Meet The Instruments #5: Shawm 

So, my dad is Catholic and every Christmas we used to go to church and sing Christmas carols and there was this guy who used to SHRED the Shawm during Hark The Herald Angels Sing and it was just such a fantastic sound. Heard so many performances of that carol but nothing beats my dad's church and that dude with the Shawm. More choirs should have Shawms! Fact!

The shawm isn't just the ancestor of the oboe--it's the demon heart of bagpipes! Once unleashed it feeds on the souls of the unworthy and cracks the very earth. It shreds eardrums with decibel levels on par with Manowar.

Very cool, playing a Bard in DND and this is an instrument choice that I had no idea about.

It's a good feeling when you finally find what that particular instrument is that has haunted me in Renaissance and medieval period music. Especially adding in all those different sizes and lengths it all made sense.

Oldboe.

What a gorgeous and haunting instrument!!!!

Fantastic playing. There is nothing quite as moving as the skirl of a full consort of shawms blasting out the sounds you might have heard at a Renaissance tourney or wedding. In fact, my brother and I used to play for Renaissance themed weddings (it was a thing briefly back in the 70s). I had a budding personal collection of krummhorns, shawms, recorders (of course), a bass rackett, a cornemuse, rauschpfeife, a couple sets of bagpipes including a lovely set of gaita gallega (Spain), and several gemshorns, which latter I actually learned to make very good quality examples of, using steer horn, and I used to trade them to local music shops to fund my various acquisitions of other instruments. I had a 7 course renaissance lute custom built, also a very nice Wittmayer harpsichord, and then of course all my modern instruments like classical guitar, Fender bass, Strats, Spanish guitar, all kinds of drums and percussion, a 16 track home recording studio (tape of course), and on and on. In the 70s there were several 'prog' bands that used various early music instruments such as krummhorns, lutes, harpsichord, rebec, bassoon, recorders, bagpipes, hurdy gurdy, mixed with modern instruments. Some of these bands were Amazing Blondel, Gryphon, and Gentle Giant. (You can find their stuff here on YT.) I played in groups like this that mixed electric instruments with all manner of historic and ethnic instruments. You would not believe how difficult it was to get a live mix onstage with all of these disparate sound sources... Also you wouldn't believe how difficult it was just to find many of these instruments to buy. No internet, so you basically had to travel or know people that travelled a lot, attend workshops, not to mention have the funds at hand... ;) I've been involved in early music and ethno music since around 1972, over 50 years! It never gets old!

Not only did I get to learn what this was, but you even played such a beautiful song for me with it. For that you have my thanks. :)

That was great. I always wondered what instrument made that sound in Medieval English music and now I know! I need one!

Why do I keep expecting the barkeep from the Green Dragon to pop out with a tray o' ale and serve Frodo and his friends?

wow i just found this channel how is that possible!!!!

Just discovered this channel. Wonderful stuff :)

Add a bag and some drones and you have a bagpipe. A lot of medieval style German pipes you can get today will have an extra piece that allows you to attach the blowpipe to the chanter to make a shawm.

What a treat to hear these instruments. It must be so amazing to play them! Thank you

Magnifique ! 💚

That was soooo cool - thanx a lot for popping this bit on

Beautiful! Thanks for the demonstration

This is very beautiful!

fantastic...I love it❤

This is become one of my favorites Instruments ^^ !!! Thank you : ) !!!

Delightful. Thanks!

The sound is gorgeous, and your playing of those harmonizing parts is beautiful!

Wonderful! Very warm and rich sound!

Love this sound! Thanks for sharing! Such a high quality video

Beautiful playing in a buoyant compound time Signature...fantastic. thank you

Fabulous! I was in the middle of working an arrangement of Tourdion for our Folk Orchestra courses. You've given me further ideas! Very nicely played, thank you.

Thanks for the intro and beautiful play. I'm curious as to why I found it so enjoyable.

That was awesome, thank you!

Excellent music!!!

Thank you! Wonderful!

Beautiful beautiful beautiful! Lovely instrument, lovely piece of music, and that key mechanism is fascinating and, yes, also lovely! Thanks so much for making this video: as a historical fiction author, videos like this are invaluable. I'm also grateful you explained what a consort means in reference to instruments: that's one of those things I didn't realize I needed to know until I knew it and now I think I'm putting a consort in a future story and I'll be using the term accurately thanks to you! Thanks to every musician out there who makes this type of video.

Wonderful! ❤

I love this

Ι am once more impressed and actually I know this song! I sang it as a member of my primary school choir in Greece. ..and I didn't know French, so it was all about learning the words by heart

I really enjoyed this presentation! Thank you much :)

Bloody brillant

Stick a wind cap on that shawm, tie it into a bag with a blow stick and one or more drone pipes and you have a bagpipe.

Fantastic instrument

I never knew the name of that instrument but now I do. Have always loved the sound of the shawm. Great video.

Superb!

Wow! I started off doing a little enquiry into military music - pipes and drums. Not that I'm into it at all, but who'd have thought while you were putting the video together "two years ago|" it says, that we, the world would find ourselves where we currently are. - Oct 9, 2023. The enquiry evolved out of my perception that a fellow guitar jammer was in effect, weaponizing his instrument by playing so "freakin' loud" no one else can hear themselves. He happens to have his musical beginnings and is still largely involved in Drum 'n Bugle Corps along with being a Bagpiper. I have evolved from a "music is the universal language" orientation, a bit of a peace-nik hippy child -Let the love flow and grow soul. This had me in tears. Thanksgiving Day in Canada. I am so grateful we are still in control of how we use our instruments, resources, gifts and abilities to the degree that we are. Thanks for sharing yours - even to the commenters . . shredding the Shawm, I'll not forget . . .in a Catholic churc. These are the cool things about tolerance, diversity and inclusion. We all come from someplace "different," and its such a gift to see and hear things differently. No money needed to exchange hands to make this any richer an experience than its been. Groovy man!

I was searching for musical instruments used in renaissance era and glad I found this video. Thanks!

Gosh, that's a massive alto! 🫢 Love it!

I expected this to sound more like an oboe, but I'm really hearing more resemblance to the saxophone!

Magnificent

Saisissant ! Cet instrument me parle tout simplement

I liked . Excelent

Oh my this is bad-ass!

Wunderbar ☺️.

This type of music played on these traditional instruments is beautiful -but for some reason it also gives me the creeps. The sound of the horn makes chills go up my spine 🙁

I assume there are people who are now making these instruments nowadays. Strangely in an attempt to create new musical sounds musicians are experimenting with medieval instrument in modern music. There is now a musical genre called Bardcore where modern rock songs are re-interpreted on medieval instruments.

this woman 😍

It's wonderful, it's like being transported back to the Middle Ages.

Wow excellent

It's essentially a 12th Century Oboe w/ a Folksy sound.

Strange coincidence - I came here after listening to Blackmore's Night, wanting to find out more about the shawm. And what do I hear but the tune that their song "Play Minstrel Play" is based on? Excellent video

Fantastic series you have made. :-)

If any of you are interested in making your own there are 3d printer models for it and it sounds similar. Being a double reed instrument you dont really have to worry about the wood harmonics. It takes about 6 hrs of 3d printing and you can use just like the oboe a reed made of plastic straw( ever since I figured out how to make one I never buy oboe reeds( they can get very very expensive seen as not many people play double reed instruments( just to give an idea a clarinet plastic reed coats about $30 for a pack of five v.s a single oboe reed made from cheap splint wood( lasts about 2 weeks with light play) costs anywhere from $80 to a whoping $120. And the straw reed you dont have to worry about the moisture retention. 3d printed shawm costs about $10 for the print. So I have seen a comeback since these started to be 3d printed ( though mainly the sprano and alto( the one you have is a base alto those likely and sadly never will make a comeback as it difficult to make them)

I can practically taste the mead & roast mutton hearing this.

You’d very much enjoy “Vino Tinto” by Tuna Bardos Universidad de Puerto Rico

SCANLAN vs the zombie giant!

very well

Apparently this is also sometimes called a SHALM

Все четверо очень похожи!

It looks like bombard

Love it! My school orchestra has been learning this. Where do you buy these fabulous instruments from? As an oboeist I’d love to play one of these, along with a crumhorn and a racket!!

MORDHAU HALLOWEEN UPDATE!

10kth view!

i wonder if the smaller ones influenced or were inspired from instruments from the east. it kinda reminds me of a chinese instrument ive heard

Would that first one be like a Bass shawm? I used to build baroque oboe instruments and would love to build one of those.

feeling a sudden urge to raise the tribute tax on these peasants

That Alto Shawn sounds like a English Horn.

Is there a specific relationship or ratio between the length and the spacing of the holes?

Where I can buy the little one? What’s it called?

what is the piece of music played ? :)

I just discovered your channel when I wanted to find out what a shawm was. It's mentioned in this tutorial Wolfshäger Hexenbrut - Witches Dance "Schüttel deine Speck" (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vMsEU8P4fKs.html). When the SHAWM is heard the dancers start the tap dance. I used to want to be an ethnomusicologist. Alas, it was the 70s and the US went into recession and there were no jobs to be had. But, your video has my mind blown for another reason. HOW HOW did you slice four videos into one. I've never seen this done before. You framed yourself in the exact same spot and as each instrument of the ensemble was introduced you did this seamlessly like a professional studio. I'm in awe! Can't wait to watch all your videos.

I just saw this video; I don't know how I missed it earlier. A couple of quick comments: 1- I've heard the shawm before, and it always sounded loud and obnoxious; these were quite sweet. Was it the musicians, do you suppose, or was I confusing the shawm with something else? 2- "Fontanelle" is my new favorite word, just for the sound of it. Thank you!

Were these transposing instruments back then ? Did the players use the same fingerings on each, or were the parts written out in concert key and the players had to adapt to each voice of the shawm ?

Help i cant decide if i want to become an astronaut or spend my whole life mastering almost all double reed instruments

It looks like zurna

Are they all Shawms? Just in different ranges?

Shout-out to obad-hai

Can someone say me Where i can get that instrument?

YTP

This is just manual bagpipes

0:14 did she said it right?

It’s like Kenny G. reproducing asexually.

I'm sorry your parents named you Green...