History of the Stringed Instrument
Stringed instruments of one type or another are employed in musical activities worldwide. Despite some differences, they share many similarities in their mode of construction and manner of performance. The stringed instrument has a structural and playing adaptability that lends itself well to the rendition of the music of diverse cultures.
The Harp Family of Instruments
The harp is a stringed instrument in which the strings are plucked with the fingers. In different forms it was played by people of nearly all lands throughout the ages.
The oldest stringed instrument that I could find is the Egyptian bow harp, taken from Egyptian mural drawings. It dates back to 3000 B.C and is with some probability the ancestor of modern harps.
Another is a Cycladic marble statue of a harpist from the island of Keros. It was found together with Phoenician idols which points to the possibility that this harp originated in Phoenicia, which is mentioned in Greek literature as one of the countries that in ancient times used triangular stringed instruments. It also dates back to 3000 B.C.
The Kithara originated in ancient Greece, dating back to 490 B.C. The Kithara was a wooden string instrument that was played with a plectrum, which is similar to what we know today as a pick, and was usually made from the horns of animals and shaped into a device that looked similar to a spoon. The early form of the kithara had a rounded base, while the later form had a flat base. The strings of the instrument were mainly made from twisted sheep-gut, although, cord made from flax fibers were sometimes used as well. Early Greek pottery depicts the kithara to have four strings, and later models included...
... middle of paper ...
...carried into the 14th century. During the 13th century, fiddles were invited into the church as part of the musical presentation of the services. The instrument thrived through the 14th century as a primary stringed instrument until the development of the competing vielles and fiddles, which were fretted bowed instruments, easier to play as the musician did not have to be as accurate with his or her finger placement. By the fifteenth century its appeal in the courtly classes was diminishing, and it was regarded as a rustic instrument, suitable mostly for peasant dances. The violin appears around the middle of the century, and slowly supplanted all other bowed stringed instruments. By the end of the 16th century , the rebec was wholly regarded as a plebian instrument, fit only for public streets and taverns. "Dry as a rebec" became a popular derogatory comment.
The Native American flute is the third oldest known musical instrument in the world, with bone flutes dating back over 60,000 years. The first instrument found were drums, then varies whistle were made. Over time, the instrument evolved with many different materials and shapes. And these difference and changes reflect the culture of that time. Virtually, flutes were used all types of hardwoods and softwoods in history.
Since the first person heard the wind whistle through the trees or the sea in a seashell humans have been drawn to sound. Being the oppressive and ingenious species that we are we felt the need to capture these sounds and any others that we could to keep for our own. Eventually people like Pythagoras and gods such as Apollo found that by stretching materials and picking/plucking them that they would produce sounds and that the tighter you stretched these strings the higher the sound would go. These were the early beginnings of the pianoforte.
Wolfe, Joe. "How Do Woodwind Instruments Work?." Music Acoustics. 1994. 2014. Web. April 13, 2014. .
In the 17th Century the French Horn began to become an important brass element to music composers. The Instrument began as an invention based on early hunting horns and has origins first being used in late 16th Century, Western Europe Operas. These horns were monotone until 1753 where a German musician of the name Hampel, invented a use of moveable slides in varying lengths to change the key of the horn. In 1760 it was further developed by the discovery that placing your hand over the bell of the French Horn, lowered the tone called stopping. The St...
It is believed that the Irish brought to the region the fiddle and the pipes. It is believed that the first stringed instrument, the dulcimer was brought by the Germans, Norwegians, Swedish and French. The dulcimer became known as the 1“Hog Fiddle” or “Music Box”.
Body percussion, spoons, washboard, harp. Harmonica, a jug. Bluegrass Music - What is bluegrass music? Direct descendant of the old-time string band tradition, which developed out of Southern mountain dance music & songs. Combines old-time string band music with gospel harmonies & blues rhythms.
Though the formation of our modern-day Concert Band does not date back quite as far as our modern-day Wind Ensemble, the extent of events, groups, composers, and advancements is quite similar. The evolution of the Concert Band dates back to the French Revolution. Large bands, full of unique instruments and amateur musicians, were required to play at festivals and ceremonies. Similar to the evolution of the Wind Ensemble, the Concert Band is derived from military purposes. Instruments, such as the trumpets, horns, and drums, were often used for signaling. In contrast to Wind Ensemble musicians, these Concert Band musicians never played their instruments for military enjoyment. The Concert Band musicians primarily played instruments to signal to the guards and villages. There were a few unique instruments, however, that were desired to play a military tune. These instruments include instruments such as a flute or bagpipe. Throughout the Middle Ages, this difference in military preference led to different job opportunities. For example, a cavalry company required trumpets, horns, and trumpets. On the other hand, foot soldiers would hire flute and bagpipe
Also, with organs of this size, the bellows took up large amounts of space, thus
The clarinet is a woodwind instrament consisting of a cylindrical wood, metal, or ebonite pipe with a bell-shaped opening at one end and a mouthpiece at the other end, to which a thin reed is attached. The clarinet has five different sections, the mouthpiece, the barrel, the upper section, the lower section, and the bell. The length of the entire instrument is 60 cm long. The mouthpiece section consists of a slotted cylinder, to which a reed is attached by a metal clamp called a ligature. The mouthpiece plugs into the next section which is a barrel. The barrel is simply a connecting cylinder to which the mouthpiece and the upper section plugs into. The upper section is a cylindrical pipe consisting of 4 holes and 9 keys placed in different locations along the pipe. On the back of the pipe there is a hole and a key that is used by the thumb. The lower section plugs into the upper section and is also connected via a special bridge key. This piece consists of 3 holes and 8 keys. On the inward facing side of the pipe, there is a protruding piece of metal called a thumb rest, which supports the entire clarinet. The bell plugs into the lower section. It consists of a cylinder that flares out into a bell shape and ends the clarinet.
The saxophone was created by Antoine Joseph Sax, but more popularly regarded as Adolphe Sax in 1846. The Saxophone is the most recent woodwind instrument to have been produced and accepted into music. In 1814 Adolphe Sax was born in Dinant, Belgium. At a young age he learned from his father, who retained his own instrument crafting shop how to make instruments himself. He studied the Flute and Clarinet at the Brussels conservatory in Belgium, and in 1840 Adolphe decided he would make an instrument to cover the middle range of military band music. He wanted a sound similar to the Clarinet, but also with the Brass tone of the Trumpet. He made it a hybrid using a Clarinet mouthpiece, and key work resembling the Oboe’s. In 1842 Adolphe moved to Paris to finish creating the instrument that was soon be appropriately named, the “Saxophone”. He finished making the Saxophone in 1845, and it was soon picked up by several French Orchestral Composers in 1846. Thereafter the Saxophone was being played in many small ...
Music has shaped the lives of people throughout history. Even in its earliest forms, music has included use of instruments. One of the oldest musical instruments known is a variation of the flute; the original flute is thought to date back nearly 67,000 years ago. Tonight we are going to move throughout the eras with a history of instrumental music. This concert will begin with the Renaissance Era and continue through time until we have reached modern instrumental music.
Bie, Oscar. A History of the Pianoforte and Pianoforte Players. trans. by E. E. Kellett
The electric guitar was first made in the Oklahoma. This electric guitar design that was made in Oklahoma was the first of its kind and changed music for everyone. The simplicity of the electric guitar surprised many people. All electric guitars since then have been based on this simple guitar design. Many famous musicians such as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and many other have made electric guitar more affordable and widely available.
Less than a Century old, the modern drum kit is a relatively new instrument, however, the drums have been the driving force and heartbeat of popular music through the times. From the change through marching music, to jazz, big bands and rock, the drums have been used as a means of keeping time, and of musical expression.
Throughout the semester, various styles of music and the aspects of culture associated with these styles have been analyzed. Musical elements such as dynamics, texture, form, timbre, melody, instruments, etc., have been used to thoroughly explore each kind of music from different areas of the world, with an emphasis in music from Africa, India and Indonesia. These aspects of music go far beyond just music itself. Culture also plays a huge role in music and the accompanying musical elements. Each country and culture has a different style and distinctiveness that add to what makes the music of that certain culture unique. Music in Africa may differ dramatically from music in Indonesia or India not only due to those certain elements but also due to how it is interpreted by people and what it represents for those people. In addition to this, what one may consider music in one culture may not be music to another. These differences have been made apparent in the several demonstrations that we have been exposed to in class.