What is Ensemble in Music?

What is Ensemble – An ensemble musical instrument can be interpreted as a musical presentation that is sung together using one type of musical instrument or various types of musical instruments. This ensemble of musical instruments consisting of many different types of musical instruments and played simultaneously will produce beautiful music to enjoy.

History of Musical Ensemble Games

A musical ensemble is a musical game presented by several people or groups with a certain number of musical instruments. The game of musical ensembles uses musical instruments of the same kind of different musical instruments. Historically, this ensemble of musical instruments was known as chamber music or chamber music, or Musica de Camera.

The musical ensemble itself began in the Baroque era, around 1600 to 1750s ago. At that time, the ensemble of musical instruments was sung with a type of music consisting of stringed instruments and wind instruments only. The term “music ensemble” is also associated with the condition of a special room that is not too large. Until 1750, this ensemble or chamber music was performed in public and continued to be known as it is today.

Types of Ensemble Musical Instruments

To increase understanding about What is Ensemble, we talk about type of Ensemble Music. The grouping of ensemble music is divided into three types or types, namely based on the presentation of the music, based on the role and function of musical instruments, and based on the group of musical instruments. Here’s the explanation.

Based on presentation

Based on the presentation, ensemble music is grouped into two, as follows:

Similar Ensemble Music

The game of similar ensemble musical instruments is a form of ensemble music presentation that uses similar musical instruments. An example of similar ensemble music is the recorder ensemble.

Mixed Ensemble Music

Mixed ensemble musical instrument play is a form of ensemble musical presentation that uses several types of musical instruments or various types of musical instruments. Examples of mixed ensemble music are piano, guitar, recorder, triangle, tambourine, and cymbals.

Based on Roles and Functions

Based on the role and function of the musical instruments used, ensemble musical instruments are grouped into three types, namely:

Melodic Ensemble

A melodic ensemble is a musical instrument that is used to play a series of notes which are the melody of a song. Examples of melodic ensembles: piano, recorder, violin, trumpet, tambourine, and harmonica.

Rhythmic ensemble

A rhythmic ensemble is a musical instrument used to set the rhythm of a song. Examples of rhythmic ensembles: tambourines, drum sets, triangles, gongs, and drums.

Harmonious Ensemble

Harmonic ensemble musical instruments are musical instruments that function to play the melody of the song and set the rhythm of the song. Examples of harmonious ensembles: violin, cello, guitar.

Based on  Group

Based on the group of musical instruments, ensemble musical instruments are divided into two types, namely from the aspect of the sound source, how to play it, and its role in ensemble music.

Based on the Sound Source

There are at least five types of ensemble musical instruments that are played based on the source of the sound. The five are acrophones, membranophones, chordophones, idiophones, and electrophones.

• Acrophone – Acrophone is a musical instrument whose sound source comes from the vibrations of the air. Examples of acrophones: flute and trumpet.
• Membranophone – The membranophone is a musical instrument that gets its sound source from plastic. Examples of membranophones: drums, tambourines, and drums.
• Chordophone – A chordophone is a musical instrument whose sound source is obtained from a string or string. Examples of chordophones: guitar, harp, violin.
• Idiophone – The idiophone is a musical instrument whose sound source lies in the sound of the instrument itself when played. Examples of idiophones: angklung, gong.
• Electrophone – An electrophone is a musical instrument whose sound is sourced from an electric voltage. Examples of electrophones: electric organ and electric guitar.

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Based on How to Play a Musical Instrument

As well as categorization based on the sound source, ensemble musical instrument playing is also differentiated based on the way the instrument is played. There are five types of musical instruments based on how the ensemble’s musical instruments are played, namely hitting, picking, blowing, shaking or vibrating, and swiped.

• Hit
  Examples of musical instruments that are beaten: drums, bongo, drums, saron.
• Plucked
  Examples of plucked musical instruments are the guitar and the harp.
• Blown
  Examples of musical instruments that are blown are the trumpet, flute, and clarinet.
• Shake or vibrate
  An example of a musical instrument that is shaken/vibrated is the angklung.
• Swiped
  Examples of stringed musical instruments: violin, fiddle, cello.

That’s the explanation about What is Ensemble. Hope to increase your knowledge in music.