Whether you have been preparing for months or are planning to wing the challenge, it is finally here! I am so excited to see what everyone is blogging about this month.
In college, I double majored in music and psychology. Although I don't use my music degree professionally, it will always be a major part of my life. For that reason, I have decided to blog about various musical instruments this month.
Have you ever heard the Ricola commercial and wondered "What is that?"
Todays post is about the Alpine Horn, AKA Alphorn, Alphora used in that commercial.
The Alpine horn is carved from wood, usually spruce and sometimes pine.
Originally makers would find a tree slightly curved at the end but now attach
the bell-shaped end separately. A cup-shaped piece of hard wood is used as the
mouthpiece
They were originally used as warning for military use, to signal in village communities substituting for church bells in medieval times or earlier, or used to announce daily activities. The first known description was by Swiss naturalist Conrad Gesner in 1555 using the words lituum alphinum.
They were originally used as warning for military use, to signal in village communities substituting for church bells in medieval times or earlier, or used to announce daily activities. The first known description was by Swiss naturalist Conrad Gesner in 1555 using the words lituum alphinum.
The alpine horn has no openings, so the sound uses natural harmonic series. They have a 4 octave range.
I had an opportunity to play one of these at a music convention and they have a beautiful sound!
They do sound pretty cool. Are they really that long? :)
ReplyDeleteUniversal Gibberish
Yes, they are! You have to stand up to play one
DeleteHa! Alpine horn sounds like the right name for it. I practically live on Ricolas. They're great when my voice gets tired or I'm fighting yet another cold.
ReplyDeleteI like Ricolas too. They work and they taste good :)
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ReplyDeleteThat comment made no sense, let me try again. I was never aware of the Alpine Horn being in the commercials until now...
DeleteI haven't seen the commercials as often lately but they sound beautiful. Thanks for stopping by
DeleteAmazing sound - you don't come across them often, do you?! Great theme
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Aren't they beautiful? I am so glad I had an opportunity to see and play one when I did. I love the sound!
DeleteI loved this post! Love learning new things so this is the spot for me. Looking forward to all of April.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by. Hopefully this will be a fun and educational month for us all
DeleteIt looks like a really long smoking pipe to me. :) Great theme! This is going to be a really interesting month and if I'm not careful I might actually learn a thing or two.
ReplyDeleteGreat start!
Thanks for stopping by and for all of your help with the challenge. I am learning a lot too. Wikipedia and You Tube are my friends this month :)
DeleteIt looks like a very heavy instrument. I have always wondered about that huge horn on the commercial, mainly because I never see it in parades. :)
ReplyDeleteLOL, no parades for this one :) I am not sure how heavy they are because I didn't pick it up. It sits on the ground and you have to stand up to play it though
DeleteAlpine horn FTW! Love it! And who hasn't shouted out "Ricola!" at some point in their lives?? :)
ReplyDeleteAnd of course you have to have the accent when you do it :)
DeleteI can't wait to see what you do with some of the more challenging letters!
ReplyDeleteRhia #873 in A to Z list
I have managed to figure out an instrument for every letter but some might be a little more sparce than others. It will be fun though :)
DeleteWhat a fun theme, can't wait to see what you come up with!
ReplyDeleteI tried to choose atypical instruments to make things more interesting but there are some standards thown in too
DeleteYou're so smart to use the Ricola commercial as a reference - that sound is certainly memorable. This is going to be a fun AND educational theme!
ReplyDeleteThanks Nicki! This IS going to be fun. I am learning a lot myself
DeleteVery interesting! Knowing it was used as a warning system explains a lot about it and makes sense.
ReplyDeleteShannon at The Warrior Muse, co-host of the 2012 #atozchallenge! Twitter: @AprilA2Z
They do have the potential to be very loud and resonant. Pretty cool :) Thanks for stopping by
DeleteVery random, but interesting. I love learning about something that I would have never thought about twice on my own.
ReplyDeleteI had to choose a theme before I decided on Alpine horn but it does have a beautiful sound and I learned a lot by researching
DeleteI'd known they were called Alpine horns, but nothing else about them. That they were used for warnings makes perfect sense; now I realize that all these years, those brave men in the commercial have been warning me away from Ricola because of the taste...
ReplyDeleteHa ha! I like the taste of Ricolas better than Halls though. ICK!
DeleteI always wondered what those instruments were.
ReplyDeleteAnother useless fact to absorb I guess unless it is a Jeopardy question one day :)
DeleteVery interesting double-major! My sister had a similar college experience and ended up becoming a music therapist. She now has her own Music Therapy practice, and does very well for herself, as well as doing well for the world by helping so many children!
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome! I had thought about going into music therapy myself but it hadn't caught on here yet so I don't know how fruitful it would be.
DeleteWhat a great post! I have seen those commercials, but I had no idea what that horn was called.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by Books, Products and More!
Thanks for stopping by and for choosing me to be your winner Cheryl. I'm honored :)
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