# What is an instrument we can do without?



## quietfire (Mar 13, 2017)

What is an instrument in the orchestra that you won't miss if they never existed?


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

I can't think of one. I like saxophones, and they do pop up occasionally, but no one seems to miss them when they're gone.


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## Richard8655 (Feb 19, 2016)

Manxfeeder said:


> I can't think of one. I like saxophones, and they do pop up occasionally, but no one seems to miss them when they're gone.


Shostakovich wouldn't be pleased. But otherwise, maybe not hugely missed.


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## Vox Gabrieli (Jan 9, 2017)

Saxophones never made their mark in orchestras despite having such a unique and beautiful sound in the right hands. It's a very specific taste in tone that could really add to the orchestra. 

This idea is very rarely expressed unfortunately, because the saxophone is one of the newest common instruments to hit classical repertoire. Someday i'd like to see a common use of saxophones, rather than the occasional exception in Shostakovitch, or Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet Ballet ( while I couldn't name the specific scenes that features it, I vaguely recall hearing a distinct tone of the tenor saxophone. ) 

I must be dreaming. 


Edit: Being a saxophonist myself, i'd like to say my opinion is valid. :tiphat:


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

The harp. Long an excuse to have a female member of an orchestra, everytime the harpist is on camera in one of my DVDs, she is doing her nails. Get rid of the damn harp already!!!


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## Vasks (Dec 9, 2013)

Well, for some reason the ocarina is on my mind, so let's dump it


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## quietfire (Mar 13, 2017)

hpowders said:


> The harp. Long an excuse to have a female member of an orchestra, everytime the harpist is on camera in one of my DVDs, *she is doing her nails*. Get rid of the damn harp already!!!


lmao.................


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

hpowders said:


> The harp. Long an excuse to have a female member of an orchestra, everytime the harpist is on camera in one of my DVDs, she is doing her nails. Get rid of the damn harp already!!!


Guess we need to drop Das Rheingold, Symphonie Fantastique, numerous Mahler symphonies and a plethora of other pieces from the repertoire.


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## isorhythm (Jan 2, 2015)

I wish Messiaen never heard of the ondes martenot, to be honest.


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Vasks said:


> Well, for some reason the ocarina is on my mind, so let's dump it


Don't you dare. 

Some instruments have already been dumped, e.g. the viol family. They never should have been, but they were. Luckily they're making a comeback.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Ondes martenot , that sound,.........


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## Gordontrek (Jun 22, 2012)

I always thought bassoon was the most dispensable orchestral instrument. It's a growling, unwieldy and nasal sounding instrument, so who would miss it?
Over time I learned it has more than earned its place in the orchestra. A lot of amazing moments in music would be missed without it. Plus, I've seen what incapable bassoonists can do to an orchestra. It is arguably the nucleus of the woodwind section, and without it the entire orchestral timbre would be very different. 
....what about tuba though?


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## Richard8655 (Feb 19, 2016)

I always loved the rackett. That weird sounding instrument from the 16th and 17th centuries. But unfortunately dispensable now. Waiting for a rock group to rediscover it.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Gordontrek said:


> I always thought bassoon was the most dispensable orchestral instrument. It's a growling, unwieldy and nasal sounding instrument, so who would miss it?


Aw, you want to kill old Grandpa from Peter and the Wolf? For shame! 

My local orchestra can drop the entire kazoo section and I won't mind much.


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## Portamento (Dec 8, 2016)

Don't forget the baboon from Rite of Spring!


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

I loathe the snare drum. It's like sandpaper scraping my eardrum or a bullet in the brain.


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## MarkW (Feb 16, 2015)

Xylophones don't work for me in orchestral music -- the scherzo of the Mahler Sixth notwithstanind.


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

MarkW said:


> Xylophones don't work for me in orchestral music -- the scherzo of the Mahler Sixth notwithstanind.


I agree with you for the most part. But I hope that you'll make an exception for the Danse Macabre by Saint-Saëns, where the xylophones imitate the sound of rattling bones. Deliciously spooky and witty!


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

MarkW said:


> Xylophones don't work for me in orchestral music -- the scherzo of the Mahler Sixth notwithstanind.


And what about Bartok's Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta? Hmm? Hmm? Surely you're not going to rob us of that?


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Gordontrek said:


> I always thought bassoon was the most dispensable orchestral instrument. It's a growling, unwieldy and nasal sounding instrument, so who would miss it?
> Over time I learned it has more than earned its place in the orchestra. A lot of amazing moments in music would be missed without it. Plus, I've seen what incapable bassoonists can do to an orchestra. It is arguably the nucleus of the woodwind section, and without it the entire orchestral timbre would be very different.
> ....what about tuba though?


I am very fond of the bassoon. The tuba one could conceivably replace with horns or trombones or something?

Lots of instruments are perhaps dispensable, but that doesn't mean we should dispense with them. 

I have long wondered whether double basses are really necessary. I got my answer some time ago when I discovered Vaughan Williams' piano quintet, in which he replaces one of the violins with double bass: the difference in sound from a "normal" piano quintet is amazing. I suspect a symphony orchestra would sound terribly "thin" without its double basses, even though you seldom really hear them as an individual voice.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

I like how this thread is turning into its opposite! Another instrument that we need more of is the steel drum. Takemitsu has paved the way. Now we need works like sonata for harp and steel drum, fantasy for steel drum and three oddly-tuned pianos, quintet for steel drum and saxophone quartet, and of course Bolling needs to give us a suite for steel drum and jazz piano trio.


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

I'm not sure whether this is cute or whether we should, at all costs, dispense with it:


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## techniquest (Aug 3, 2012)

MarkW said:


> Xylophones don't work for me in orchestral music -- the scherzo of the Mahler Sixth notwithstanind.


I find there's some very good writing for the xylophone in some Shostakovich symphonies. The Marimba, on the other hand, I'd be happy to lose, though thankfully it isn't so much a feature of the orchestra as an overused mainstay of percussion concerti.


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## Rosie (Jul 4, 2016)

I don't think we should remove any instruments, every instrument has it's place


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## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

Thankfully bagpipes are not a regular part of the orchestra. But if they were, they should not be.


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## Totenfeier (Mar 11, 2016)

"A symphony [orchestra] must be like the world; it must contain everything, and an anvil. And an air raid siren." -Gustav Mahler

He didn't really say that.

But he meant it. (Fortissimi, eh? Wonder what he would have thought of heavy metal?)

(P.S. I will never understand why he, of all people, never made use of the alpenhorn.)


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Pat Fairlea said:


> Thankfully bagpipes are not a regular part of the orchestra. But if they were, they should not be.


Tell that to the late Peter Maxwell Davies.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

science said:


> I like how this thread is turning into its opposite! Another instrument that we need more of is the steel drum. Takemitsu has paved the way. Now we need works like sonata for harp and steel drum, fantasy for steel drum and three oddly-tuned pianos, quintet for steel drum and saxophone quartet, and of course Bolling needs to give us a suite for steel drum and jazz piano trio.


Feast your ears on this (11:15 onward):


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

I'm not too keen on Lagerphones


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

EddieRUKiddingVarese said:


> I'm not too keen on Lagerphones


Just can't stop laughing now.:lol:


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

Pugg said:


> Just can't stop laughing now.:lol:


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

EddieRUKiddingVarese said:


>


I did believe you, scouts honour.


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## Gordontrek (Jun 22, 2012)

Portamento said:


> Don't forget the baboon from Rite of Spring!


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Ditch the bassoon? Without the bassoon, forget about Haydn and Shostakovich symphonies.

The bassoon is INDISPENSABLE!!!


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## Klassik (Mar 14, 2017)

hpowders said:


> The bassoon is INDISPENSABLE!!!


What about the tromboon, a critical instrument in some P.D.Q. Bach performances?


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## JamieHoldham (May 13, 2016)

I personally think the Euphorium is the orchestral instrument that is at the bottom of the list for 99.99% of everyone living on Earth, it is extremely rare to find it in any works, it's overshadowed by every other brass instrument, and unlike the Harp which has ethier cliche glissando's or just bad writing for it, the Euphorium has nothing going for it. The only reason it should really be kept is because of Gustav Holst's Suite: The Planets.


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

Gordontrek said:


> I always thought bassoon was the most dispensable orchestral instrument. It's a growling, unwieldy and nasal sounding instrument, so who would miss it?


Bassoon is vital!! the soul of the orchestra!! LOL!!..


> It is arguably the nucleus of the woodwind section, and without it the entire orchestral timbre would be very different. what about tuba though?


right, I agree completely 

Tuba is vital. Can't imagine Berlioz, Wagner, Bruckner, Mahler, Strauss, Stravinsky w/o the tuba...

There are really no instruments that are dispensable in the orchestra - some are used very infrequently, but their rare appearances are quite special - ie Alto Flute, bass trumpet, tenor tuba, etc


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Klassik said:


> What about the tromboon, a critical instrument in some P.D.Q. Bach performances?


That needs to be kept too!!! Has the world gone mad??? Imagine an orchestra without at least 2 bassoons!!!


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

I go out for a drive, I come back and find my world turned upside down....an orchestra without bassoons....this is the kind of madness I would expect from the leader of North Korea....who only needs C Major and D Major trumpet fanfares to re-enforce his delusions of grandeur. No bassoons for him!


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

JamieHoldham said:


> I personally think the Euphorium is the orchestral instrument that is at the bottom of the list for 99.99% of everyone living on Earth, it is extremely rare to find it in any works, it's overshadowed by every other brass instrument, and unlike the Harp which has ethier cliche glissando's or just bad writing for it, the Euphorium has nothing going for it. The only reason it should really be kept is because of Gustav Holst's Suite: The Planets.


Yes! I saw the sign! No Euphorium in the auditorium! The world is getting better, I think...


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## moonbridge (Mar 29, 2017)

While all instruments have their place, I could live happily without the harp along with the music that features the harp. Not proud, but there it is!


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## JamieHoldham (May 13, 2016)

moonbridge said:


> While all instruments have their place, I could live happily without the harp along with the music that features the harp. Not proud, but there it is!


To get rid of music that features the Harp means no Das Rhinegold by Wagner, no 10th Symphony by Mahler (unfinished), no "The Planets" by Gustav Holst.. hell not even the Star Wars theme would exist, blasphemy! :scold:

just joking :lol:


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## quietfire (Mar 13, 2017)

moonbridge said:


> While all instruments have their place, I could live happily without the harp along with the music that features the harp. Not proud, but there it is!


I could live without the harp, but I personally like the harp and its sounds. I could do without the piccolo. I already don't particularly like the piercing or unclean sound of the flute, let alone its higher pitched sister.


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## laurie (Jan 12, 2017)

Pat Fairlea said:


> Thankfully bagpipes are not a regular part of the orchestra. But if they were, they should not be.


 I disagree! . I kinda have a thing for bagpipes (or, maybe, just men in kilts  ... hmm)


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## realdealblues (Mar 3, 2010)

I like all the standard instruments in an orchestra but thinking of works with specific instruments I have to admit I've never really cared for the Glass Harmonica...maybe on it's own, but thinking of works such as Mozart's K. 617 and K. 356, as much as I love Mozart I will pass on hearing them.

The only other one I can think of that I'm not particularly fond of is the Recorder. I can probably go without hearing works like Vivaldi's Recorder Concertos again in my lifetime.


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## Tchaikov6 (Mar 30, 2016)

If I absolutely had to omit a standard instrument from the orchestra it would be the double bass. 

But If I had a choice, I would keep all the instruments.


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## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet (Aug 31, 2011)

Tchaikov6 said:


> If I absolutely had to omit a standard instrument from the orchestra it would be the double bass.
> 
> But If I had a choice, I would keep all the instruments.


No way! The double bass is indispensable. It gives that weight to the sound that would be sorely missed.


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## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet (Aug 31, 2011)

I could live without the triangle. I find that at best it doesn't annoy me.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

TwoFlutesOneTrumpet said:


> I could live without the triangle. I find that at best it doesn't annoy me.


I like it.

"Do you love me, baby?"

"At best you don't annoy me."


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## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet (Aug 31, 2011)

Woodduck said:


> I like it.
> 
> "Do you love me, baby?"
> 
> "At best you don't annoy me."


It worked as my wedding vow


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## Tchaikov6 (Mar 30, 2016)

TwoFlutesOneTrumpet said:


> No way! The double bass is indispensable. It gives that weight to the sound that would be sorely missed.


I agree. But I can't think of another instrument (I count triangle, timpani, snare drum, etc. as one instrument- percussion in this case) that would leave a smaller gap in the orchestra than double bass.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

When I listen to some pieces, I could easily do without all the instruments.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Tchaikov6 said:


> I agree. But I can't think of another instrument (I count triangle, timpani, snare drum, etc. as one instrument- percussion in this case) that would leave a smaller gap in the orchestra than double bass.


Depends on the music. You can't begin _Der Ring des Nibelungen_ without it!

The viola, on the other hand...


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

KenOC said:


> When I listen to some pieces, I could easily do without all the instruments.


Mr. Cage evidently agreed.


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## Tchaikov6 (Mar 30, 2016)

Woodduck said:


> The viola, on the other hand...


... would make pieces like Strauss's Don Quixote, Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet, Puccini's Manon Lescaut, Beethoven's fifth, Shostakovich's fifth, and Brahms's German Requiem feel empty.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

TwoFlutesOneTrumpet said:


> It worked as my wedding vow


At which one?


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Ha! Ha! No double basses; no bassoons; no harps; no triangles!

An orchestra for today's insane world!!! :lol:


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Get rid of the Wagner Tubas. They are simply not cost efficient, since they are infrequently needed to play Bruckner Symphonies and a few Wagner orchestral excerpts.

Out with them, I say!!! Buy a few more second violins!


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Woodduck said:


> Mr. Cage evidently agreed.


Yes. When some pieces are played, I'll put on 4'33" to drown them out with silence.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Tchaikov6 said:


> ... would make pieces like Strauss's Don Quixote, Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet, Puccini's Manon Lescaut, Beethoven's fifth, Shostakovich's fifth, and Brahms's German Requiem feel empty.


As a solo voice the viola is distinctive and wonderful. In ensemble, in most orchestral repertoire, few would notice its absence, as its range can be covered by cellos and violins. Not that I'd want that to happen.


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

I have finally found an instrument that I could dispense with ... a floor polisher

You laugh? Malcom Arnold _A Grand, Grand Overture_ for or 3 Vacuum Cleaners, 1 Floor Polisher, 4 Rifles and Orchestra


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## Tchaikov6 (Mar 30, 2016)

Woodduck said:


> As a solo voice the viola is distinctive and wonderful. In ensemble, in most orchestral repertoire, few would notice its absence, as its range can be covered by cellos and violins. Not that I'd want that to happen.


But the viola is the glue that holds the strings together. I think you would notice the absence more than you would think. Sure the cellos and violas can cover the range, but they would have to divisi and it could get a bit messy.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Becca said:


> I have finally found an instrument that I could dispense with ... a floor polisher
> 
> You laugh? Malcom Arnold _A Grand, Grand Overture_ for or 3 Vacuum Cleaners, 1 Floor Polisher, 4 Rifles and Orchestra


You can do away with the floor polisher and even the vacuum cleaners. But you can't ban the rifles because they're protected by the US constitution. Ask the NRA!


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

JamieHoldham said:


> I personally think the Euphorium is the orchestral instrument that is at the bottom of the list for 99.99% of everyone living on Earth, it is extremely rare to find it in any works, .


Actually, Euphonium [Baritone horn] can be most effective. Unfortunately, it is rare to hear it played with a decent sound. It falls in with the tenor tubas, alto horns, etc, as far as orchestral usage. Lots of juicy parts for these instruments - Mahler Sym #7, Holst Planets, Rite of Spring, Don Q by Strauss.
Perhaps my favorite use of euphonium is in Reiner's recording of Pix @ Exhibition - Bydlo, the Ox-cart. Reiner had Arnold Jacobs play it on several different size tubas, and no matter how well played, he didn't like the sound....He finally asked the principal trombone - Bob Lambert - <<Do you have a Euphonium>> Lambert replied, yes, he did, but not with him....Reiner told him - <<Have it this afternoon>> [for pm recording session].
Lambert's wife brought him the euphonium, and it was this instrument that Lambert used to record the delicious, stunning "Ox-cart" solo on the Reiner recording.
There is also some very fine euphonium playing on the Fennell/Eastman WE recordings. for band music, solo euphonium is a major position


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

hpowders said:


> That needs to be kept too!!! Has the world gone mad??? Imagine an orchestra without at least 2 bassoons!!!


I once played the 2ble reed slide tromboon. on PDQ Bach's "The Seasonings".....great fun, but perhaps the hardest gig I ever played - it's really hard to play correctly when everyone in the hall, audience, conductor, performers are all LTAO!! a great challenge!! LOL!!


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Becca said:


> I have finally found an instrument that I could dispense with ... a floor polisher
> 
> You laugh? Malcom Arnold _A Grand, Grand Overture_ for or 3 Vacuum Cleaners, 1 Floor Polisher, 4 Rifles and Orchestra


And you'd retain the vacuum cleaners?

Remember: nature abhors a vacuum.


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

moonbridge said:


> While all instruments have their place, I could live happily without the harp along with the music that features the harp. Not proud, but there it is!


I have to admit, the plucked instruments generally do not do much for me....


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

Tchaikov6 said:


> ... would make pieces like Strauss's Don Quixote, Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet, Puccini's Manon Lescaut, Beethoven's fifth, Shostakovich's fifth, and Brahms's German Requiem feel empty.


Right - or how about Bach B'berg #6, or Brahms 2nd Serenade [no violins]


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Woodduck said:


> And you'd retain the vacuum cleaners?
> 
> Remember: nature abhors a vacuum.


Nature's playing a losing hand these days with Trump gutting the EPA. So bye-bye vacuum cleaners!


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## Harmonie (Mar 24, 2007)

JamieHoldham said:


> To get rid of music that features the Harp means no Das Rhinegold by Wagner, no 10th Symphony by Mahler (unfinished), no "The Planets" by Gustav Holst.. hell not even the Star Wars theme would exist, blasphemy! :scold:
> 
> just joking :lol:


I'd be okay with the Star Wars theme no longer existing.

...But not the harp itself. I think it's a pretty instrument. Definitely noticeable when a piano fills in for it, just doesn't have the same magic.


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## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

Art Rock said:


> Tell that to the late Peter Maxwell Davies.


Fair point. Max was an exception to most rules and took exception to most rules.
But maximum respect to Malcolm Arnold, whose Tam O'Shanter Overture manages to impersonate the tuneless, wheezing dirge of the pipes without actually using bagpipes!


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

Pat Fairlea said:


> Fair point. Max was an exception to most rules and took exception to most rules.
> But maximum respect to Malcolm Arnold, whose Tam O'Shanter Overture manages to impersonate the tuneless, wheezing dirge of the pipes without actually using bagpipes!


There is also Graham Waterhouse's _Chieftain's Salute_ which is kinda like a one movement concerto for Highland Bagpipes and Orchestra


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

How about the Superbone? Not that I'm aware of it being used in classical music although a composition professor friend of mine has played it.

_The Superbone has a fully functioning tenor trombone slide with 7 positions. It also has three valves placed just before the slide, with the valves arranged in the same manner as on other three-valved instruments. The player grips the valve section with their left hand, which supports the weight of the instrument while the right arm operates the slide.

The Superbone can be played as a slide trombone, a valve trombone, or in combination. Extending the slide in order to transpose pitches downward causes tuning problems with the valves. Using the valves in this manner requires slide positions to be adjusted, just as when using the trigger of an F-trigger or bass trombone. Alternate slide positions are available when valves are depressed._


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## laurie (Jan 12, 2017)

Woodduck said:


> And you'd retain the vacuum cleaners?
> 
> Remember: nature abhors a vacuum.










(click on this to see it larger)

(_my favorite Far Side ... by far!_ :lol: )


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## premont (May 7, 2015)

brianvds said:


> I'm not sure whether this is cute or whether we should, at all costs, dispense with it:


He is an excellent recorder player.


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

Anything that Vibrates


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## Vox Gabrieli (Jan 9, 2017)

Lets take this up to 11!

Anything that is composed of matter.


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## Vox Gabrieli (Jan 9, 2017)

I think I figured it out! The whole purpose of this thread was to pull us apart! Op intentionally created a thread to build tension and disagreement. He's the mastermind behind this! Get him boys!


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Although not strictly an orchestral instrument, if I never heard the accordion again it would still be a day too soon.


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## dzc4627 (Apr 23, 2015)

As a tenor saxophone player, in jazz and otherwise, the Saxophone family can say ciao for all I care.


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## Scott in PA (Aug 13, 2016)

The typewriter.

I think already they must be hard to find, making Leroy Anderson's Typewriter Symphony a rare event.


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## Klassik (Mar 14, 2017)

Scott in PA said:


> The typewriter.


Satie would poke you in the eye with an umbrella. Or maybe 500 of them.


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## Tchaikov6 (Mar 30, 2016)

dzc4627 said:


> As a tenor saxophone player, in jazz and otherwise, the Saxophone family can say ciao for all I care.


Well, L'arlesienne suites, Bolero, Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances, V. Williams Job and Sinfonia da Requiem wouldn't be the same without it. But other than that, I agree.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

EddieRUKiddingVarese said:


> Anything that Vibrates


Sounds like a good Cage 4'33" orchestra.


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

Scott in PA said:


> The typewriter.
> 
> I think already they must be hard to find, making Leroy Anderson's Typewriter Symphony a rare event.


performing the Leroy Anderson "Typewriter" requires a change in orchestral protocol...instead of tuning to the oboe, the orchestra takes its "A" from the typewriter....:lol:


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

Richard Macduff said:


> Lets take this up to 11!
> 
> Anything that is composed of matter.


Good point, well sound is energy, so maybe we could make music on the subatomic level without directly turning matter into energy.................. nuclear or quantum music even!


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## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet (Aug 31, 2011)

Tchaikov6 said:


> I agree. But I can't think of another instrument (I count triangle, timpani, snare drum, etc. as one instrument- percussion in this case) that would leave a smaller gap in the orchestra than double bass.


The piccolo fits the description.


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## dzc4627 (Apr 23, 2015)

Tchaikov6 said:


> Well, L'arlesienne suites, Bolero, Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances, V. Williams Job and Sinfonia da Requiem wouldn't be the same without it. But other than that, I agree.


They wouldn't be the same, for sure! Just slightly different. :tiphat:


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## Tchaikov6 (Mar 30, 2016)

dzc4627 said:


> They wouldn't be the same, for sure! Just slightly different. :tiphat:


You know what I mean!!!:devil:


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

TwoFlutesOneTrumpet said:


> The piccolo fits the description.


Throw out the Shostakovich Symphonies.


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## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet (Aug 31, 2011)

hpowders said:


> Throw out the Shostakovich Symphonies.


No. Just substitute a flute!


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

JamieHoldham said:


> To get rid of music that features the Harp means no Das Rhinegold by Wagner, no 10th Symphony by Mahler (unfinished), no "The Planets" by Gustav Holst.. hell not even the Star Wars theme would exist, blasphemy! :scold:
> 
> just joking :lol:


Yeah, but harpists can be hired on a part-time basis.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Barbebleu said:


> Although not strictly an orchestral instrument, if I never heard the accordion again it would still be a day too soon.


In the right music it's fine, try and play it for once.


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## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

Pugg said:


> In the right music it's fine, try and play it for once.


Sorry Pugg, I'm with Barbleu. Accordions should accompany bagpipes on an island far away that I shall never visit. 
But I do love a solo viola.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Pat Fairlea said:


> Sorry Pugg, I'm with Barbleu. Accordions should accompany bagpipes on an island far away that I shall never visit.
> But I do love a solo viola.


Fine by me, my point was, did anyone ever tried to play it, it's very difficult not just putting buttons and the keyboard.


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## Tchaikov6 (Mar 30, 2016)

Pat Fairlea said:


> Sorry Pugg, I'm with Barbleu. Accordions should accompany bagpipes on an island far away that I shall never visit.
> *But I do love a solo viola*.


As in... pieces like Harold in Italy, or Bartok Viola Concerto? Or orchestral excerpts that have viola solos?


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## Judith (Nov 11, 2015)

Scott in PA said:


> The typewriter.
> 
> I think already they must be hard to find, making Leroy Anderson's Typewriter Symphony a rare event.


Miss my old typewriter!


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## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

Tchaikov6 said:


> As in... pieces like Harold in Italy, or Bartok Viola Concerto? Or orchestral excerpts that have viola solos?


Viola concerti (Walton) and sonatas (Hindemith, Shostakovich). And larger orchestral works that give the violas a chance to be heard (RVW).


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## Reichstag aus LICHT (Oct 25, 2010)

isorhythm said:


> I wish Messiaen never heard of the ondes martenot, to be honest.


If only he'd been introduced to the Swanee Whistle first, it could have saved a lot of expense.


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## Reichstag aus LICHT (Oct 25, 2010)

TwoFlutesOneTrumpet said:


> I could live without the triangle. I find that at best it doesn't annoy me.


These tings are sent to try us.


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

quietfire said:


> What is an instrument in the orchestra that you won't miss if they never existed?


Maybe the saxophone because it doesn't belong in the traditional orchestra. It's a wonderful instrument though.


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## Omicron9 (Oct 13, 2016)

Ondes Martinot, but I'm sure I really consider that an "instrument." More of a special effect. Either way: eeeuuuuwwww.


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## alan davis (Oct 16, 2013)

I hiked for several years with a group led by Simon Cameron. Though as Aussie as any of us he played on his Scottish heritage and at significant milestones on our walks, he would retrieve a small pair of bagpipes from his rucksack and start squealing out a tune. When a collection was eventually started to thanks him for his leadership, suggestions were also sort for an appropriate gift. My suggestion was an even smaller set of bagpipes.


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## Razumovskymas (Sep 20, 2016)

I've never really liked the clarinet as a solo instrument. When I hear it I can't help thinking of a clown playing some plastic toy horn. I very much prefer the oboe, much warmer sound, more expression and less sterile.

I guess it ads some color in the whole of the orchestra and together with some flutes and oboe it can even sound beautiful to me but I wouldn't really miss it when it was'n there.

No clarinet concerto's for me thank you.


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## Razumovskymas (Sep 20, 2016)

And apart from the sax solo in Mr. Springsteens' "Born to run" I don't like saxophones either so I guess it has something to do with the single reed.


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## Razumovskymas (Sep 20, 2016)

TwoFlutesOneTrumpet said:


> I could live without the triangle. I find that at best it doesn't annoy me.


you're not really a fan of Liszts' piano concerto no1 then? Best parts for triangle that I know of!  I think there are even moments where the pianist is a bit jealous.


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## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

alan davis said:


> I hiked for several years with a group led by Simon Cameron. Though as Aussie as any of us he played on his Scottish heritage and at significant milestones on our walks, he would retrieve a small pair of bagpipes from his rucksack and start squealing out a tune. When a collection was eventually started to thanks him for his leadership, suggestions were also sort for an appropriate gift. My suggestion was an even smaller set of bagpipes.


Q: Why do bagpipe players traditionally stride back and forth while playing?

A1: To give the audience a moving target.

A2: They are trying to get away from the dreadful noise.


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