What is the long horn instrument called?
alphorn
alphorn, German alpenhorn, long horn played by Alpine herdsmen and villagers, sounded for intercommunication and at daily ceremonies and seasonal festivals. It is carved or bored in wood and overwound with birch bark.
What sound does an alphorn make?
The alphorn sounds similar to a trumpet and is made from pine, fir and spruce trees. The instrument normally produces sound in notes G and F. Today, there are more than 4,000 alphorn players in Switzerland.
How is the alphorn played?
Slowly vibrating the lips is producing long waves and a bass tone is resulting. When quickly vibrating, high tones are arising. Blowing into the Alphorn without vibration of the lips a sound is being formed with an undefinable pitch. The conical horn is serving in any case as acoustic amplifier.
How much does an Alpenhorn cost?
From our research, a student, starter-like alphorn could cost as little as $1,000, whereas a very well tuned alphorn with a brighter sound could easily cost $4,000+. For example, Alphorn.ca sells a Rocky Mountain Alphorn for $5,250. According to KrollTravel.com, a good alphorn can cost $5,000.
How long is a alphorn?
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: The Alphorn is a hollow tube made with wooden strips (spruce) bound with birch bark or cane. It is conical bore with an upturned (or straight) bell and wooden mouthpiece similar to that of the modern horn. They range in length from 10.6 feet to 13.5 feet.
How much does an alphorn weigh?
Eva’s 3.7-meter (12.3 foot)-long F pitch alphorn weighs about five kilograms (11 pounds). Hand-carved from Sitka spruce, which was air-dried for at least three years, it was made by William Hopson, from Calgary, who played it in the Calgary Symphony.
What kind of instrument is a alphorn?
labrophone
The alphorn or alpenhorn or alpine horn is a labrophone, consisting of a straight several-meter-long wooden natural horn of conical bore, with a wooden cup-shaped mouthpiece.
What kind of horn is used in the Ricola commercial?
The alphorn is prominently featured in television advertisements for Ricola cough drops, which are manufactured in Switzerland.
How much does a alphorn cost?
An alphorn in great condition could cost anywhere from as little as $1,500 to as much as $6,500, but alphorns made of an exotic wood could cost up to 40 percent more.
How far can you hear an alphorn?
Depending on the landscape, an alphorn can be heard from 5 to 10 km away. The widespread belief that shepherds used their horns as signals is incorrect, as it would have been almost impossible to hear them from great distances in mountainous terrain.
What is alphorn made of?
The alphorn is carved from solid softwood, generally spruce but sometimes pine. In former times, the alphorn maker would find a tree bent at the base in the shape of an alphorn, but modern makers piece the wood together at the base.