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Topic: Instrument database: playing/written ranges, pictures, videos and useful links (Read 7618 times) |
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Sylvain Machefert
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Instrument database: playing/written ranges, pictures, videos and useful links
« on: Aug 27th, 2024, 7:46pm » |
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Hi folks!
Here is my database of pictures, ranges, tuning and classification of more than 520 instruments.
https://www.myriad-users.com/~sylvain-machefert/archive/db/
Last update : March 2025.
[color=blue]La base de données est en anglais. Les instruments sont traduits dans le tableau de la page d'accueil, et dans les scripts à venir./color]
I created the database for several reasons:
- First, keep at the same place all what I need for music writing: ranges! What are lowest and highest note for trumpet? for a beginner and a professional player? How sound and is written a transposing instrument?
- another way to choose a sound, as an partial alternative to edit instrument dialog, more flexible,
- needs for futures scripts...
I searched Wikipedia and other websites to find answers, videos demonstrations, this took time, and I'm not an expert in all these instruments.
So, if you find mistakes or want to complete the database, feel free to reply to this post.
About MyrScript, a dialog to choose an instrument or a sound is already created, but no more yet. Let's see in the future. For now, look at these screenshots.
Choose instrument, note all violins that are not in Gold (piccolo, tenor, octobass).
And sound selector, from Gold sound base, MyrSynth.
Note that piccolo, tenor and octobass are not present, because they are not in Gold soundbase.
I hope in the future I could share user-defined instruments this way. Feel free to share if you have some good sounds!
Enjoy!
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| « Last Edit: Mar 3rd, 2025, 9:56am by Sylvain Machefert » |
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Sylvain Machefert
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Re: Instrument database
« Reply #1 on: Nov 21st, 2024, 3:37pm » |
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Hi,
The database has been updated.
- From 400 to 520 instruments.
- Search tool and translation chart on the database home page
- Some fixes
- Ranges for amateur and professional players
Translations in French, German, Italian and Spanish, not complete. I also added the abbreviated names (e.g. "Pno" for "Piano").
Feel free to contribute to translations here!
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Tony Deff
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Re: Instrument database: playing/written ranges, pictures, videos and useful links  Timpani_ranges.png
« Reply #2 on: Dec 5th, 2024, 3:05pm » |
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You are to be congratulated on this gigantic effort, Sylvain.
But I am sure that I will not be the only one not to understand everything.
What is the "MIDI section"?
Why are there so many more instruments listed there than in General MIDI or in H.A ?
I was surprised to find Whistle(s) listed under Percussives.
(Is this the reason it is written in black, not blue ?)
Is there a reason that, in your translation chart, the categories are interspersed and not grouped together:
Plucked
Struck (Struck, not "strucked", is the irregular past-tense of verb "strike")
Plucked
Bowed
Plucked
I am equally mystified by Myriad's categories.
I was initially disppointed to not find "Zither" included in H.A.
Much later, I discovered it (not under Change Orchestra > Plucked Strings) but Relate Staff to instrument > Edit > String and orchestra
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Les œuvres d'art créent des règles, mais les règles ne créent pas d'œuvres d'art. — Claude Debussy
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Sylvain Machefert
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Re: Instrument database: playing/written ranges, pictures, videos and useful links
« Reply #3 on: Dec 5th, 2024, 10:03pm » |
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Hi Tony!
Thanks for the verb error, I'll fix it.
on Dec 5th, 2024, 3:05pm, Tony Deff wrote:| You are to be congratulated on this gigantic effort, Sylvain. |
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Thanks, I appreciate you like it. 
Quote:But I am sure that I will not be the only one not to understand everything.
What is the "MIDI section"? |
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MIDI sections are the way sounds (timbres) are grouped, and is more or less the left column in Edit Instrument dialog: pianos, chromatic percs, organs, guitars, bass, strings... with a lot of stupidities like harpsichord in "pianos". Extended MIDI and Gold put the Cimbalom into Chromatic percs because some say that drummers can learn easily to this instrument... not sure that's really the case !!
And the Yangqin (chinese hammered dulcimer) is in the Strings.
I made some little fixes, but the most important to me is the orchestra section : plucked, struck, bowed...
Quote:| Why are there so many more instruments listed there than in General MIDI or in H.A ? |
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Because you can have to write for such instruments, even if you don't have the sound, or you can own a soundfont for them.
Doing this, also with translation, pointed some ambigous names, the harpsichord became a spinet in Gold Spanish translation, French "bugle" is Flugelhorn, English "bugle" is French "clairon", a military instrument that only play 4 notes in Bb scale, and also many translations errors even in Wikipedia, about crumhorns and cromornes, both interpreted as cromornes in French, but "tournebout" is the right name for crumhorn... and many other examples!
Quote:I was surprised to find Whistle(s) listed under Percussives.
(Is this the reason it is written in black, not blue ?) |
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The whistles... they have only one frequency, and are used in Brazilian samba batucadas. Do you have other examples?
Irish whistles (tin and low) are in pipes/flutes.
The blue/black colors are about standard MIDI and additions. Maybe this is an error in H.A. for the whistle?
Quote:| Is there a reason that, in your translation chart, the categories are interspersed and not grouped together: |
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Yes, instruments are more or less in Gold order, with non-Gold inserted.
You can sort the section column by clicking the header.
Quote:| I am equally mystified by Myriad's categories. |
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I'm building a MyrScript model I'll suggest for HA v10, where user can choose the old and bugged MIDI sections, or the orchestra section, as well with a search tool, to improve the Edit Instrument dialog.
Quote:I was initially disppointed to not find "Zither" included in H.A.
Much later, I discovered it (not under Change Orchestra > Plucked Strings) but Relate Staff to instrument > Edit > String and orchestra |
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I don't understand about the relate staff to instrument, but yes, zithers are scattered between at least chromatic percs and strings. See what I wrote above for Cimbalom (and Santur).
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| « Last Edit: Dec 5th, 2024, 10:07pm by Sylvain Machefert » |
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Sylvain Machefert
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Re: Instrument database: playing/written ranges, pictures, videos and useful links
« Reply #4 on: Dec 30th, 2024, 4:13pm » |
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Hi Tony,
Just found that page about timpani, and other instruments. Playing techniques are very instructive for music writers.
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Sylvain Machefert
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Re: Instrument database: playing/written ranges, pictures, videos and useful links
« Reply #5 on: Jan 3rd, 2025, 12:23am » |
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Happy new year! The database has been updated.
Most of instruments names are translated, in the chart. Feel free to point me mistakes.
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Sylvain Machefert
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Re: Instrument database: playing/written ranges, pictures, videos and useful links
« Reply #6 on: Mar 3rd, 2025, 10:06am » |
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Hi!
Database has been updated.
Working with Myriad team on tessituras (play range), I fixed some bugs in internal data structure, to provide easy-to-use data to Myriad team for the new feature announced in their blog.
Doing that, I fixed the HTML export, and also added translations in each instrument's description.
A few instruments added, like Cristal Baschet and Chapman Stick, and all tunings and transpositions for Shakuhashi.
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