What do we mean by baroque music?

There is no such "one thing" as "baroque music" and there is no such thing as "the baroque period". "Baroque music" is a catch-all term for music composed from about 1600 to about 1760. During this time, nearly all music had a bass line accompaniment filled out with semi-improvised harmony above the bass - the instruments providing this accompaniment were called the continuo section. Pieces of music ranged from unaccompanied solos (eg the Bach cello suites), duets, solo sonatas, trio sonatas, quadros, orchestral pieces right up to large scale operas with integral dancing. One thing that the music was not was simple, delicate or, usually, easy to play. Instruments were played seriously, expertise and talent were highly regarded but most musicians were ranked as belonging to the "servant class", albeit rather specialised. Leading musicians in court employment could be given  extended paid leave of absence to study abroad, in order to bring back new skills and the latest in fashionable music trends. Nearly all performances were of quite new music - old music was mostly forgotten about quite quickly compared with the present day.  Many performances were not public events - music for the many European courts was rarely performed in a modern concert setting. (Baroque opera is a different matter - performances could be grand, expensive, over the top in various ways and open to a paying audience. Here at Dorset Baroque Players we are not ready for that - but who knows....?)

How can I make a start in playing baroque music?
                                                                                              You could try contacting Dorset Baroque Players! The way forward depends on your individual experience, skills and interests and so having a chat without commitment is often a sensible step. It is a good idea to be aware of the possibilities open to you before deciding on purchasing an instrument. For example, if you really fancy playing Hotteterre flute duets on a Hotteterre flute, will you be able to find another flute player whose instrument is also built at a pitch of  A equals 392 hertz? String players might start by stringing a modern instrument with gut, then get a baroque bow before moving on to a baroque bodied instrument - get some advice. Teachers who are professional baroque players are worth hunting out, perhaps before spending money on an instrument, but you might have to travel some distance to find yours. There are short courses aimed at players starting up in baroque playing -  practically all are highly regarded.

  What instrument should I play?
                                                          That depends so much on what you already play. Bear in mind that some instruments were not widely used in the baroque period so playing opportunities could be vanishingly small - eg a chalumeau was basically a special effect instrument and only occasionally used and you won't find any significant amounts of chamber music involving it (sorry clarinettists!). Mainstream instruments are the violin, viola, cello and viola da gamba, the flute, oboe, bassoon and treble recorder, harpsichord, spinet and fortepiano, the theorbo. If you play one of those, finding music to play and others to play with should be straightforward.

Can I play my modern instrument with baroque players?      
                                                                                                                 Modern instruments have evolved from baroque instruments - the important changes from our point of view are in terms of loudness or ability to project in a large concert hall. Baroque music was written to suit the nature of the instruments of the time - mixing them with modern instruments is not usually successful, quite apart from the pitch problem. (If a modern string instrument is set up with gut strings and played with a baroque bow in baroque style then the match with baroque instruments is not too bad, but most players will want to play baroque music on an instrument that feels right for the job. A good quality electronic keyboard might have a harpsichord setting which is worth trying although many are too weak and tinkly.)

What about pitch?
                                           Most baroque players today, including us, play at a pitch a semitone below modern orchestral pitch ( A equals 415 rather than 440 hertz). There are good reasons for this - there's not room here to explain but basically it is a compromise that works well for most baroque music. It's easy to tune modern string instruments down a semitone to fit in. Wind instruments need to be built at that pitch so beware when purchasing since some makers offer copies of early winds at a variety of pitches. A warning to recorder players - most amateur recorder players use instruments at modern pitch A440 so unless you have taken the plunge and bought one at A415 your "baroque treble recorder" won't cope with joining a group of baroque players (unless you can transpose everything down a semitone at sight and at speed!)

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