History:Instrument Tree/Requests

Status, (as don would say): AdvancedInstrumentTree is now implemented! Go a head and to discuss instruments and suggest new ones!

Discuss Instrument additions and instrument addition wishes here. please use trac to add the request, (assign it to either luks or ZaphodBeeblebrox) when decided upon.

A new instrument can be added only when it is used on at least 5 regular, proper releases. live or album ok
Please supply as much information about the instrument as possible, mo will probably ask for more information about the instrument if none is given. The best way to get your pet instrument added is by doing some research, give a short concise explanation on what it is, and providing ample links.

Please also do a second search in the Instrument list to make sure it is not already there : )

List

• list begins here
  • Music(al) box: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_box. Only have one case so far: Steve Thorne's EMO1 - so perhaps we should wait for more occurrences. This is probably something for the "Other instruments" section. -- Shepard 14:31, 25 February 2007 (UTC)
    • I don't know about Music Boxes really, to me it seems like less of an instrument and more like "instrument, composition(melody), medium(fex vinyl) and medium-player all wrapped up in one thing". I am not sure here to be honest. ~mo

• • Piccolo trumpet: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piccolo_trumpet - and again I only have one case on an album by the same artist. ;) -- Shepard 13:55, 03 June 2007 (UTC)
  • Electronic drum set: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_drum - as sub element of Drum set. I think there are enough examples where this is used. -- Shepard 13:31, 04 June 2007 (UTC)

Discussion

Synths

Why shouldn't particular types of synth be added? They're frequently listed on CDs and some people care what type of synth was played. Why not make them subtypes of 'Synthesizer'. PaulSharpe

• Because it's impossible to keep up with them all, especially considering the protracted process by which new instruments need to go through before they are added. I've said time and time again that this is all NUTS - what we need are a few (50 tops) instrument/role macro-categories, and then a free text field by which users can input qualifiers. Eg: "Synthesizer [[[Mini Moog|MiniMoog]]]". --Gecks
  • Free text fields are not possible in the current AdvancedRelationships implementation. (And also I think a mixture of a list and free text is counter productive, but well..) You guys are just too impatient. :) Let mo finish his job of restructuring the tree and after that he will create a wiki page to make the process of adding instruments much faster. Noone will die inbetween. And it will prevent total chaos to do it structured and in this order. --Shepard

The number of different synths produced numbers in the several hundreds. Roland alone has made well over 100 different synths and tone generators. Do you want to start listing all of those? That's a slipperly slope to be on. Besides, they are just models and brands. In the end the artist is still playing a synthesizer. If we start listing those then to be consistent we'd have to list the brand and model of all of the other instruments. Does it matter that Jaco Pastorius played a Fender Precision Bass on most of his albums or can we be content to know that he played electric bass guitar? Likewise, does it really matter that Lyle Mays played a Korg Triton and a Steinway Grand on the last Pat Metheny album or is knowing that he played synthesizer and piano enough? MattPerry

Dancing

• Dancing - Occasionally, I stumble upon releases and tracks which have someone credited as "dancer" or with "dancing"
  • Stepdancing - I also see step dancing every now and then (actually, probably more often than simply dancing). --FrederikSOlesen 2007-04-17T07:52:33CEST (I will provide links to releases with these credits as soon as I get around making that WikiPage I talked about yesterday in IRC.)
  • maybe Tapdancing, which is apparently a subtype of Stepdancing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Step_dancing) - on Who Used to Dance (actually represented as "percussion instruments performed by Savion Glover"), and probably a lot more releases (Musicals' stuff).

• I'm not really sure there is a point in crediting things that don't have a relation with the recorded sound (eg: "My mother made the cookies"), and possibly we may define this "instrument" only when it actually has a "part"? -- dmppanda 09:09, 17 April 2007 (UTC)
  • Well, all the dancing credits I thought of in my above proposal actually have a "part" in the sound picture. Step dance in particular is used in "Celtic" music for percussion, in line with bodhrán, bones, and spoons. -- FrederikSOlesen 13:02, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Failed, and why

• Indian Strings NOTE: will not be added as it is to generic - what should we use when it's listed on a CD as an instrument then? -- Then try to find out exactly what kind of Indian stringed instrument it is. See: http://chandrakantha.com/articles/indian_music/instruments.html
• Tabla (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabla) already here, see Goblet Drum
• Guitar Synthesizer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guitar_synthesizer) This shouldn't be added either. Just because you added a MIDI pickup to your guitar it doesn't change the fact that you're still playing a guitar.
• E-mu Synthesizer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-mu) This is just a brand of synth. It should not be added.
• Yamaha DX7 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DX7) This is just a brand and model of synth. It should not be added.
• Cymbalum http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cymbalum already in here, see list : )

Recently Added

• Theorbo, Théorbe, Tiorba
• Bass pedals
• The Dohol (http://www.iranmusic.tv/instruments/)
• Low whistle
  • under category "Tin whistle"