Windmaschine

As Printed on a Score

German for the wind machine, printed on its own line. Because the howl rises in pitch and loudness with the speed of cranking, the part is usually a held note or line shaped with hairpins, telling the player when to crank harder and when to let the drum slow.

How Composers Use It

A sheet of canvas rubbing against a turning slatted drum: slow cranking gives a distant moan, fast cranking a gale. Strauss used it for the airborne ride in Don Quixote and the storm in An Alpine Symphony. It is pure scene-painting, so give it a dramatic reason, shape every gust with dynamics, and let it emerge from and sink back into the orchestra rather than start abruptly.

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