Tible (shawm)

Technical description: Perhaps a fruit wood with german silver keys. There is a ferrule at the bell socket possibly made of bone and a wide (c2cm) metal ferrule at the middle socket. There is a narrow ferrule at the reed well. There are four large vent holes in the bell. The touch holes are exceptionally large. The LO lowB key stands closed and must be opened with all the other keys closed to play the B. With the key closed the note is B♭. The exact usage of the keys for L4 and R4 is difficult to determine without playing the instrument. The reading below assumes the lowC♯ alt is a fork fingering depressing this key depresses the lowB key next to it. The F♯ is played with R1 and the R3 key together. L0: lowB. L1: PP. L2: T. L3: T; B♭. L4: G♯; Low B; lowC♯-alt. R0: sup. R1: T; C. R2: T. R3: T; F♯. R4: E♭; lowC♯; lowC. Keymount type: pillars. Keyhead type: mustard spoon. Conical shawm, roughly 50 cm long, found in the regions of Southern and Northern Catalonia (in Northern Spain and Southern France respectively). The invention of the tible is attributed to the Perpignan based Andreu Toron mid-19th century as he added keys to the traditional tarota, though the exact history of the instrument is still unclear. Modern tibles have two holes in the bell for added resonance. It is ideally suited for outdoor performances due to its loudness and piercing timbre. In cobla orchestras, the tible accompanies and complements its tenor counterpart, the tenora, which a plays a fifth below the tible.