It is believed that music appeared when the first people appeared. Its oral form, that is, song, was present in the life of our ancient ancestors. Modern scientists suggest that music has been around for about 50,000 years. Now, firmly rooted in human hearts, it has become an integral part of our lives.
The oldest copy of a musical instrument was found during excavations in Germany. It lay next to sculptures that date back to 35,000-40,000 BC. It was a flute. Its thickness does not exceed 8 mm, and its length is 21.8 cm. There are 5 holes punched in the case, which were closed with the fingers when playing.
Archaeologists were lucky enough to find another remains of ancient musical instruments - tweeters and flutes dating back to the Paleolithic era - on the territory of modern Moldova and Hungary.
Music was an integral part of the life of the ancient Greeks. Even its name itself comes from Greek language. Popular musical instruments here were:
- aulos - a wind instrument consisting of two conical or cylindrical pipes;
- lyre and cithara - strings plucked instruments, made in the form of a curved frame and strings (the cithara had more of them than the lyre);
- Syringa is a variation of the multi-barrel flute, a wind instrument consisting of a series of connected tubes.
The most ancient Chinese instruments Guqin and bamboo flute are considered. Traditionally, tools in China are classified according to the material from which they are made. Stone, wooden, leather, silk, bamboo, pumpkin and clay musical instruments still exist there.
In India, music is inextricably linked with dance. This country is the homeland musical theater. The oldest musical instrument found in India is the basalt lithophone, which is 3,000 years old.
Ancient civilizations such as Egypt, Greece, Mesopotamia, India and China made enormous contributions to the development of music and musical instruments. Evidence of the presence of music in Ancient Egypt lyrics written in hieroglyphs on papyri and tomb walls appear. Popular subjects for them were hymns to the gods and women's songs of lament over the dead. The music was mainly of a religious nature. In Babylon, temple music performed by priests and secular music performed by slave musicians also developed at an intensive pace.
After thousands of years, music is still one of the most popular and beloved arts. It is difficult to meet a person who does not love music - there is a style and instrument for everyone.
If you want not just to listen to music, but also to create it, understand it, learn to express yourself through music - come to Jam`s cool music school. Vocals, guitar, piano, drums, wind instruments, musical literacy, playing in an ensemble, sound engineering - this is just a small part of what you can learn from us. And to learn more about us and personally communicate with teachers, come to a free introductory lesson.
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 testify to 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 everyday 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 today musical instrument. 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 Russian 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.
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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. Constructive 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 rituals 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 (strings);
Sopel and flute (arshine-length wind instruments);
Materials used in preparing the article:
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The Greek goddess of wisdom Athena invented the flute, the god Pan made the shepherd's pipe, and meanwhile the Indian god Narada invented and gave people a harp-shaped instrument - the veena. But these are just myths. Musical instruments were invented by people. This is not surprising, because man is the first musical instrument. And the sound he makes is his voice.
With his voice, primitive man conveyed information to his fellow tribesmen and reported his emotions: fear, joy, love. To make the “song” more interesting, he stomped his feet and clapped his hands, knocked stone on stone and hit the stretched mammoth skin. Thus, objects surrounding a person began to turn into musical instruments.
If you divide the instruments according to the method of extracting sound from them, you will get three groups– drums, winds and strings. So why did primitive man knock, what did he blow, and what did he pull? We don't know what exactly the first musical instruments were, but we can guess.
The first percussion instruments were made from dried animal skins and all kinds of hollow objects: wooden blocks, shells of large fruits, and later clay pots. They hit them in different ways: fingers, palms, sticks. Ancient drums and tambourines were used in ritual ceremonies and military operations. A African tribes With the help of combat they even communicated with each other at a distance.
Next group – winds. It is unknown why ancient man blew into a piece of bamboo, a reed reed, a horn or a hollow bone of an animal, but it became an instrument when special holes appeared. On the territory of modern Hungary and Moldova, pipes and tweeters are found that date back to the era Upper Paleolithic. And the most ancient instrument is considered to be a flute, found in southwest Germany. More precisely, these are the remains of an instrument resembling a flute made from swan bone, which is more than 35 thousand years old! IN rock art You can also find an image of the first wind instruments.
The first string instrument It is considered to be a hunting bow. While pulling the bowstring, the ancient hunter noticed that when he plucked it, the bowstring “singed.” And the stretched vein of the animal “sings” even better, and most importantly longer, if you rub it with the hair of the animal. This is how the bow appeared, a stick with a tuft of horsehair stretched over it, which was driven along a string made from twisted animal sinews, and later from silk threads. This divided string instruments into plucked and bowed instruments. Also, ancient people noticed that strings stretched over a hollow object resonated - they sounded louder and richer. The resonator can be a clay vessel, a dried pumpkin, but, of course, wood sounds best.
The most ancient stringed instruments are the lyre and the harp. Similar instruments are found among all ancient peoples. Ur harps are the oldest stringed instruments found by archaeologists. They are over 4500 years old!
The truth is that we cannot say exactly what the first musical instrument looked like, but that music, even in its primitive form, was a part of life primitive man, That's for sure!
An ancient Greek legend says that the first musical instrument was created by the god Pan, who was walking in the forest near a river, picked a reed and began to blow into it. It turned out that the reed tube was capable of producing enchanting sounds that formed beautiful melodies. Pan cut several branches of reeds and connected them together, creating the first instrument - the prototype of the flute.
Thus, the ancient Greeks believed that the first musical instrument was the flute. Perhaps this is so - at least it is the oldest tool recorded by researchers. Its oldest specimen was found in southern Germany, in the Holy Fels cave, where excavations of a prehistoric human settlement are being carried out. In total, three flutes were found in this place, carved from tusk and having several holes. Archaeologists also discovered fragments that apparently belonged to the same flutes. Radiocarbon dating helped determine the age of these instruments, and the oldest was dated to the 40th millennium BC. So far this is the oldest instrument that has been found on Earth, but it is possible that other specimens simply have not survived to this day.
Similar flutes and pipes were found in Hungary and Moldova, but they were made in the 25-22 thousand years BC.
Candidates for the title of the most ancient musical instruments
Although the flute is still considered the most ancient musical instrument, it is possible that in fact the first to be made was a drum or any other device. For example, Australian Aborigines are confident that their national instrument called the didgeridoo is the oldest, its history goes deep into the history of the indigenous population of this continent, which, according to scientists, ranges from 40 to 70 thousand years. Thus, it is quite possible that the didgeridoo really is the oldest instrument. It is an impressive piece of eucalyptus trunk, in some cases reaching three meters in length, with a hollow core eaten away by termites.
Since didgeridoos are always cut from different trunks with different shapes, their sounds are never the same.
The oldest drums found date back to just the fifth millennium BC, but scientists believe it is one of the most likely candidates for the title of the first musical instrument. Its long history is evidenced by both the wide variety of types of modern drums and their almost ubiquitous distribution, and the simple and uncomplicated design that would have allowed even the most ancient ancestors of people to play melodies with the help of simple devices. In addition, it has been proven that in many cultures, drum music was a very important part of life: it accompanied all holidays, weddings, funerals, and wars.
People have discovered the enchanting sounds of music since ancient times. In ancient Greek myths, both gods and mortals mastered the art of playing various musical instruments. Not a single feast was complete without pipes, timbrels and flutes, which brightened up the celebrations of kings and simple peasants. But what instrument is the most ancient on Earth?
The first musical instruments
Archaeologists were the first to talk about the existence of musical instruments in ancient times, finding pipes, tweeters and other objects for playing music in almost all excavations. Moreover, similar finds were discovered in those territories where archaeologists managed to excavate sites of primitive people.
Archaeologists attribute some of the found musical instruments to the Upper Paleolithic era - in other words, these instruments appeared 22-25 thousand years BC.
In addition, ancient people knew how to not only make musical instruments, but also music for them, writing down musical notes on clay tablets. The oldest musical notation to date was written in the 18th century BC. Archaeologists found it in the Sumerian city of Nippur they excavated, which was once located in the territory of modern Iraq. University of California scientists who deciphered the music tablet in 1974 said it contained the words and music of an Assyrian love ballad for string lyre.
The most ancient musical instrument
In 2009, archaeologists discovered in one of the caves located in southwestern Germany the remains of a tool that strongly resembles a modern one. Analyzes and studies have shown that age ancient flute is more than 35 thousand years old. Five perfectly round holes were made in the body of the flute, which should be closed with the fingers when playing, and at its ends there were two deep V-shaped cuts.
The length of the musical instrument was 21.8 centimeters, and the thickness was only 8 millimeters.
The material from which the flute was made turned out to be not wood, but a bird's wing. This instrument is by far the oldest, but not the first in the history of archaeological finds - bone pipes, hollow animal horns, shell pipes, stone and wooden rattles, as well as drums made from animal skins have also been repeatedly found at excavations.
There are many legends about the origin of music. The ancient Greeks believed that the great gods of Olympus gave it to them, but modern scientists have conducted a number of ethnographic and archaeological studies. As a result of these studies, it was found that the first music appeared in primitive society and was used as a lullaby to lull to sleep.
No one can say exactly when music began, but it is known that it has accompanied humanity since ancient times. Even at the dawn of civilization, three methods of musical sound production were identified: striking a sounding object, vibrating a stretched string, and blowing air into a hollow tube. This was the beginning of three types of musical instruments - percussion, strings and wind.
The very first wind instruments were hollow bones of various animals. For example, the most ancient one known to scientists - the Neanderthal pipe - is made from the bone of a cave bear. In its development wind instruments accepted different shapes, but various peoples General patterns were observed in this process.
Pan Flute
Having learned to extract sound from a pipe (first bone, then wooden), a person wanted to diversify this sound. He noticed that pipes of different lengths produce sounds of different pitches. The simplest (and therefore most ancient) solution was to tie together several different tubes and move this structure along the mouth.
Thus was born the instrument best known under the Greek name syrinx, or pan flute (according to Greek myth, it was created by the god Pan). But you should not think that only the Greeks had such a flute - among other peoples it existed under other names: ekuduchai in Lithuania, nai in Moldova, kugikly in Russia.
A distant descendant of this flute is such a complex and majestic instrument as the organ.
Pipe and flute
To produce sounds of different heights, it is not necessary to take several tubes; you can change the length of one by making holes on it and blocking them with your fingers in certain combinations. This is how an instrument was born, which among the Russians was called the flute, among the Belarusians - the pipe, among the Belarusians - the sopilka, among the Moldovans - the fluer.
All these instruments are held across the face, this is called a “longitudinal flute,” but there was another design: the hole into which air is blown is located in the same plane as the finger holes. This kind of flute - transverse - was developed in academic music, and the modern flute goes back to it. And the “descendant” of the pipe – the recorder – is included in symphony orchestra is not included, although it is used in academic music.
Zhaleika
The instruments discussed above are among the whistling ones, but there is also a more complex design: the instrument is equipped with a bell into which a reed is inserted - a thin plate (originally made of birch bark), the vibration of which makes the sound louder and changes its timbre.
This design is typical for the Russian pity, the Chinese sheng. There were similar tools in Western Europe, modern classical oboe and clarinet go back to them.
Horn
Another design option for a wind instrument is an additional part that comes into contact with the musician’s lips, the mouthpiece. This is typical for a horn.
The horn is usually associated with the work of a shepherd. Indeed, the shepherds used horns, because the sound of this instrument is quite strong and can be heard at a great distance. This is facilitated by the conical shape.
This is just a small part of the diversity that wind instruments represent. different nations.
Video on the topic
Sources:
- Vasiliev Yu., Shirokov A. Stories about Russian folk instruments
Tip 4: Which musical instruments are considered folk instruments
Folk instruments are an integral part traditional culture of one country or another, however, in order to understand what instruments can be considered folk, it is necessary to turn to history and folk music.
The music of past centuries is not broadcast by modern radio stations, but lives in ancient books and museums. They are no longer played, but some people still remember musical instruments forgotten by civilization.
We all know what a piano, grand piano, trumpet, violin, guitar and drum look and sound like. What did their “grandmothers” and “grandfathers” look and sound like? We won’t be able to reproduce the sounds of an ancient orchestra, but we will tell you about ancient musical instruments.
1. Lyre
Back in Ancient Greece musical instruments were created, which over time acquired a classic appearance and became the basis for the creation of new modern species. The lyre is the most popular musical instrument during the development of the Ancient Greek state. The first mention of the lyre dates back to 1400. BC e. This instrument has always been identified with Apollo, since Hermes gave him the first lyre. And it sounded, accompanying beautiful poems. The lyre is not played today, but the term "lyric" has immortalized the instrument.
2. Kifara
It is rightfully considered one of the first string instruments and is a direct descendant of the lyre. Musicians holding a cithara in their hands were depicted on ancient coins, frescoes, clay amphorae and paintings. This instrument was very popular in Persia, India and Rome. Unfortunately, it is impossible to accurately reproduce the sound of the kithara today, but thanks to literary description it was reconstructed.
3. Zither
This plucked string musical instrument became most widespread in Austria and Germany in the 18th century. It appeared in Russia in the second half of the 19th century. Similar instruments were found among the peoples of China and the Middle East.
4. Harpsichord
A plucked keyboard musical instrument that gained immense popularity in the Middle Ages. The first information about the harpsichord dates back to 1511. Unique tool Italian work from 1521 has survived to this day. Externally, the harpsichords were finished very elegantly. Their body was decorated with drawings, inlays and carvings. However, by the end of the 18th century, the harpsichord was replaced by the piano; it was supplanted and completely forgotten in the 19th century.
5. Clavichord
One of the oldest stringed percussion-clamped musical instruments. Outwardly it was very similar to a harpsichord, but had a more powerful sound. The clavichord, created in 1543, is today housed in the Museum of Musical Instruments in Leipzig, Germany. Greatest Composers Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven created many works specifically written for the clavichord.
6. Harmonium
This wind reed keyboard musical instrument was very popular in late XIX century. In everyday life it was called the “organ”. The creator of the harmonium is a Frenchman named Deben, who received a patent for the manufacture of the instrument in 1840. Today the harmonium can only be seen in museums.
7. Beat
Ancient Slavic percussion instrument. It was made of iron, which was struck with a mallet. Bilo also played the role of a church bell and signaling instrument for the Old Believers.
8. Horn
The main instrument of Russian buffoons of the early Middle Ages. Outwardly it was very similar to a violin and was considered its Slavic prototype. Horn - wooden bowed instrument pear-shaped with three strings.
9. Hurdy Wheel
This keyboard musical instrument originated in Central Europe in X-XI centuries. Originally, the hurdy-gurdy required two people to play because the keys were on top. One turned the knob, and the second played a melody. Later the keys were placed at the bottom. First in Russia hurdy-gurdy appeared in the 17th century. People playing this instrument performed spiritual verses and biblical parables.
10. Kobza
Ukrainian national plucked string musical instrument. It is believed that the kobza was brought to Ukraine by Turkic tribes, but the instrument acquired its final appearance in these lands. The image of the kobzar, who accompanied his songs and thoughts by playing the kobza, was immortalized in his work by T. Shevchenko. Kobza was a favorite instrument Ukrainian Cossacks and villagers, but after 1850 it was replaced by a bandura.
11. Rainstick
The rain flute is an exotic ancient musical instrument that was used by the shamans of the Southern and North America to control the rain element. It perfectly imitated the sound of water pouring or falling rain. Previously it served as a cult instrument in the ancient rites of local aborigines. Today, rhinestone acts as a talisman for housing against envy and malice.
12. Kalimba
The oldest musical instrument of African tribes. Today in parts of Central and Southern Africa it is used in traditional ceremonies. The Kalimba is called the "African hand piano".
This instrument was known in the 16th century. under another name – zinc, the same “great-grandfather” of wind instruments. It was invented by the Frenchman Edme Guillaume. A serpent is a curved tube that looks very much like a snake. The instrument was made from wood or bone, covering the base with tanned leather. Sometimes the tip of the serpentine was made in the form of a reptile's head.
In 1752, an instrument was invented in St. Petersburg that replaced an entire orchestra, which consisted of 40-80 hunting horns, each of which was carefully processed and tuned to its own unique sound. It is clear that size mattered here: the largest horn sounded low, and the smallest produced high notes.
15. Ionic
Until recently, this musical instrument was an integral part of any vocal and instrumental ensemble. Ionica is a trademark of electric musical instruments produced in the German Democratic Republic in 1959. In the Soviet Union, the term “ionics” began to be used in relation to all small-sized keyboard instruments. Over time, it was replaced by transistor devices, which were more reliable.