What You Need to Know About the Triangle Instrument

Setting my mind on a musical instrument was like falling in love. All the world seemed bright and changed. William Christopher Handy

If you are in the mood to fall in love with a percussion instrument, change your world by learning how to play the instrument triangle. You may frown at the thought of learning how to play the triangle since you may have heard all about the flack that people who play this instrument get.

In fact, there is a common misconception that the instrument triangle is rather easy to play. With regard to this, many people even claim that playing the instrument is not interesting at all.

Well, you can believe this without even giving the instrument a try or you can consider dancing to your own tune, and learning how to play the triangle anyway. Once you pick up the triangle, you will start to understand how unfair this misconception is to all the triangle instrument players.

While going around rebuking the triangle is easy, once you start tracing its illustrious history, you will begin to understand how vital the triangle instrument is in the musical orchestra scene. You may even uncover how magical this instrument is.

The triangle is not necessarily an instrument for beginner percussion instrument players, as you need to learn advanced technique to be able to play it. To begin the journey with the triangle instrument, its best to get cracking so you can clear all the doubt that you may have about this interesting instrument.

More About the Triangle Instrument

The triangle is a percussion instrument made up of a steel rod bent in such a way that it forms a triangle.  To produce a sound, you ought to strike the triangle with a metal beater. This action produces a sound in a similar way like all the other percussion instruments such as the marimba and the xylophone.

In fact, the triangle just like the handpan,  can also be called an idiophone. Most idiophones are instruments that vibrates when struck.

The triangle has one incomplete side. One side of the three-sided instrument is left open due to the fact that if all the sides were closed, the triangle would make a single sound only.

When a triangle is struck, it produces many overtones and harmonies which is what makes the instrument so unique in terms of the way it sounds.

The triangle instrument is held by the loop at the top, this is so that the striking action doesn't mute the instrument in its entirety.

Can you hear the sounds that are drawing you closer to wanting to play the triangle instrument?

If you are interested in finding out what genre of music the triangle is associated with, we would like to inform you that this instrument has featured in classical music in the third movement of Brahms's Fourth Symphony. So if anyone says that learning how to play the triangle instrument is worthless, ask them to analyse the ethereal effect that the triangle has on Brahms's masterpiece.

The History of the Triangle Musical Instrument

Part of your challenge with the triangle musical instrument is tracing the history of the instrument so that you can appreciate it all the more.

Why do you think the triangle musical instrument has such a rich and interesting history?

For one, like other instruments such as the handpan, the history of the musical triangle goes back hundreds of years.

Truth be told, images of the triangle were seen in medieval editions of the Bible. Hence, we can assume that the triangle has been played for a variety of religious purposes as well.  Not only are images of this musical instrument seen in the Bible but since the 14th centaury, images of the triangle musical instrument were depicted in artworks across Europe too.

Whether you are religious or not, you have to admit that an instrument with such a rich religious history is one to take note of.

Facts About The Musical Triangle

Did you know that a popular Turkish band used to play the musical triangle? To be honest, the Turkish royals had bodyguards that were called janissaries.  These body guards used to play all sorts of percussion instruments and almost anything that could be strung would be considered a percussion instrument.

While this may not be how the musical triangle came about, it is a great story to pass on. The story is one that basically says that playing the triangle is a way of mimicking the janissaries.

Another interesting fact is that triangle percussion instruments were also not always shaped like triangles.

Sounds weird to hear that an instrument that became known for its triangular shape wasn't always shaped like a triangle, doesn't it?

While pictures of this the musical triangle were featured in religious books, the instrument was actually trapezoid in shape. When it did look like a triangle in older paintings, it was a fully closed triangle.

Having said that, triangle instruments can be easy to play. However, it is the technique to playing the musical triangle well that is the real challenge. Even the pieces written for being played on the triangle are often complex.

Lastly, while the musical triangle has quite a dated history, this instrument is still played in contemporary music. So much so that the musical triangle now comes in various different sizes and shapes.

You can now choose to play the triangle in five inches or even six inches. If you are looking to play a larger triangle instrument, you can even choose to play on of eight inches.

If the instrument has advanced considerably, you may be wondering if all the other percussion instruments have advanced with the times as well.

Triangle Instrument Music Classes

Are you willing to dispel the myth that the triangle music instrument is not just a toy?

Perhaps its time that you get mesmerised by the mood that the triangle creates when it is played. In order to play this instrument, you need to ensure that you that you master the technique to play it well.

Attending a music class may mean that you will learn the different techniques to play triangle instrument music.

The three main techniques that you would learn from your music teacher are:

•  the basic strike
• the roll, and
• the muted bossa nova technique.

Even before you master any of these techniques, you need to know how to hold the instrument. The main step is to attach the triangle to a triangle holder. You start by looping the string on the open corner. Thereafter, you simply need to pull the string onto the nearest closed corner.

You need to hold the triangle with your non-dominant hand and use your dominant hand to strike the instrument. Once you strike the musical triangle with a beater, you have to return your hand to its original position.

Knowing these tips and tricks are just a drop in the ocean in terms of what you can learn from a qualified music instructor. In fact, a music teacher may even teach you how to play other percussion instruments. You may want to find out more about how to play the tambourine or even how to play the marimba.

The Perks of Relying on a Triangle Teacher?

There is certainly no denying that you will gain much value when you rely on a triangle teacher to help you learn all the styles to play this instrument.

It may be quite a challenge to find the right person to teach you how to play the musical triangle, especially since there are only a few teachers who actually teach the triangle.

While doing a search on the Superprof website, you may find a percussion teacher who is willing to devote many lessons to teaching you how to play this percussion instrument. Since the triangle is a percussion instrument, you would reap all the benefits of leaning from a percussion teacher as well.

In fact, a good starting point would be to narrow down your Superprof search by searching for a percussion tutor specifically. The triangle might have taken about century to become a popular orchestra music instrument, however, there is no reason why you should take a decade deciding if triangle music classes are for you or not.

The fact that you may be considering wanting to play the triangle in the first place is reason enough not to delay your triangle musical learning journey any further.

Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent. Victor Hugo

Remain silent no longer about your wish to play the triangle musical instrument, reach out to a percussion music tutor of your choice and soon you will be able to let the music from your triangle speak for you.