Triangles

The triangle was my percussion teacher's favourite instrument. He pointed out that even when every instrument in an orchestra is playing at full belt, you can still hear the humble triangle above everything...a sonic butter-knife.
 
In my last concert band/perc ensemble concert I played the triangle in every song, but one. (I was playing other things besides the triangle also.)
 
Great sound all right. I don't use one and never have. I do carry several cowbells and a ouiro
with me just in case.
 
Triangles are cool but I keep loosing them. They just dissapear! They were made by a company in Bermuda. . .
 
Hi All

I presume there is a big difference beetween my £13 stagg triangle and the grover ones mentioned above for £125 ?

nealio
 
it sounds like a silly question i just wanted to know the difference , youre probably correct about the metals.

nealio
 
I presume there is a big difference beetween my £13 stagg triangle and the grover ones mentioned above for £125 ?

The type of metal used, as well as the manufacturing technique. Most "cheap" triangles are made with a steel of some kind. Steel is harsh-sounding, and when a steel rod is bent, the resonance gets reduced. Other metal alloys have more "complex" overtones, and when certain chosen softer alloys get used in triangles, their resonance isn't reduced as much, and the bending of the triangle itself is used to "fine tune" the overtones.

...I have no scientific basis or resources to back this claim, but this is how it was explained to me by a Black Swamp representative. All you have to do is play on the different triangles to hear the difference, and the difference is BIG. It's kind of like comparing a nickel-silver cymbal to a B20 bronze cymbal.
 
Since a big part of playing a triangle is how you hold and mute it, are folks hanging one on their kit and hitting it with sticks? Or playing separately as in a concert band?
 
Since a big part of playing a triangle is how you hold and mute it, are folks hanging one on their kit and hitting it with sticks? Or playing separately as in a concert band?

Yeah. I'm curious just how and when you play it. I can understand some songs might have a specific triangle part, but in general, do you just play it as an accent here and there? About how often do you hit it? Once a night or in every song?
 
I never hit mine with a stick. That sounds terrible. Always use a triangle beater.

When doing musical productions, I usually mount the triangle out of necessity, but always in a way that I can strike it in the proper place and at the proper angle so that the overtones are consonant. Other than having to mount it sometimes, holding it is the preferred way to play it.
 
Caddy, are there particular triangles you'd recommend? I have a couple of cheapos that I sometimes use in home recording and wouldn't mid upgrading.
 
Triangles...I never even considered them for my kit...I do love the tone....I'm wondering where I would incorporate them in the music I play.

Caddy, I know this is a silly question, but IYO, would you say that the majority of your triangle playing is a single strike at an opportune time, or would you say that you more often play multiple notes on them? If it is multiple notes, do you cut the triangle note short by muting as part of a multiple note figure, or do you let the note sing out? Also if it is multiple notes, do you play them with both hands? Sorry for the dumb questions. When I think of triangle, I think of a single note, placed in a great spot, but I am not very familiar with triangle playing as a whole.
 
Thanks D, just checked them out and also some forum talk about them - definitely on my shopping list.

Larry, I've seen fusion percussionists play syncopated 16ths on triangle tapping with the beater (held in the RH) back and forth between two sides. The weight of the triangle was carried by the string dangling from the left thumb and the left hand fingers muted and opened. The sensation it created was similar to playing 16ths on the hats with syncopated open/close, except the sound was more clear and bright.

They also sound great when the recording is played backwards.
 
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