Crossword clues for celesta
celesta
- Percussion instrument
- Sugar Plum Fairy's instrument to dance to
- Pianolike percussion instrument
- Piano's cousin
- Piano's kin
- Keyboard instrument heard in "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy"
- Instrument whose name comes from the Latin for "heavenly"
- Instrument from the French for "heavenly"
- Heavenly sounding keyboard
- Glockenspiel relative
- Glockenspiel cousin
- "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" keyboard instrument
- Relative of the organ
- Piano relative
- Keyboard instrument with bell-like tones
- Relative of a glockenspiel
- "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" instrument
- A musical instrument consisting of graduated steel plates that are struck by hammers activated by a keyboard
- It sounds like a glockenspiel
- Small keyboard instrument
- Something on which one can play back some offbeat selections
- Select a different instrument
- Instrument this French alto carries in case
The Collaborative International Dictionary
celesta \celesta\ n. (Mus.) a musical instrument consisting of graduated steel plates that are struck by hammers activated by a keyboard.
Wiktionary
alt. (context musical instruments English) a musical instrument consisting principally of a set of graduated steel plates struck with hammers that are activated by a keyboard. n. (context musical instruments English) a musical instrument consisting principally of a set of graduated steel plates struck with hammers that are activated by a keyboard.
WordNet
n. a musical instrument consisting of graduated steel plates that are struck by hammers activated by a keyboard
Wikipedia
The celesta or celeste is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. It looks similar to an upright piano (four- or five- octave), or a large wooden music box (three-octave). The keys connect to hammers that strike a graduated set of metal (usually steel) plates suspended over wooden resonators. Four- or five-octave models usually have a pedal that sustains or damps the sound. The three-octave instruments do not have a pedal because of their small "table-top" design. One of the best-known works that uses the celesta is Tchaikovsky's "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" from The Nutcracker.
The sound of the celesta is similar to that of the glockenspiel, but with a much softer and more subtle timbre. This quality gave the instrument its name, celeste meaning "heavenly" in French.
The celesta is a transposing instrument; it sounds one octave higher than the written pitch. Its (four-octave) sounding range is generally considered as C4 to C8, where C4 = middle C. The original French instrument had a five-octave range, but because the lowest octave was considered somewhat unsatisfactory, it was omitted from later models. The standard French four-octave instrument is now gradually being replaced in symphony orchestras by a larger, five-octave German model. Although it is a member of the percussion family, in orchestral terms it is more properly considered as a member of the keyboard section and usually played by a keyboardist. The celesta part is normally written on two bracketed staves, called a grand staff.
Usage examples of "celesta".
Anyway, the Mary Celesta was found adrift in the middle of the Atlantic, with the table set for dinner, but the entire crew was missing.
There were about four pianos scattered throughout the big house to say nothing of the celesta, the organ, guitars, mandolins, fiddles and what not.
Sometimes when it was too hot they brought the celesta or the little organ into the garden (and a keg of beer, naturally) and we'd sit around in the dark laughing and singing - until the neighbours forced us to stop.
And when things got going, three or four pianos at once, the celesta, the organ, the mandolins, the guitars, beer running through the halls, the mantelpieces full of sandwiches and cigars, a breeze coming through from the garden, George Neumiller stripped to the waist and modulating like a fiend, it was better than any show I've ever seen put on and it didn't cost a cent.
He nodded to Viola (Hypolydian Duet) Toccata, whom he knew only slightly, and was introduced to Celesta and Clarino, both of the Psalm chord, who nodded gravely to him.