difference/definition between instrument name suffixes?
Greetings
Not exactly a score question, but my trusty Harvard Dictionary of Music can't answer this one:
What is the difference between -horn and -phone suffixes for instrument names? ex: English horn, flugelhorn, saxophone, xylophone, etc.
Comments
https://www.yamaha.com/en/musical_instrument_guide/horn/structure/
saxophone - It was invented by Adolphe Sax
xylophone - (from the Greek ξύλον - xylon, "wood" and φωνή - phone, "sound")
HTH
In reply to https://www.yamaha.com/en… by Shoichi
Thank you most kindly, but it doesn't really answer my question. i have reference books that identify instruments and their history, but nothing explains the difference between these 2 suffixes.
Perhaps this will help clarify what I'm looking for--why didn't Mr. Sax name his creation a "sax horn"? Or why do we have "English horn" instead of English oboe? (a reed and roughly similar shape to some oboe variants)
In reply to Thank you most kindly, but… by mmserp
Sorry do not know how to help you better but phono, (fono) in Italian is a 'Suffissoide'.
Not so English Horn. But a better answer will come...
In reply to Thank you most kindly, but… by mmserp
Technically speaking, a "horn" is a wind instrument, and in the strictest sense, one with a conical as opposed to cylindrical bore, and where vibrations in the air column are formed by the lips as opposed to a reed. The English horn is not in fact a horn at all, but the term is also used pretty loosely to mean any wind instrument (hence, for example, the JB Horns).
"Phone" just refers to sound. Any instrument or other device that produces sound could potentially have that suffix. Which is why there is a xylophone but also a telephone :-)
Adolphe Sax invented both saxophones and saxhorns - the latter being true horns, and the forerunners of the modern flugelhorn and baritone horns.
In reply to Technically speaking, a … by Marc Sabatella
Yes, yes, this was the kind of information i was hoping for. My reference books are all very good for discussing the "leaves" but not what differentiates parts of the forest. Thank you!
In reply to Yes, yes, this was the kind… by mmserp
You're welcome! As it happens I did a gig last night with a baritone horn player (well, a trumpet player who played baritone horn on one piece) and I got to impress him with this bit of trivia as well :-)