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- Best example of pizzicato in this video, from the guy carrying a cello with a strap!
- Incidentally, the other string instrument is a banjo

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The Dead South - In Hell I'll Be In Good Company [Official Music Video]

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- One of the most common genres and ensembles in string music is the quartet.
- There are two violins, a viola and a cello.
- Haydn was a pioneer of almost every genre going during the classical period. He composed over 100 symphonies (including 6 dedicated to London) and 68 quartets! To put that into context, Mozart only wrote 41 symphonies and 23 quartets (I say only...)!
- One of Haydn's most famous quartets is called 'The Joke'...see if you can see why!

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Endellion String Quartet play Haydn's "The Joke" Presto

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- There are many different combinations and sizes of string ensemble. Many composers have written for ensembles of string instruments smaller than that which you would find in an orchestra.
- In the case of Mendelssohn, he wrote a piece of music for an octet (8 strings).
- The octet is comprised of; 4 violins, 2 violas and 2 cellos.
- This is the final movement of a four-movement work.

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Ensemble OPUS with Agata Syzmczewska - Mendelssohn Octet for Strings, Op. 20 4th movement

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Ensemble OPUS with Agata Syzmczewska 앙상블 오푸스와 아가타 심체스카 Mendelssohn - Octet for Strings, Op. 20 4th movement 멘델스존 - 현악8중주, 작품번호 20 4악장

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- This is the final movement 'Rigaudon' of the Holberg Suite for string orchestra, composed by Edvard Grieg.
- As well as being a piece solely for strings, this particular movement includes a solo for a violin and a viola. See if you can spot them.

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Edvard Grieg: Holberg Suite, Op. 40, Rigaudon

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- This is a harp arrangement of the symphonic poem 'Vltava' by the Czech composer Bedrich Smetana.
- The Vltava is a river which runs through Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic.
- The music was written as a symphonic poem, meaning that it was based upon an idea, a piece of art or a piece of literature.
- In this case, the piece is based upon the Vltava river. As you listen, try to see how Smetana has recreated the ebb and flow of the river in the music, as it goes on its journey.

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B. Smetana: Vltava (Moldau) - Valérie Milot, harp/harpe

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- The standout instrument of the string family, in that this instrument does not share any similarities in how it looks to the others!
- Whilst the other instruments only have 4 strings, that harp has 47.
- That means the range of the harp is large; it can play as high as a violin and as low as a double bass.
- Because of this, music for the harp is written on two staves (one treble, one bass), just like a piano.
- The harp is played using the fingers. This technique is called plucking, or pizzicato.

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- All these instruments use a bow. This is the piece of wood held in the right hand.
- Part of the bow is made out of horse hair. In order for the hair to be able to grip the string, resin is applied the the bow by the player each time before playing.
- If a player is simply using the bow to play the notes, this is called arco.
- Similarly, if the player is instructed to use their fingers to play the notes, they will pluck the string. This technique is called pizzicato.
- There are different types of bowing techniques; legato (playing smoothly), staccato (short notes), detaché (bouncing the bow off the string) and col legno (using the wood of the bow...but very gently to avoid breaking it)!

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- If you thought carrying around a few books at school was hard work, try getting a double bass into a normal-sized family car...or onto a bus or train!
- Music for the double bass is limited. However, a composer called Camille Saint-Saens wrote a series of pieces entitled 'Carnival of the Animals'. Each piece focused on a particular animal, the solo part for which was played by an instrument which reflected the animal's characteristics.
- One of these pieces was written entitled The Elephant', so the only instrument up to the task of recreating the large, clumsy antics of an elephant, was the double bass!
- Listen to the introductory spiel by the guy with the moustache. Whilst he speak with a monotonous voice, what he is saying makes a lot of sense! Feel free to stop the video after 3 minutes!

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The Elephant by Camille Saint-Saens double bass solo

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- Largest instrument in the string family.
- Lowest-picthed instrument in the string family.
- A 3/4 size double bass is so big it is taller than most men. Most professional double bass players are not tall enough for a full size double bass!
- Bass clef (another full octave lower than the cello).

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- When Mr Sarjeant started on the violin, classical music didn't really appeal to a 5 year old. Fast folk music did!
- Here are a particular favourite from the Celtic region of Scotland. Blazin' Fiddles.
- Incidentally, Bruce MacGregor (second from the right, glasses, waistcoat) gave Mr Sarjeant a masterclass when he was 9.

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Blazin' Fiddles - Pat The Budgie Set from BBC Scotland Hogmanay Live 2014

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Uploaded by Blazin' Fiddles on 2015-04-17.

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- One of the greatest, if not the greatest there has ever been, in the history of cellists.
- If you think 2Cellos were insane, then this will blow your mind even further!
- Played at a furious speed and with some of the music written in the treble clef (because the notes are so high) Rostropovich doesn't even break sweat...and he's nearly 70 in this video!
- Popper (composer of this piece) wrote a cello book of exercises which many cellists live by as their technique bible, even to this day. The pieces in this book have every technique you could possible need, the idea being if you could play these studies...you could play anything!

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- When it comes to cello playing, these two have reinvented the wheel in terms of technique. They are probably amongst the best in the world in their art.
- This video will demonstrate two things. It will show you how low a cello can play...as well as how far Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser are willing to go up the fingerboard

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2CELLOS - The Trooper Overture [OFFICIAL VIDEO]

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- Larger still, the cello (pronounced 'chello') is played between the legs, with a spike supporting the instrument on the floor.
- The cello shares the same strings as the viola, except each string is an octave lower.
- Bass clef.

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- What would you do if, right as you were about to finish a solo on stage, a mobile phone rang in the audience? Ignore it? Walk off stage? How about play it back to them?
- In the case of Lukas Kmit, that's exactly what he did!
- Oh, and he's also playing a viola! Listen and compare this deeper timbre to the violin, right before his moment of improvisation!

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Nokia ringtone during concert of classical music

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- In all honesty, they are extremely similar. The only way to tell them apart is by listening to them and hearing their differing timbres over and over again.
- The violin is brighter, whereas the viola has a much broader, more mellow sound.

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- Same shape as the violin, but larger.
- Deeper tone and lower pitch.
- The viola doesn't have the highest string you'll find on the violin but has one string lower than the violin.
- Music for the viola is written in the alto clef.

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- Widely regarded as one of the greatest every violins, Maxim Vengerov has made a career out of tackling the hardest pieces and playing them with seemingly as much ease as riding a bike!
- Maxim Vengerov also remains one of Mr Sarjeant's favourite musicians, and actually wrote to him as a six-year old who had just started learning the violin...but Vengerov never wrote back!

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Maxim Vengerov playing 'La Ronde des Lutins' and 'Danse du Sabre' (1994)

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In this concert Maxim plays both 'La Ronde des Lutins' and 'Danse du Sabre'. The third piece which he plays is most likely 'De Grachten van Amsterdam'. The concert took place in Amsterdam, Holland (1994). It was aired on Mezzo channel which is a French television channel devoted to classical music.

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- The violin is the smallest instrument in the string family.
- Highest-pitched instrument in the string family.
- You will find more violins in an orchestra than any other instrument, normally 24.
- Treble clef.