The Sackbut Family

Bibliography:

Dyal, Kevin. "The Sacbut." The Sacbut. Iowa State University, n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2013. <http://www.music.iastate.edu/antiqua/sacbut.htm>.

Kite-Powell, Jeffery T. "Chapter 12- Sackbut." A Performer's Guide to Renaissance Music. New York: Schirmer, 1994. 126-37. Print.

Seaton, Douglass. Ideas and Styles in the Western Musical Tradition. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Pub., 1991. Print.

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/music/brassa.html

"Sackbut." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Apr. 2013. Web. 07 Oct. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sackbut>.

YouTube Video

Ranges

Sackbut Family

• Sackbut literally means "push-pull" has had many names throughout the European countries: saqueboute, shakbusshes, seykebuds, sakbuds, shakebuttes, shagbutts, and even shagbolts. It is unclear when the sackbut first appeared, but by 1500 it is illustrated and mentioned regularly in books and art.
• It is one of the original brass slide instruments; ancestor of trombones
• There are four main types- alto, tenor, bass, and great bass
• Its is a non-fixed pitched instrument

The music playing is "Fantasia" performed by the Quintessential Sackbut and Cornett Ensemble

According to Aurelio Virgiliano:

• Alto- tuned to E-flat; Natural Range from B to d" or e"
• Tenor- tuned to B-flat; Natural Range from E to f'
• Bass- tuned to F; Natural Range from G1 to c'
• Extra Bass-tuned to B-flat and octave below tenor; Natural Range from C1to c'

Notation

Modern

Original

How It Works

• Modern notation usually uses a trombone for instrumentation not sackbut.

• Every sackbut consists of a mouth piece, a flat rimmed bowl shaped cup with a sharp edged throat that attaches to the top of the slide/tube and is buzzed into.
• The air then travels through the several brass: straight tubes, bowed tubes, bell flare, and stays, with ferrules at the joints . THe tubes connected closest to the mouth piece were able to move in and out adding and subtracting the length of the overall instrument and in turn to creating different pitches.
• A single slide position can produce more than one note based on how tight or loose the embouchure is. There for four positions for the alto. tenor, and bass and five positions for the extra bass. For example the first position gives A, E, A (up one octave), C, E (up one octave) and G. as pictured above in Aurelio Virgiliano's Il dolcimelo (c. 1600)
• The air then flows through the rest of the brass tube to the bell of the instrument.
• "The mouthpiece forces the upper resonances down and the bell forces the lower resonances up, to give the a full harmonic series of the instrument. Another result of the addition of the bell is the production of the pedal tone, a unique characteristic of brass instruments." (hyperphysics.com)
• "The pedal tone is the note which is at the fundamental frequency of the harmonic sequence of the instrument, but it is not a resonant frequency of the air column. When the bell effect raises the lower resonances of the closed tube, the lowest resonance is actually not used, being out of tune with the rest of the notes. However, if the player's lips are vibrated at the pedal tone frequency, all the harmonics above it contribute and produce a tone at this pedal tone pitch. It is sometimes called a fictitious fundamental, but for the bass brass instruments, it is quite strong and useful." (hyperphysics.com)

How It Was Made

• The original way to make the slide tubes was to roll a flat piece of metal around a solid cylinder mandrel (metal rod or bar around which material, such as metal or glass, may be shaped), and the joining edges soldered together. Modern manufacturers now draw, metalworking process which uses tensile forces to stretch metal, the tubes. They also tend to have stockings, which were only invented around 1850. In addition, modern made slides are usually made of nickel silver with chrome plating, giving a smoother finish and quieter action than simply the brass that would have originally been used.

The Sackbut Family