Exploring the
ORCHESTRA
Triangle
Musical Section:
Percussion (<p style="font-weight: 400">Instruments that produce sound by hitting, shaking or scraping. Other instruments in this family include: celesta, chimes, crotales, cymbals, glockenspiel, maracas, marimba, piano, snare drum, Tam Tam, triangle, tambourine, vibraphone, xylophone and lots of others!</p>) . Other instruments in this family: Bass Drum, Celesta, Chimes, Cymbals, Piano, Tambourine, Timpani, Xylophone
About the Triangle
What it looks like
The triangle is a small, shiny metal instrument shaped like, well, a triangle! It makes a high, ringing sound when you hit it with a little stick called a beater.
Composers use the triangle when they want to add a sparkle or twinkle to the sound of a song. Sometimes a player will run the beater around the three sounds of the triangle really quickly to make a longer tinkling sound, called a roll.
If you listen closely to the music in the Harry Potter movies and “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” section in Fantasia, you will hear the triangle creating its special kind of magic!
Did you know?
The triangle isn’t used very often in a piece of music, it’s more like a special effect. If the triangle played constantly, it would lose its magic. So when they do get to play, triangle players have to be careful they don’t play at the wrong time! If a violinist misses one note, not everyone notices. But if the triangle comes in wrong? Everyone hears it.
That’s why triangle players have to be super careful. One wrong note can ruin everything!
How to Play
Both Maestros
The triangle usually hangs from a clip or string so it can ring freely. Holding the stick (called a beater), strike the lower side or corner to get a clear, bright tone. Let the sound ring when the music calls for a long, bright sound or dampen it with your fingers or hand when you need a short note.
Don’t Be a Square! Play the Triangle!
When composer Igor Stravinsky wrote his ballet The Firebird, he wanted the music to feel magical, especially during the scenes with the Firebird herself, so he gave the triangle quick, sparkling notes, like tiny sparks or flashes of firelight.
The triangle player has to strike the triangle quickly with perfect timing. Professional triangle players say this is tricky because you have to keep the notes fast and precise. So in this piece, the triangle may be small but it has a mighty big job!
