Surprisingly, the first musical instrument is considered to be the person himself, and the sound he makes is his own voice. Primitive people, using their voices, informed their fellow tribesmen about their emotions and transmitted information. At the same time, in order to add brightness to their story, they clapped their hands, stomped their feet, and knocked with stones or sticks. Gradually, ordinary objects surrounding a person began to transform into musical instruments.
According to the method of producing sounds, musical instruments can be divided into percussion, wind and strings. How and when man first began to use objects to create music is unknown. But historians suggest the following development of events.
Percussion instruments were made from carefully dried animal skins and a variety of hollow objects: large fruit shells, large wooden blocks. People hit them with sticks, palms, and fingers. The extracted melodies were used in ritual ceremonies and military operations.
Wind instruments were made from animal horns, bamboo and reed reeds, and hollow animal bones. Such objects became a musical instrument when a person thought of making special holes in them. Remains have been found in southwest Germany ancient flute, whose age exceeds 35 thousand years! Moreover, there are references to such tools in ancient rock paintings.
First string instrument considered a hunting bow. An ancient hunter, pulling the bowstring, noticed that when he plucked it, it began to “sing.” And if you run your fingers along the stretched vein of the animal, it “sings” even better. The sound will be long if the vein is rubbed with animal hair. So a man came up with a bow and a stick with a tuft of hair stretched over it, which was moved along a string made of animal veins.
The most ancient, over 4,500 years old, are the lyre and the harp, which were used by many peoples of that time. Of course, it’s impossible to say exactly what those looked like. vintage instruments, impossible. One thing is clear: musical instruments, albeit quite primitive, were part of the culture of primitive people.
Even tragic fate Dr Robert Ball, who died sounding a Bronze Age metal horn, has not deterred archaeologists from attempting to sound prehistoric and ancient musical instruments. And so from some of the original instruments, after hundreds, thousands and even tens of thousands of years, sounds began to flow again. Numerous replicas and copies of these instruments were also used. But how can we be sure that the sounds produced today are at least partially similar to those heard by people of the distant past? Frankly, it seems to us that the results of experimental archeology in this area will always be problematic. However, we have no other way yet. The most ancient musical instruments that have reached us are bone pipes and flutes. They were found at many Late Paleolithic sites scattered throughout the then inhabited territory. The sounds extracted from them were reflected from the white limestone massifs of the Pavlovsk hills in South Moravia and were heard in the vicinity of present-day Petřkovice. One such tool, originating from the Istalloskö cave in Hungary, is made from the femur of a cave bear. It has two holes on the front and one on the back wall. If this instrument is played like a transverse flute, it produces the tones “A”, “B flat”, “B” and “E”.
The most ancient musical instruments that have come down to us are bone pipes and flutes. They were found at many Late Paleolithic sites scattered throughout the then inhabited territory. The sounds extracted from them were reflected from the white limestone massifs of the Pavlovsk hills in South Moravia and were heard in the vicinity of present-day Petřkovice. One such tool, originating from the Istalloskö cave in Hungary, is made from the femur of a cave bear. It has two holes on the front and one on the back wall. If this instrument is played like a transverse flute, it produces the tones “A”, “B flat”, “B” and “E”.
Archaeologists discovered on the banks of the Desna near Chernigov a whole set of bone musical instruments, which made it possible to form a very decent orchestra 20 thousand years ago. Six musicians could choose to their taste a pipe or syrinx (Pan's flute), a xylophone from the two lower jaws of a mammoth or a drum from a piece of skull, a timpani from the shoulder blade and pelvic bones with a stick from a mammoth tusk, or a rattle from several bone plates. Along with them, a percussionist from Mezin in Ukraine could take part in the concert, for whom a set of carved bones allowed him to play a six-tone scale by striking a stick. Finally, to complete our understanding of the Paleolithic orchestra, let us recall the long-known fresco in the French cave of the Three Brothers (Trois Freres): a hunter dressed in animal skin plays a kind of musical bow, reminiscent of instruments that are still used by some African tribes .
Pan flutes (consisting of several pipes of different lengths) have existed since the Late Paleolithic, but only a few examples have survived. Pipes dating back to the 5th century BC. e., have from four to seven trunks. And a three-thousand-year-old artifact from Poland, found in the burial of an elderly man, consists of nine pipes that make the sounds “do, re, mi, sol, la, do, re, mi, sol.” It is a two-octave pentatonic scale, and if consciously realized as a musical formation, its existence in prehistoric Poland makes a striking impression. At Malhelm Tarn in Yorkshire, English archaeologists discovered a recorder dating back to last centuries before the change of chronology. They managed to extract the tones “C, C sharp and F” from the instrument.
The oldest ocarina, which also belongs to the class of pipes, comes from Austria and was made at the end of the third millennium BC. e. It has a single injection hole and a characteristic oval resonator chamber. She plays “A, B flat, B, C.”
These and similar instruments have a fortunately limited potential sound range. Therefore, based on experiments, we can say with a certain degree of credibility that it was these sounds or some of them that people listened to in prehistoric times.
The next group of wind instruments consists of horns and trumpets various types. Researchers are, in principle, unanimous that the prototype for musical horns was the horns of animals, and the prototype for musical trumpets were tubular bones.
Probably the best known of these instruments are the Late Bronze Age luras. They are made of bronze, their length is from one to two meters. Usually they are paired, and of the same size, but curved in opposite directions. Both instruments were tuned to the same key, and playing two luras at the same time either led to heterophony ("dissonance") or caused accidental harmony (consonance). The first experiments with lurs were carried out by the creator of three centuries of archaeological periodization, Christian Jürgensen Thomsen. Recent research in Denmark has shown that most lurs can produce between seven and nine tones, which is likely to be within the capabilities of Bronze Age musicians. Professional trumpeters, using all sorts of tricks, even played sixteen tones. Mouthpieces on lurs come in a variety of varieties and are not very convenient for playing music. Likewise, shortcomings in processing internal parts instruments force us to express an opinion about the relative indifference of ancient musicians to the purity of musical expression - we judge this, of course, from a modern point of view.
Next musical instrument large sizes is an Iron Age Celtic horn originating from Ardbreen in Ireland. Its height is almost two and a half meters. It narrows approximately to the middle like a bell, and then takes the shape of a cylinder, ending abruptly without any mouthpiece rounding. The instrument was voiced using a simple metal mouthpiece; it produced three tones: B flat, F, B flat. It is curious that without a mouthpiece the experimenter was able to extract as many as seven tones. The sounds of this horn are like two peas in a pod to the sounds extracted from the paired Danish lur from Brudevelte.
The largest "family" of metal horns survives in Ireland. They date back to approximately 900-600 BC. e. We know almost a hundred instruments, of which twenty-five can be voiced. There are two types of horns. In some, air is blown in at the end, in others - from the side. Archaeologists have not yet discovered a single mouthpiece from instruments with a hole in the side. Therefore, it is not certain that mouthpieces were even used in this embodiment. Each of these horns can produce a single tone, but their overall range extends from G to D sharp. The lowest tone (produced by an eighty-centimeter horn) is salt. This is followed by a group of horns sounding A and A sharp. Finally, half-meter horns gave C sharp, D, D sharp. Horns in which air is blown from the end turned out to be much more musical. The experimenter was able to extract four tones from some of them.
The low quality and stability of the tones extracted from Irish horns suggests that the main thing for both listeners and performers was, first of all, the very existence of these huge, majestic instruments, and not the specific sounds they produced.
John Coles notes that the total noise that would have been produced if all twenty-four horns and twice as many rattles had sounded simultaneously at the Dauris site in Central Ireland would undoubtedly have awakened the living and the dead.
Next group prehistoric instruments made up of clay and metal rattles.
How easy it is to make them sound, and how little they contribute to the understanding of ancient music! Clay rattles have existed since the Neolithic. The Neolithic also adds ceramic drums. Replicas of two of them, made by experimenters based on finds in the Czech Republic (the heads were covered with cowhide), produced such loud, piercing sounds that they were undoubtedly used only in open space. At the same time, the height of the drums did not exceed 20 and 26 cm, respectively.
Of a different kind percussion instruments ancient musicians made them from bones, turtle shells and shells, which they struck with their hands or sticks. A model of such an instrument, based on Mayan frescoes, produced three different tones depending on which parts of the shell were struck.
Did you know that several years ago archaeologists discovered the oldest musical instrument? Do you think this is some kind of fossilized primitive proto-drum or prehistoric double bass from a mammoth skull? No matter how it is! Hurry up - under the cut!
It turns out that the most ancient musical instrument is
it's a flute!
In 2009, in one of the caves in southwestern Germany, archaeologists found the remains of an instrument reminiscent of the familiar flute:
Its age is more than 35 thousand years. This flute is 21.8 cm long and only 8 mm thick. Five round holes were punched in the body, which were closed with fingers, and at the ends there were two deep V-shaped cuts.
This flute, as you probably already guessed, is made not of wood, but of bone - here the opinions of scientists differ: some say that it is a bone from a swan's wing, others - a griffon vulture. This is the oldest, although not the first discovery of such a tool. Researchers believe that southwest Germany is the site of one of the first settlements of our European ancestors who came from Africa. Now they make assumptions that our prehistoric ancestors had a well-developed musical culture. ()
In general, flutes are not the only thing that archaeologists find. Among the ancient musical instruments in different times found: bone pipes and flutes, animal horns, pipes made of shells, drums made of animal skins, rattles made of stone and wood, musical [hunting] bows. The oldest musical instruments (flutes and tweeters) were found on the territory of modern Hungary and Moldova, and date back to the Paleolithic era - approximately 2522 thousand years BC, and the oldest musical notation - the 18th century BC, was found during excavations Sumerian city of Nippur (territory of modern Iraq).
During excavations of the site of primitive hunters in Ukraine, interesting discoveries were made. At the site of the plague they found a whole “orchestra”; there were so many ancient musical instruments there. Pipes and whistles were made from bone tubes. Rattles and rattles were carved from mammoth bones. Dry leather covered the tambourines, which hummed when struck by a mallet.
Obviously, the melodies performed on such musical instruments were very simple, rhythmic and loud. In one of the caves in Italy, scientists found footprints on fossilized clay. The tracks were strange: people either walked on their heels or jumped on tiptoes on both legs at once. This is easy to explain: a hunting dance was performed there. The hunters danced to menacing and exciting music, imitating the movements of powerful, dexterous and cunning animals. They chose words to the music and in songs they talked about themselves, about their ancestors, about what they saw around them.
Gradually more advanced musical instruments appeared. It turned out that if you stretch the skin over a hollow wooden or clay object, the sound will become louder and stronger. This is how the ancestors of drums and timpani were born. (
The first musical instrument, the shepherd's pipe, was made by the god Pan. One day on the shore, he exhaled through the reeds and heard his breath, passing along the trunk, produce a sad lamentation. He cut the trunk into unequal parts, tied them together, and now he had his first musical instrument!1899 Mikhail Alexandrovich Vrubel “Pan”
The truth is that we cannot name the first musical instrument, since everything primitive people all over the world, it seems, music of one kind or another was being created. It was usually music with some kind of religious meaning, and the audience became participants in it. They danced, drummed, clapped and sang along with her. This wasn't just done for fun. This primitive music was a significant part of people's lives.
The legend of Pan and the reed suggests how man came up with the idea of making so many different musical instruments. He may have imitated the sounds of nature or used the objects around him to create his music.
The first musical instruments were percussion instruments (like a drum). 
Later man invented wind instruments made from animal horns. From these primitive wind instruments, modern brass instruments developed. As man developed his musical sense, he began to use reeds and thus produced more natural and gentle sounds. 
In 2009, an expedition led by archaeologist Nicholas Conard from the University of Tübengen discovered the remains of several musical instruments. During excavations in the Hols Fels cave in Germany, scientists discovered four bone flutes. The most interesting find is a 22-centimeter flute, which is 35 thousand years old.
The flute has 5 holes for producing sounds and a mouthpiece.
These finds show that Neanderthals already knew how to make musical instruments. This circumstance allows us to look at the world differently primitive man, it turns out that music played an important role in his world.
Finally, man invented a simple lyre and harp, from which came bowed instruments. The lyre was the most significant string instrument Ancient Greece and Rome along with the cithara. According to myth, the lyre was invented by Hermes. To make it, Garmes used a tortoise shell; for the antelope horn frame.
In the Middle Ages, the crusaders brought many amazing oriental musical instruments from their campaigns. Combined with folk instruments that already existed in Europe at that time, they developed into many instruments that are now used to play music.
http://www.kalitvarock.ru/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=869&p=7935
http://www.znajko.ru/ru/kategoria4/233-st31k3.html
http://otvet.mail.ru/question/14268898/
23.09.2013
The history of the emergence of Russian folk instruments goes back to the distant past. Frescoes of the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, iconographic materials, miniatures handwritten books, popular prints indicate the diversity of the musical instruments of our ancestors. Ancient musical instruments discovered by archaeologists are genuine material evidence of their existence in Rus'. In the recent past daily life The Russian people were unthinkable without musical instruments. Almost all of our ancestors owned the secrets of making simple sound instruments and passed them on from generation to generation. Introduction to the secrets of craftsmanship was instilled from childhood, in games, in work feasible for children's hands. By watching their elders work, teenagers acquired their first skills in creating the simplest musical instruments. Time passed. The spiritual connections of generations were gradually broken, their continuity was interrupted. With the disappearance of folk musical instruments that were once ubiquitous in Russia, mass participation in the national musical culture.
Nowadays, unfortunately, there are not many craftsmen left who have preserved the traditions of creating the simplest musical instruments. In addition, they create their masterpieces only according to individual orders. The production of instruments on an industrial basis is associated with considerable financial costs, hence their high cost. Not everyone can afford to buy a musical instrument today. That is why there was a desire to collect in one article materials that will help everyone who wants to make this or that instrument with their own hands. Around us large number familiar materials of plant and animal origin, which we sometimes do not pay attention to. Any material will sound if touched by skillful hands:
From a nondescript piece of clay you can make a whistle or an ocarina;
Birch bark, removed from a birch trunk, will turn into a large horn with a squeak;
A plastic tube will acquire sound if you make a whistle device and holes in it;
From wooden blocks and plates you can make many different percussion instruments.
Based on publications about Russians folk instruments and experience different people In their production, recommendations have been drawn up that may be useful in the process of working on them.
* * *
For many peoples, the origin of musical instruments is associated with the gods and lords of thunderstorms, blizzards and winds. The ancient Greeks credited Hermes with the invention of the lyre: he made the instrument by stringing strings over a tortoise shell. His son, the forest demon and patron of shepherds, Pan was always depicted with a flute consisting of several stalks of reeds (Pan's flute).
German fairy tales often mention the sound of a horn, and Finnish fairy tales often mention the sound of a five-string kantele harp. In Russian fairy tales, to the sounds of horns and pipes, warriors appear against whom no force can resist; the miraculous samogud harp plays itself, sings the songs themselves, and makes you dance without rest. In Ukrainian and Belarusian fairy tales Even animals began to dance to the sounds of bagpipes (duda).
Historian, folklorist A.N. Afanasyev, author of the work “Poetic views of the Slavs on nature,” wrote that various musical tones, born when the wind blows in the air, identify “expressions for wind and music”: from the verb “to blow” came - duda , pipe, blow; Persian. dudu - the sound of a flute; German blasen - to blow, winnow, trumpet, play a wind instrument; whistle and harp - from buzz; buzz - a word used by Little Russians to designate the blowing wind; compare: sopelka, sipovka from sopati, snuffle (hiss), hoarse, whistle - from whistle.
The sounds of brass music are created by blowing air into the instrument. The blowing of the wind was perceived by our ancestors as coming from the open mouths of the gods. The fantasy of the ancient Slavs brought together the howling of a storm and the whistling of winds with singing and music. This is how legends about singing, dancing, and playing musical instruments arose. Mythical performances, combined with music, made them a sacred and necessary part of pagan rituals and holidays.
No matter how imperfect the first musical instruments were, they nevertheless required musicians to be able to make and play them.
Over the centuries, the improvement of folk instruments and the selection of the best samples have not stopped. Musical instruments took on new forms. Design solutions for their manufacture, methods for extracting sounds, and playing techniques arose. Slavic peoples were creators and guardians of musical values.
The ancient Slavs honored their ancestors and glorified the Gods. The glorification of the Gods was performed in front of sacred goddesses in temples or under open air. Rituals in honor of Perun (god of thunder and lightning), Stribog (god of the winds), Svyatovid (god of the Sun), Lada (goddess of love), etc. were accompanied by singing, dancing, playing musical instruments and ending with a general feast. The Slavs revered not only invisible deities, but also their habitats: forests, mountains, rivers and lakes.
According to researchers, the song and instrumental art of those years developed in close interrelation. Perhaps ritual chants contributed to the birth of instruments with the establishment of their musical structure, since temple prayer songs were performed with musical accompaniment.
The Byzantine historian Theophylact Simokatta, the Arab traveler Al-Masudi, and the Arab geographer Omar ibn Dast confirm the existence of musical instruments among the ancient Slavs. The latter writes in his “Book of Precious Treasures”: “They have all kinds of lutes, harps and pipes...”
In “Essays on the History of Music in Russia from Ancient Times to the End of the 18th Century,” Russian musicologist N.F. Findeizen notes: “It is absolutely impossible to allow that the ancient Slavs, who had a communal life, whose religious rites were extremely developed, varied and were furnished with decorative splendor, would not have been able to make their own musical instruments, completely regardless of whether there were similar instruments in neighboring areas."
There are few references to ancient Russian musical culture.
Musical art of Kievan Rus
According to researchers, in Kievan Rus The following musical instruments were known:
Wooden pipes and horns (for military and hunting);
Bells, clay whistles (ritual);
Pan flute, consisting of several reed tubes of different lengths fastened together (wind ritual);
Gusli (string);
Sopel and flute (arshine-length wind instruments);
Materials used in preparing this article:
If you want to always learn about new publications on the site in a timely manner, then subscribe to