating, playing, and cataloging musical instruments;
7725-443: The latter of which has been excavated and preserved by archaeologists. The Zhou dynasty saw percussion instruments such as clappers , troughs, wooden fish , and yǔ (wooden tiger). Wind instruments such as flute, pan-pipes , pitch-pipes , and mouth organs also appeared in this time period. The xiao (an end-blown flute ) and various other instruments that spread through many cultures, came into use in China during and after
7828-460: The lead vocalist, pianist and keyboardist of Evanescence also uses this brand in most of her compositions, recordings and live performances. A Baldwin piano was seen nightly being played by Paul Shaffer on the Late Show with David Letterman . Baldwin was the official piano of the television show Glee . Marian McPartland 's long-running radio show Piano Jazz was hosted by Baldwin. Baldwin
7931-609: The market downturn. During World War II , the US War Production Board ordered the cessation of all US piano manufacturing so that the factories could be put to use in the war effort. Baldwin factories were used to manufacture plywood airplane components for various aircraft such as the Aeronca PT-23 trainer and the stillborn Curtiss-Wright C-76 Caravan cargo aircraft. While the employment of wood components in military aircraft could by no means be considered
8034-488: The modern horn or, more colloquially, French horn, had emerged by 1725. The slide trumpet appeared, a variation that includes a long-throated mouthpiece that slid in and out, allowing the player infinite adjustments in pitch . This variation on the trumpet was unpopular due to the difficulty involved in playing it. Organs underwent tonal changes in the Baroque period, as manufacturers such as Abraham Jordan of London made
8137-464: The most profound changes occurred during the Renaissance period. Instruments took on other purposes than accompanying singing or dance, and performers used them as solo instruments. Keyboards and lutes developed as polyphonic instruments, and composers arranged increasingly complex pieces using more advanced tablature . Composers also began designing pieces of music for specific instruments. In
8240-400: The music that accompanied wedding and circumcision ceremonies. Persian miniatures provide information on the development of kettle drums in Mesopotamia that spread as far as Java. Various lutes, zithers, dulcimers , and harps spread as far as Madagascar to the south and modern-day Sulawesi to the east. Despite the influences of Greece and Rome, most musical instruments in Europe during
8343-530: The neck to large pipe organs. Literary accounts of organs being played in English Benedictine abbeys toward the end of the tenth century are the first references to organs being connected to churches. Reed players of the Middle Ages were limited to oboes ; no evidence of clarinets exists during this period. Musical instrument development was dominated by the Occident from 1400 on, indeed,
8446-510: The nevel must be similar to vertical harp due to its relation to nabla , the Phoenician term for "harp". In Greece , Rome , and Etruria , the use and development of musical instruments stood in stark contrast to those cultures' achievements in architecture and sculpture. The instruments of the time were simple and virtually all of them were imported from other cultures. Lyres were the principal instrument, as musicians used them to honor
8549-552: The oldest known musical instrument and the only Neanderthal musical instrument. Mammoth bone and swan bone flutes have been found dating back to 30,000 to 37,000 years old in the Swabian Alps of Germany. The flutes were made in the Upper Paleolithic age, and are more commonly accepted as being the oldest known musical instruments. Archaeological evidence of musical instruments was discovered in excavations at
8652-543: The people of the New Kingdom began using oboes , trumpets, lyres , lutes , castanets , and cymbals . Unlike Mesopotamia and Egypt, professional musicians did not exist in Israel between 2000 and 1000 BC. While the history of musical instruments in Mesopotamia and Egypt relies on artistic representations, the culture in Israel produced few such representations. Scholars must therefore rely on information gleaned from
8755-525: The performance. Fred Gretsch never found a suitable successor, and in 1967 Gretsch was sold to Baldwin Pianos , becoming a subsidiary of that firm. Mid-1969, Baldwin moved Gretsch instrument manufacturing operations from Brooklyn to a plant in DeQueen, Arkansas. In 1983, Baldwin's holding company and several of its subsidiaries were forced into bankruptcy. At the time it was the largest bankruptcy ever, with
8858-777: The period of time loosely referred to as the post-classical era and Europe in particular as the Middle Ages , China developed a tradition of integrating musical influence from other regions. The first record of this type of influence is in 384 AD, when China established an orchestra in its imperial court after a conquest in Turkestan . Influences from Middle East, Persia, India, Mongolia, and other countries followed. In fact, Chinese tradition attributes many musical instruments from this period to those regions and countries. Cymbals gained popularity, along with more advanced trumpets, clarinets, pianos, oboes, flutes, drums, and lutes. Some of
8961-632: The pianists Walter Gieseking , Claudio Arrau , Mike Shinoda , Jorge Bolet , Morton Estrin , Margaret Baxtresser (née Barthel), Earl Wild and José Iturbi and the composers Aaron Copland , Philip Glass , Igor Stravinsky , Béla Bartók , Stephen Sondheim , Leonard Bernstein , Lukas Foss , André Previn , and John Williams . Additionally, Baldwin pianos have been used by popular entertainers including Ray Charles , Liberace , Richard Carpenter , Michael Feinstein , Ben Folds , Billy Joel , Cat Stevens , and Carly Simon , and jazz pianists Dave Brubeck , George Shearing and Dick Hyman . Amy Lee ,
9064-426: The process of assigning names to these instruments is challenging since there is no clear distinction among various instruments and the words used to describe them. Although Sumerian and Babylonian artists mainly depicted ceremonial instruments, historians have distinguished six idiophones used in early Mesopotamia: concussion clubs, clappers, sistra , bells, cymbals, and rattles. Sistra are depicted prominently in
9167-515: The region included vertical harps derived from those of the Orient , lutes of Egyptian design, various pipes and organs, and clappers, which were played primarily by women. Evidence of musical instruments in use by early civilizations of India is almost completely lacking, making it impossible to reliably attribute instruments to the Munda and Dravidian language-speaking cultures that first settled
9270-468: The rising popularity of the guitar. As the prevalence of string orchestras rose, wind instruments such as the flute, oboe, and bassoon were readmitted to counteract the monotony of hearing only strings. In the mid-seventeenth century, what was known as a hunter's horn underwent a transformation into an "art instrument" consisting of a lengthened tube, a narrower bore, a wider bell, and a much wider range. The details of this transformation are unclear, but
9373-405: The scores. Trumpets traditionally had a "defective" range—they were incapable of producing certain notes with precision. New instruments such as the clarinet , saxophone , and tuba became fixtures in orchestras. Instruments such as the clarinet also grew into entire "families" of instruments capable of different ranges: small clarinets, normal clarinets, bass clarinets, and so on. Accompanying
9476-399: The singing human voice. As a result, many instruments that were incapable of larger ranges and dynamics, and therefore were seen as unemotional, fell out of favor. One such instrument was the shawm. Bowed instruments such as the violin , viola , baryton , and various lutes dominated popular music. Beginning in around 1750, however, the lute disappeared from musical compositions in favor of
9579-421: The sixteenth century, musical instrument builders gave most instruments – such as the violin – the "classical shapes" they retain today. An emphasis on aesthetic beauty also developed; listeners were as pleased with the physical appearance of an instrument as they were with its sound. Therefore, builders paid special attention to materials and workmanship, and instruments became collectibles in homes and museums. It
9682-700: The slides and tremolos of Hindu music. Rhythm was of paramount importance in Indian music of the time, as evidenced by the frequent depiction of drums in reliefs dating to the post-classical era. The emphasis on rhythm is an aspect native to Indian music. Historians divide the development of musical instruments in medieval India between pre-Islamic and Islamic periods due to the different influence each period provided. In pre-Islamic times, idiophones such as handbells , cymbals, and peculiar instruments resembling gongs came into wide use in Hindu music. The gong-like instrument
9785-465: The specimens found cannot be irrefutably placed as the earliest musical instruments. The Divje Babe Flute is a perforated bone discovered in 1995, in the northwest region of Slovenia by archaeologist Ivan Turk. Its origin is disputed, with many arguing that it is most likely the product of carnivores chewing the bone, but Turk and others argue that it is a Neanderthal -made flute. With its age estimated between 43,400 and 67,000 years old, it would be
9888-506: The stops more expressive and added devices such as expressive pedals. Sachs viewed this trend as a "degeneration" of the general organ sound. During the Classical and Romantic periods of music, lasting from roughly 1750 to 1900, many musical instruments capable of producing new timbres and higher volume were developed and introduced into popular music. The design changes that broadened the quality of timbres allowed instruments to produce
9991-502: The world. However, contact among civilizations caused rapid spread and adaptation of most instruments in places far from their origin. By the post-classical era , instruments from Mesopotamia were in maritime Southeast Asia , and Europeans played instruments originating from North Africa . Development in the Americas occurred at a slower pace, but cultures of North , Central , and South America shared musical instruments. By 1400, musical instrument development slowed in many areas and
10094-546: Was a bronze disk that was struck with a hammer instead of a mallet. Tubular drums, stick zithers ( veena ), short fiddles, double and triple flutes, coiled trumpets, and curved India horns emerged in this time period. Islamic influences brought new types of drum, perfectly circular or octagonal as opposed to the irregular pre-Islamic drums. Persian influence brought oboes and sitars , although Persian sitars had three strings and Indian version had from four to seven. The Islamic culture also introduced double- clarinet instruments as
10197-409: Was dominated by the Occident . During the Classical and Romantic periods of music, lasting from roughly 1750 to 1900, many new musical instruments were developed. While the evolution of traditional musical instruments slowed beginning in the 20th century, the proliferation of electricity led to the invention of new electric and electronic instruments, such as electric guitars , synthesizers , and
10300-455: Was during this period that makers began constructing instruments of the same type in various sizes to meet the demand of consorts , or ensembles playing works written for these groups of instruments. Instrument builders developed other features that endure today. For example, while organs with multiple keyboards and pedals already existed, the first organs with solo stops emerged in the early fifteenth century. These stops were meant to produce
10403-513: Was previously common only in singing. Similar to the process of reduplication in language, instrument players first developed repetition and then arrangement. An early form of melody was produced by pounding two stamping tubes of slightly different sizes—one tube would produce a "clear" sound and the other would answer with a "darker" sound. Such instrument pairs also included bullroarers , slit drums, shell trumpets , and skin drums. Cultures who used these instrument pairs associated them with gender;
10506-434: Was sold back to the Gretsch family in 1989. Throughout the 1970s, the company undertook a significant bid to diversify into financial services. Under the leadership of Morley P. Thompson, Baldwin bought dozens of firms and by the early 1980s owned over 200 savings and loan institutions, insurance companies and investment firms, including MGIC Investment Corporation . The company changed its name to Baldwin-United in 1977 after
10609-579: Was the gong. While the gong likely originated in the geographical area between Tibet and Burma , it was part of every category of human activity in maritime Southeast Asia including Java . The areas of Mesopotamia and the Arabian Peninsula experiences rapid growth and sharing of musical instruments once they were united by Islamic culture in the seventh century. Frame drums and cylindrical drums of various depths were immensely important in all genres of music. Conical oboes were involved in
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