The Sounds of Music
- J.J. Richardson
- Apr 6, 2024
- 2 min read
Updated: Mar 29
Recently, I participated in an orchestral/choral production in my city. For weeks afterward, people I knew came to me to tell me how wonderful the program was and to ask me if I was in it. I told them I played the trombone in the orchestra. That was when their faces turned pale, and they struggled with what to say.
“Do you know what a trombone sounds like?” I would ask.
In each case, an expression of torment came upon them, and they said softly, “Well, not really.”
I can witness people’s anguish for only so long before I must do something about it.
Even though I’m not good at volleyball, basketball, or football, I'm familiar with most of the rules of those games and know what’s happening when I watch them being played. I know what setters, forwards, and centers do.
However, most people today know little about the instruments in an orchestra. This great unmet need caused me to embark on a holy quest. I asked one of my daughters to recommend a symphonic number to aid me in my pursuit. She chose Benjamin Britten’s Opus 34, composed in 1945, entitled “The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra.”
“But I’m not a young person,” you say.
When it comes to music, yes, you are.
The piece featured in the video below was commissioned to instruct people about the instruments used in orchestras. The performance you’ll see was performed by the Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln Symphony Orchestra, directed by Jukka-Pekka Saraste.
To help you along, I’ve added some explanatory notations to the video. If some of them seem snarky to you, it’s because you’re still a sweet summer child and need to join the educated, adult world.
Isn’t this what life is about—helping each other succeed happily?
Your reward for getting this far is to listen to what only trombones can do. Don't you believe me? Watch this video of themes from Lord of the Rings. Also, no other instrument can play Bach's Toccata in D Minor as well as trombones.
And now for something really different. Here's an extraordinary example of the unbelievable sound of another underrated instrument. You will not be disappointed.
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