What is a “Silbato” in the score?

The world of music has become small. When I was a music dealer in the 70s, hardly any music from Spanish publishers was played in Austria. Perhaps European editions were rare in America and perhaps Japanese editions were completely unknown? Today compositions from Australia to South America are included in many concert programmes.

But what happens if terms appear in the score in foreign-language printed editions that are not familiar to the domestic user, i.e. the conductor? For example, what is a “Silbato” in a Spanish edition? Or a “mokugyo” in French music? Are you familiar with a “Matraca” in Portuguese like a “Bastone” in Italian?

In these cases the database “Abbreviations/Lexicon” will help you: Just enter the term “Silbato” in the line “Full text search” and you will immediately receive the information that this is a whistle. You will also see the translation into the other languages used by our database. Many links lead you to further information about the instrument.

Another form of application would be this: You have seen a post horn shaped instrument with finger holes. You would like to know what the instrument is called and whether there are notes for it. In this case, enter in the “full text search”: post horn. In the list of results you will find the instrument “Clarin trumpet” and you can look up the notes for it by clicking on the link “Works with…”.

Maybe an effective help for your work?

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