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Everything You Should Know About Musical Instruments but Don't Have Time to Learn

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This wonderful little book (134 pp.) gives an overview of almost all of the instruments in a modern orchestra, including strings, reeds, double reeds, flutes and non-fretted string instruments. It does not cover piano, guitar, or percussion.

The author has numerous advanced degrees in musicology, music education and musical instrument construction. According to the book jacket, Mr. Pagliaro has received U.S. patents for inventions of musical instruments that are now widely distributed. He has been by turns a performer, band master, teacher and college professor. He is also the founder of a musical instrument business located in Ardsley, New York.

The first chapter of this book covers the science of sound. The second is on the anatomy of musical instruments, including sound generation, amplification and manipulation. The remaining chapters concern particular families of instruments: the transverse flute, clarinet, saxophone, oboe, bassoon, brass instruments and non-fretted strings.

The author makes insightful remarks about the potential and limitations of different musical instruments, as embodied in their design. See, for example, his comments on the unique touchiness of the double reed mouthpiece, or the compromises with even temper built into the valved brass instruments. Pagliaro also reviews at various points the historical and inventive process that led to the modern form of an instrument.

The section on non-fretted instruments is particularly rich, conveying an understanding of how these intruments make and amplify sound, as affected by their materials, design and dimensions.

A strength of this book is the drawings of musical instruments, with exceptionally clear labels corresponding to each part. There are also helpful inset drawings of such things as the brass mouthpiece, the violin bow, the bassoon bocal, varieties of bassoon reeds, and oboe mouthpieces.

This book, I believe, is a must-have for specialists in musical instruments. It also would appeal to professional musicians, composers and conductors. Finally, as a general reader with an amateur interest in music, I found the book rewarding. Having read it through, I find myself going back to it from time to time with pleasure.