Instrumentalist

1/10/25, 9:58 PM Musical instrument - Wikipedia
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or
adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any
object that produces sound can be considered a
musical instrument—it is through purpose that the
object becomes a musical instrument. A person who
plays a musical instrument is known as an
instrumentalist.
The history of musical instruments dates to the

beginnings of human culture. Early musical
instruments may have been used for rituals, such as
a horn to signal success on the hunt, or a drum in a
religious ceremony. Cultures eventually developed
composition and performance of melodies for
entertainment. Musical instruments evolved in step
with changing applications and technologies.
The exact date and specific origin of the first device

considered a musical instrument, is widely
disputed. The oldest object identified by scholars as
Abraham Bloemaert playing a bagpipe.
a musical instrument, is a simple flute, dated back
50,000–60,000 years. Many scholars date early
flutes to about 40,000 years ago. Many historians believe that determining the specific date of
musical instrument invention is impossible, as the majority of early musical instruments were
constructed of animal skins, bone, wood, and other non-durable, bio-degradable materials.
Additionally, some have proposed that lithophones, or stones used to make musical sounds—like
those found at Sankarjang in India—are examples of prehistoric musical instruments.
Musical instruments developed independently in many populated regions of the world. However,
contact among civilizations caused rapid spread and adaptation of most instruments in places far
from their origin. By the post-classical era, instruments from Mesopotamia were in maritime
Southeast Asia, and Europeans played instruments originating from North Africa. Development in
the Americas occurred at a slower pace, but cultures of North, Central, and South America shared
musical instruments.
By 1400, musical instrument development slowed in many areas and was dominated by the
Occident. During the Classical and Romantic periods of music, lasting from roughly 1750 to 1900,
many new musical instruments were developed. While the evolution of traditional musical
instruments slowed beginning in the 20th century, the proliferation of electricity led to the
invention of new electric and electronic instruments, such as electric guitars, synthesizers, and the
theremin.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_instrument#Instrumentalist 1/21
Musical instrument classification is a discipline in its own right, and many systems of classification
have been used over the years. Instruments can be classified by their effective range, material
composition, size, role, etc. However, the most common academic method, Hornbostel–Sachs,
uses the means by which they produce sound. The academic study of musical instruments is called
organology.
Definition and basic operation

A musical instrument is used to make musical sounds. Once humans
moved from making sounds with their bodies — for example, by
clapping—to using objects to create music from sounds, musical
instruments were born.[1]
Primitive instruments were probably designed to emulate natural

sounds, and their purpose was ritual rather than entertainment.[2]
The concept of melody and the artistic pursuit of musical composition

were probably unknown to early players of musical instruments. A
person sounding a bone flute to signal the start of a hunt does so
without thought of the modern notion of "making music".[2]
Bamileke slit drum
drummers in Cameroon's Musical instruments are constructed in a broad array of styles and
West Province. shapes, using many different materials. Early musical instruments
were made from "found objects" such as shells and plant parts.[2] As
instruments evolved, so did the selection and quality of materials. Virtually every material in
nature has been used by at least one culture to make musical instruments.[2]
One plays a musical instrument by interacting with it in some way — for example, by plucking the
strings on a string instrument, striking the surface of a drum, or blowing into an animal horn.[2]
Archaeology
Researchers have discovered archaeological evidence of musical instruments in many parts of the
world. One disputed artifact (the Divje Babe flute) has been dated to 67,000 years old, but
consensus solidifies around artifacts dated back to around 37,000 years old and later. Artifacts
made from durable materials, or constructed using durable methods, have been found to survive.
As such, the specimens found cannot be irrefutably placed as the earliest musical instruments.[3]
Flutes
The Divje Babe Flute is a perforated bone discovered in 1995, in the northwest region of Slovenia
by archaeologist Ivan Turk. Its origin is disputed, with many arguing that it is most likely the
product of carnivores chewing the bone,[4] but Turk and others argue that it is a Neanderthal-made
flute. With its age estimated between 43,400 and 67,000 years old, it would be the oldest known
musical instrument and the only Neanderthal musical instrument.[5]
Mammoth bone and swan bone flutes have been found dating back to
30,000 to 37,000 years old in the Swabian Alps of Germany. The
flutes were made in the Upper Paleolithic age, and are more
commonly accepted as being the oldest known musical instruments.[6]
Sumerian city of Ur
Archaeological evidence of musical instruments was discovered in
excavations at the Royal Cemetery in the Sumerian city of Ur.
These instruments, one of the first ensembles of instruments yet

discovered, include nine lyres (the Lyres of Ur), two harps, a silver
double flute, a sistrum and cymbals. A set of reed-sounded silver pipes
discovered in Ur was the likely predecessor of modern bagpipes.[7] The Found in Slovenia, the
cylindrical pipes feature three side holes that allowed players to Divje Babe Flute is
sometimes considered the
produce a whole-tone scale.[8]
world's oldest known
musical instrument
These excavations, carried out by Leonard Woolley in the 1920s,
uncovered non-degradable fragments of instruments and the voids left
by the degraded segments that, together, have been used to reconstruct them.[9]
The graves these instruments were buried in have been carbon dated to between 2600 and 2500
BC, providing evidence that these instruments were used in Sumeria by this time.[10]
Jiahu site
Archaeologists in the Jiahu site of central Henan province of China have found flutes made of
bones that date back 7,000 to 9,000 years,[11] representing some of the "earliest complete,
playable, tightly-dated, multinote musical instruments" ever found.[11][12]
History
Scholars agree that there are no completely reliable methods of determining the exact chronology
of musical instruments across cultures. Comparing and organizing instruments based on their
complexity is misleading, since advancements in musical instruments have sometimes reduced
complexity. For example, construction of early slit drums involved felling and hollowing out large
trees; later slit drums were made by opening bamboo stalks, a much simpler task.[13]
German musicologist Curt Sachs, one of the most prominent musicologists[14] and musical
ethnologists[15] in modern times, argues that it is misleading to arrange the development of
musical instruments by workmanship, since cultures advance at different rates and have access to
different raw materials.
For example, contemporary anthropologists comparing musical instruments from two cultures
that existed at the same time but differed in organization, culture, and handicraft cannot
determine which instruments are more "primitive".[16]
Ordering instruments by geography is also not reliable, as it cannot always be determined when
and how cultures contacted one another and shared knowledge. Sachs proposed that a
geographical chronology until approximately 1400 is preferable, however, due to its limited
subjectivity.[17] Beyond 1400, one can follow the overall development of musical instruments over
time.[17]
The science of marking the order of musical instrument development relies on archaeological
artifacts, artistic depictions, and literary references. Since data in one research path can be
inconclusive, all three paths provide a better historical picture.[3]
Prehistoric
Until the 19th century AD, European-written music histories
began with mythological accounts mingled with scripture of
how musical instruments were invented. Such accounts
included Jubal, descendant of Cain and "father of all such as
handle the harp and the organ" (Genesis 4:21) Pan, inventor of
the pan pipes, and Mercury, who is said to have made a dried
tortoise shell into the first lyre. Modern histories have replaced
such mythology with anthropological speculation, occasionally
informed by archeological evidence. Scholars agree that there
was no definitive "invention" of the musical instrument since
the term "musical instrument" is subjective and hard to Two Aztec slit drums (teponaztli).
define.[18] The characteristic "H" slits can be
seen on the top of the drum in the
foreground.
Among the first devices external to the human body that are
considered instruments are rattles, stampers, and various
drums.[19] These instruments evolved due to the human motor
impulse to add sound to emotional movements such as
dancing.[20] Eventually, some cultures assigned ritual functions
to their musical instruments, using them for hunting and
various ceremonies.[21] Those cultures developed more
complex percussion instruments and other instruments such as
ribbon reeds, flutes, and trumpets. Some of these labels carry
far different connotations from those used in modern day; early
flutes and trumpets are so-labeled for their basic operation and
function rather than resemblance to modern instruments.[22]
Among early cultures for whom drums developed ritual, even
sacred importance are the Chukchi people of the Russian Far
East, the indigenous people of Melanesia, and many cultures of
Africa. In fact, drums were pervasive throughout every African
culture.[23] One East African tribe, the Wahinda, believed it Molo, a lute of the Hausa people of
was so holy that seeing a drum would be fatal to any person northern Nigeria.
other than the sultan.[24]
Humans eventually developed the concept of using musical instruments to produce melody, which
was previously common only in singing. Similar to the process of reduplication in language,
instrument players first developed repetition and then arrangement. An early form of melody was
produced by pounding two stamping tubes of slightly different sizes—one tube would produce a
"clear" sound and the other would answer with a "darker" sound. Such instrument pairs also
included bullroarers, slit drums, shell trumpets, and skin drums. Cultures who used these
instrument pairs associated them with gender; the "father" was the bigger or more energetic
instrument, while the "mother" was the smaller or duller instrument. Musical instruments existed
in this form for thousands of years before patterns of three or more tones would evolve in the form
of the earliest xylophone.[25] Xylophones originated in the mainland and archipelago of Southeast
Asia, eventually spreading to Africa, the Americas, and Europe.[26] Along with xylophones, which
ranged from simple sets of three "leg bars" to carefully tuned sets of parallel bars, various cultures
developed instruments such as the ground harp, ground zither, musical bow, and jaw harp.[27]
Recent research into usage wear and acoustics of stone artefacts has revealed a possible new class
of prehistoric musical instrument, known as lithophones.[28][29]
Antiquity
Images of musical instruments begin to appear in Mesopotamian artifacts in 2800 BC or earlier.
Beginning around 2000 BC, Sumerian and Babylonian cultures began delineating two distinct
classes of musical instruments due to division of labor and the evolving class system. Popular
instruments, simple and playable by anyone, evolved differently from professional instruments
whose development focused on effectiveness and skill.[30] Despite this development, very few
musical instruments have been recovered in Mesopotamia. Scholars must rely on artifacts and
cuneiform texts written in Sumerian or Akkadian to reconstruct the early history of musical
instruments in Mesopotamia. Even the process of assigning names to these instruments is
challenging since there is no clear distinction among various instruments and the words used to
describe them.[31]
Although Sumerian and Babylonian artists mainly depicted ceremonial instruments, historians
have distinguished six idiophones used in early Mesopotamia: concussion clubs, clappers, sistra,
bells, cymbals, and rattles.[32] Sistra are depicted prominently in a great relief of Amenhotep
III,[33] and are of particular interest because similar designs have been found in far-reaching
places such as Tbilisi, Georgia and among the Native American Yaqui tribe.[34] The people of
Mesopotamia preferred stringed instruments, as evidenced by their proliferation in Mesopotamian
figurines, plaques, and seals. Innumerable varieties of harps are depicted, as well as lyres and lutes,
the forerunner of modern stringed instruments such as the violin.[35]
Musical instruments used by the Egyptian culture before 2700

BC bore striking similarity to those of Mesopotamia, leading
historians to conclude that the civilizations must have been in
contact with one another. Sachs notes that Egypt did not
possess any instruments that the Sumerian culture did not also
possess.[36] However, by 2700 BC the cultural contacts seem to
have dissipated; the lyre, a prominent ceremonial instrument
in Sumer, did not appear in Egypt for another 800 years.[36]
Clappers and concussion sticks appear on Egyptian vases as
early as 3000 BC. The civilization also made use of sistra, Ancient Egyptian tomb painting
vertical flutes, double clarinets, arched and angular harps, and depicting lute players, 18th Dynasty
(c. 1350 BC)
various drums.[37]
Little history is available in the period between 2700 BC and 1500 BC, as Egypt (and indeed,
Babylon) entered a long violent period of war and destruction. This period saw the Kassites destroy
the Babylonian empire in Mesopotamia and the Hyksos destroy the Middle Kingdom of Egypt.
When the Pharaohs of Egypt conquered Southwest Asia in around 1500 BC, the cultural ties to
Mesopotamia were renewed and Egypt's musical instruments also reflected heavy influence from
Asiatic cultures.[36] Under their new cultural influences, the people of the New Kingdom began
using oboes, trumpets, lyres, lutes, castanets, and cymbals.[38]
Unlike Mesopotamia and Egypt, professional musicians did not exist in Israel between 2000 and
1000 BC. While the history of musical instruments in Mesopotamia and Egypt relies on artistic
representations, the culture in Israel produced few such representations. Scholars must therefore
rely on information gleaned from the Bible and the Talmud.[39] The Hebrew texts mention two
prominent instruments associated with Jubal: the ugab (pipes) and kinnor (lyre).[40] Other
instruments of the period included the tof (frame drum), pa'amon (small bells or jingles), shofar,
and the trumpet-like hasosra.[41]
The introduction of a monarchy in Israel during the 11th century BC produced the first professional
musicians and with them a drastic increase in the number and variety of musical instruments.[42]
However, identifying and classifying the instruments remains a challenge due to the lack of artistic
interpretations. For example, stringed instruments of uncertain design called nevals and asors
existed, but neither archaeology nor etymology can clearly define them.[43] In her book A Survey of
Musical Instruments, American musicologist Sibyl Marcuse proposes that the nevel must be
similar to vertical harp due to its relation to nabla, the Phoenician term for "harp".[44]
In Greece, Rome, and Etruria, the use and development of musical instruments stood in stark
contrast to those cultures' achievements in architecture and sculpture. The instruments of the time
were simple and virtually all of them were imported from other cultures.[45] Lyres were the
principal instrument, as musicians used them to honor the gods.[46] Greeks played a variety of
wind instruments they classified as aulos (reeds) or syrinx (flutes); Greek writing from that time
reflects a serious study of reed production and playing technique.[8] Romans played reed
instruments named tibia, featuring side-holes that could be opened or closed, allowing for greater
flexibility in playing modes.[47] Other instruments in common use in the region included vertical
harps derived from those of the Orient, lutes of Egyptian design, various pipes and organs, and
clappers, which were played primarily by women.[48]
Evidence of musical instruments in use by early civilizations of India is almost completely lacking,
making it impossible to reliably attribute instruments to the Munda and Dravidian language-
speaking cultures that first settled the area. Rather, the history of musical instruments in the area
begins with the Indus Valley civilization that emerged around 3000 BC. Various rattles and
whistles found among excavated artifacts are the only physical evidence of musical
instruments.[49] A clay statuette indicates the use of drums, and examination of the Indus script
has also revealed representations of vertical arched harps identical in design to those depicted in
Sumerian artifacts. This discovery is among many indications that the Indus Valley and Sumerian
cultures maintained cultural contact. Subsequent developments in musical instruments in India
occurred with the Rigveda, or hymns. These songs used various drums, shell trumpets, harps, and
flutes.[50] Other prominent instruments in use during the early centuries AD were the snake
charmer's double clarinet, bagpipes, barrel drums, cross flutes, and short lutes. In all, India had no
unique musical instruments until the post-classical era.[51]
Musical instruments such as zithers appeared in Chinese

writings around 12th century BC and earlier.[52] Early Chinese
philosophers such as Confucius (551–479 BC), Mencius (372–
289 BC), and Laozi shaped the development of musical
instruments in China, adopting an attitude toward music
similar to that of the Greeks. The Chinese believed that music
was an essential part of character and community, and
developed a unique system of classifying their musical
The monumental Bianzhong of
instruments according to their material makeup.[53] In
Marquis Yi of Zeng, c. 5th century Vietnam, an archaeological discovery of a 2,000-year old
BCE, from Hubei stringed instrument gives important insights on early
chordophones in Southeast Asia.[54]
Idiophones were extremely important in Chinese music, hence the majority of early instruments
were idiophones. Poetry of the Shang dynasty mentions bells, chimes, drums, and globular flutes
carved from bone, the latter of which has been excavated and preserved by archaeologists.[55] The
Zhou dynasty saw percussion instruments such as clappers, troughs, wooden fish, and yǔ
(wooden tiger). Wind instruments such as flute, pan-pipes, pitch-pipes, and mouth organs also
appeared in this time period.[56] The xiao (an end-blown flute) and various other instruments that
spread through many cultures, came into use in China during and after the Han dynasty.[57]
Although civilizations in Central America attained a relatively

high level of sophistication by the eleventh century AD, they
lagged behind other civilizations in the development of musical
instruments. For example, they had no stringed instruments;
all of their instruments were idiophones, drums, and wind
instruments such as flutes and trumpets. Of these, only the
flute was capable of producing a melody.[58] In contrast, pre-
Columbian South American civilizations in areas such as
Carnyx discovered in Tintignac
modern-day Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Chile were
less advanced culturally but more advanced musically. South
American cultures of the time used pan-pipes as well as varieties of flutes, idiophones, drums, and
shell or wood trumpets.[59]
An instrument that can be attested to the Iron Age Celts is the carnyx, which is dated to c.300 BC.
The end of the bell, which was crafted from bronze, was into the shape of a screaming animal head
which was held high above their heads. When blown into, the carnyx would emit a deep, harsh
sound; the head also had a tongue which clicked when vibrated. It is believed the intention of the
instrument was to use it on the battleground to intimidate their opponents.[60][61]
Post-classical era/Middle Ages

During the period of time loosely referred to as the post-classical era and Europe in particular as
the Middle Ages, China developed a tradition of integrating musical influence from other regions.
The first record of this type of influence is in 384 AD, when China established an orchestra in its
imperial court after a conquest in Turkestan. Influences from Middle East, Persia, India, Mongolia,
and other countries followed. In fact, Chinese tradition attributes many musical instruments from
this period to those regions and countries.[62]

Cymbals gained popularity, along with more
advanced trumpets, clarinets, pianos, oboes, flutes, drums, and lutes.[63] Some of the first bowed
zithers appeared in China in the 9th or 10th century, influenced by Mongolian culture.[64]
India experienced similar development to China in the post-classical era; however, stringed
instruments developed differently as they accommodated different styles of music. While stringed
instruments of China were designed to produce precise tones capable of matching the tones of
chimes, stringed instruments of India were considerably more flexible. This flexibility suited the
slides and tremolos of Hindu music. Rhythm was of paramount importance in Indian music of the
time, as evidenced by the frequent depiction of drums in reliefs dating to the post-classical era. The
emphasis on rhythm is an aspect native to Indian music.[65] Historians divide the development of
musical instruments in medieval India between pre-Islamic and Islamic periods due to the
different influence each period provided.[66]
In pre-Islamic times, idiophones such as handbells, cymbals,

and peculiar instruments resembling gongs came into wide use
in Hindu music. The gong-like instrument was a bronze disk
that was struck with a hammer instead of a mallet. Tubular
drums, stick zithers (veena), short fiddles, double and triple
flutes, coiled trumpets, and curved India horns emerged in this
time period.[67] Islamic influences brought new types of drum,
perfectly circular or octagonal as opposed to the irregular pre- The Alboka has a double-reed that
Islamic drums.[68] Persian influence brought oboes and sitars, vibrates when blown on the small
although Persian sitars had three strings and Indian version tube. The tubes regulates the
had from four to seven.[69] The Islamic culture also introduced melody and the big horn amplifies
the sound.
double-clarinet instruments as the Alboka (from Arab, al-buq
or "horn") nowadays only alive in Basque Country. It must be
played using the technique of the circular breathing.
Southeast Asian musical innovations include those during a

period of Indian influence that ended around 920 AD.[70]
Balinese and Javanese music made use of xylophones and
metallophones, bronze versions of the former.[71] The most
prominent and important musical instrument of Southeast
Asia was the gong. While the gong likely originated in the
geographical area between Tibet and Burma, it was part of
every category of human activity in maritime Southeast Asia
An Indonesian metallophone
including Java.[72]
The areas of Mesopotamia and the Arabian Peninsula experiences rapid growth and sharing of
musical instruments once they were united by Islamic culture in the seventh century.[73] Frame
drums and cylindrical drums of various depths were immensely important in all genres of
music.[74] Conical oboes were involved in the music that accompanied wedding and circumcision
ceremonies. Persian miniatures provide information on the development of kettle drums in
Mesopotamia that spread as far as Java.[75] Various lutes, zithers, dulcimers, and harps spread as
far as Madagascar to the south and modern-day Sulawesi to the east.[76]
Despite the influences of Greece and Rome, most musical instruments in Europe during the
Middles Ages came from Asia. The lyre is the only musical instrument that may have been invented
in Europe until this period.[77] Stringed instruments were prominent in Middle Age Europe. The
central and northern regions used mainly lutes, stringed instruments with necks, while the
southern region used lyres, which featured a two-armed body and a crossbar.[77] Various harps
served Central and Northern Europe as far north as Ireland, where the harp eventually became a
national symbol.[78] Lyres propagated through the same areas, as far east as Estonia.[79]
European music between 800 and 1100 became more sophisticated, more frequently requiring
instruments capable of polyphony. The 9th-century Persian geographer Ibn Khordadbeh
mentioned in his lexicographical discussion of music instruments that, in the Byzantine Empire,
typical instruments included the urghun (organ), shilyani (probably a type of harp or lyre), salandj
(probably a bagpipe) and the lyra.[80] The Byzantine lyra, a bowed string instrument, is an
ancestor of most European bowed instruments, including the violin.[81]
The monochord served as a precise measure of the notes of a musical scale, allowing more accurate
musical arrangements.[82] Mechanical hurdy-gurdies allowed single musicians to play more
complicated arrangements than a fiddle would; both were prominent folk instruments in the
Middle Ages.[83][84] Southern Europeans played short and long lutes whose pegs extended to the
sides, unlike the rear-facing pegs of Central and Northern European instruments.[85] Idiophones
such as bells and clappers served various practical purposes, such as warning of the approach of a
leper.[86]
The ninth century revealed the first bagpipes, which spread throughout Europe and had many uses
from folk instruments to military instruments.[87] The construction of pneumatic organs evolved in
Europe starting in fifth-century Spain, spreading to England in about 700.[88] The resulting
instruments varied in size and use from portable organs worn around the neck to large pipe
organs.[89] Literary accounts of organs being played in English Benedictine abbeys toward the end
of the tenth century are the first references to organs being connected to churches.[90] Reed players
of the Middle Ages were limited to oboes; no evidence of clarinets exists during this period.[91]
Modern
Western Classical
Renaissance
Musical instrument development was dominated by the Occident from 1400 on, indeed, the most
profound changes occurred during the Renaissance period.[18] Instruments took on other purposes
than accompanying singing or dance, and performers used them as solo instruments. Keyboards
and lutes developed as polyphonic instruments, and composers arranged increasingly complex
pieces using more advanced tablature. Composers also began designing pieces of music for specific
instruments.[18] In the latter half of the sixteenth century, orchestration came into common
practice as a method of writing music for a variety of instruments. Composers now specified
orchestration where individual performers once applied their own discretion.[92] The polyphonic
style dominated popular music, and the instrument makers responded accordingly.[93]
Beginning in about 1400, the rate of development of musical instruments increased in earnest as
compositions demanded more dynamic sounds. People also began writing books about creating,
playing, and cataloging musical instruments; the first such book was Sebastian Virdung's 1511
treatise Musica getuscht und ausgezogen ('Music Germanized and Abstracted').[92] Virdung's work
is noted as being particularly thorough for including descriptions of "irregular" instruments such
as hunters' horns and cow bells, though Virdung is critical of

the same. Other books followed, including Arnolt Schlick's
Spiegel der Orgelmacher und Organisten ('Mirror of Organ
Makers and Organ Players') the following year, a treatise on
organ building and organ playing.[94] Of the instructional
books and references published in the Renaissance era, one is
noted for its detailed description and depiction of all wind and
stringed instruments, including their relative sizes. This book, The Duet, by Dutch painter Cornelis
the Syntagma musicum by Michael Praetorius, is now Saftleven, c. 1635. It shows a
considered an authoritative reference of sixteenth-century violinist and a cittern player.
musical instruments.[95]
In the sixteenth century, musical instrument builders gave most instruments – such as the violin –
the "classical shapes" they retain today. An emphasis on aesthetic beauty also developed; listeners
were as pleased with the physical appearance of an instrument as they were with its sound.
Therefore, builders paid special attention to materials and workmanship, and instruments became
collectibles in homes and museums.[96] It was during this period that makers began constructing
instruments of the same type in various sizes to meet the demand of consorts, or ensembles
playing works written for these groups of instruments.[97]
Instrument builders developed other features that endure today. For example, while organs with
multiple keyboards and pedals already existed, the first organs with solo stops emerged in the early
fifteenth century. These stops were meant to produce a mixture of timbres, a development needed
for the complexity of music of the time.[98] Trumpets evolved into their modern form to improve
portability, and players used mutes to properly blend into chamber music.[99]
Baroque
Beginning in the seventeenth century, composers began writing
works to a higher emotional degree. They felt that polyphony
better suited the emotional style they were aiming for and
began writing musical parts for instruments that would
complement the singing human voice.[93] As a result, many
instruments that were incapable of larger ranges and dynamics,
and therefore were seen as unemotional, fell out of favor. One
such instrument was the shawm.[100] Bowed instruments such
as the violin, viola, baryton, and various lutes dominated
popular music.[101] Beginning in around 1750, however, the Baroque mounted Jacob Stainer
lute disappeared from musical compositions in favor of the violin from 1658
rising popularity of the guitar. [102] As the prevalence of string
orchestras rose, wind instruments such as the flute, oboe, and
bassoon were readmitted to counteract the monotony of hearing only strings.[103]
In the mid-seventeenth century, what was known as a hunter's horn underwent a transformation
into an "art instrument" consisting of a lengthened tube, a narrower bore, a wider bell, and a much
wider range. The details of this transformation are unclear, but the modern horn or, more
colloquially, French horn, had emerged by 1725.[104] The slide trumpet appeared, a variation that
includes a long-throated mouthpiece that slid in and out, allowing the player infinite adjustments
in pitch. This variation on the trumpet was unpopular due to the difficulty involved in playing
it.[105]
Organs underwent tonal changes in the Baroque period, as manufacturers such as Abraham
Jordan of London made the stops more expressive and added devices such as expressive pedals.
Sachs viewed this trend as a "degeneration" of the general organ sound.[106]
Classical and Romantic

During the Classical and Romantic periods of music, lasting from
roughly 1750 to 1900, many musical instruments capable of
producing new timbres and higher volume were developed and
introduced into popular music. The design changes that
broadened the quality of timbres allowed instruments to produce
a wider variety of expression. Large orchestras rose in popularity
and, in parallel, the composers determined to produce entire
orchestral scores that made use of the expressive abilities of
modern instruments. Since instruments were involved in
collaborations of a much larger scale, their designs had to evolve
to accommodate the demands of the orchestra.[107]
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart plays
Some instruments also had to become louder to fill larger halls
the keyboard while his father,
and be heard over sizable orchestras. Flutes and bowed
Leopold Mozart, plays violin.
instruments underwent many modifications and design changes—
most of them unsuccessful—in efforts to increase volume. Other
instruments were changed just so they could play their parts in the scores. Trumpets traditionally
had a "defective" range—they were incapable of producing certain notes with precision.[108] New
instruments such as the clarinet, saxophone, and tuba became fixtures in orchestras. Instruments
such as the clarinet also grew into entire "families" of instruments capable of different ranges:
small clarinets, normal clarinets, bass clarinets, and so on.[107]
Accompanying the changes to timbre and volume was a shift in the

typical pitch used to tune instruments. Instruments meant to play
together, as in an orchestra, must be tuned to the same standard lest
they produce audibly different sounds while playing the same notes.
Beginning in 1762, the average concert pitch began rising from a low
of 377 vibrations to a high of 457 in 1880 Vienna.[109] Different
regions, countries, and even instrument manufacturers preferred
different standards, making orchestral collaboration a challenge.
Despite even the efforts of two organized international summits
attended by noted composers like Hector Berlioz, no standard could
be agreed upon.[110]
A "young boy playing the
violin" from Glengarry
County, Ontario taken Twentieth century to present
[between 1895 and 1910] The evolution of traditional musical instruments slowed beginning in
from the Bartle Brothers
the 20th century.[111] Instruments such as the violin, flute, french
fonds at the Archives of
Ontario.
horn, and harp are largely the same as those manufactured throughout
the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Gradual iterations do
emerge; for example, the "New Violin Family" began in 1964 to
provide differently sized violins to expand the range of available sounds.[112] The slowdown in
development was a practical response to the concurrent slowdown in orchestra and venue size.[113]
Despite this trend in traditional instruments, the development of

new musical instruments exploded in the twentieth century, and
the variety of instruments developed overshadows any prior
period.[111]
The proliferation of electricity in the 20th century led to a new

category of musical instruments: electronic instruments, or
electrophones.[114] The vast majority produced in the first half of
Early Fender brand electric
the 20th century were what Sachs called "electromechanical
guitars
instruments"; they have mechanical parts that produce sound
vibrations picked up and amplified by electrical components.
Examples include Hammond organs and electric guitars.[114] Sachs also defined a subcategory of
"radioelectric instruments" such as the theremin, which produces music through the player's hand
movements around two antennas.[115]
The latter half of the 20th century saw the evolution of

synthesizers, which produce sound using circuits and
microchips. In the late 1960s, Bob Moog and other inventors
developed the first commercial synthesizers, such as the Moog
synthesizer.[116] Whereas once they had filled rooms,
synthesizers can now be embedded in any electronic device,[116]
and are ubiquitous in modern music.[117] Samplers, introduced
around 1980, allow users to sample and reuse existing sounds,
and were important to the development of hip hop.[118] 1982 A 1975 Moog Modular 55
saw the introduction of MIDI, a standardized means of synthesizer
synchronizing electronic instruments.[119] The modern
proliferation of computers and microchips has created an
industry of electronic musical instruments.[120]
Classification
There are many different methods of classifying musical instruments. Various methods examine
aspects such as the physical properties of the instrument (material, color, shape, etc.), the use for
the instrument, the means by which music is produced with the instrument, the range of the
instrument, and the instrument's place in an orchestra or other ensemble. Most methods are
specific to a geographic area or cultural group and were developed to serve the unique
classification requirements of the group.[121] The problem with these specialized classification
schemes is that they tend to break down once they are applied outside of their original area. For
example, a system based on instrument use would fail if a culture invented a new use for the same
instrument. Scholars recognize Hornbostel–Sachs as the only system that applies to any culture
and, more importantly, provides the only possible classification for each instrument.[122][123] The
most common classifications are strings, brass, woodwind, and percussion.
Ancient systems
An ancient Hindu system named the Natya Shastra, written by the sage Bharata Muni and dating
from between 200 BC and 200 AD, divides instruments into four main classification groups:
instruments where the sound is produced by vibrating strings; percussion instruments with skin
heads; instruments where the sound is produced by vibrating columns of air; and "solid", or non-
skin, percussion instruments.[122] This system was similar to some degree in 12th-century Europe
by Johannes de Muris, who used the terms tensibilia (stringed instruments), inflatibilia (wind
instruments), and percussibilia (all percussion instruments).[124] In 1880, Victor-Charles Mahillon
adapted the Natya Shastra and assigned Greek labels to the four classifications: chordophones
(stringed instruments), membranophones (skin-head percussion instruments), aerophones (wind
instruments), and autophones (non-skin percussion instruments).[122]
Hornbostel–Sachs
Erich von Hornbostel and Curt Sachs adopted Mahillon's scheme and published an extensive new
scheme for classification in Zeitschrift für Ethnologie in 1914. Hornbostel and Sachs used most of
Mahillon's system, but replaced the term autophone with idiophone.[122]
The original Hornbostel–Sachs system classified instruments into four main groups:
Idiophones, which produce sound by vibrating the primary body of the instrument itself; they
are sorted into concussion, percussion, shaken, scraped, split, and plucked idiophones, such
as claves, xylophone, guiro, slit drum, mbira, and rattle.[125]
Membranophones, which produce sound by a vibrating a stretched membrane; they may be
drums (further sorted by the shape of the shell), which are struck by hand, with a stick, or
rubbed, but kazoos and other instruments that use a stretched membrane for the primary
sound (not simply to modify sound produced in another way) are also considered
membranophones.[126]
Chordophones, which produce sound by vibrating one or more strings; they are sorted
according to the relationship between the string(s) and the sounding board or chamber. For
example, if the strings are laid out parallel to the sounding board and there is no neck, the
instrument is a zither whether it is plucked like an autoharp or struck with hammers like a
piano. If the instrument has strings parallel to the sounding board or chamber and the strings
extend past the board with a neck, then the instrument is a lute, whether the sound chamber is
constructed of wood like a guitar or uses a membrane like a banjo.[127]
Aerophones, which produce a sound with a vibrating column of air; they are sorted into free
aerophones such as a bullroarer or whip, which move freely through the air; reedless
aerophones such as flutes and recorders, which cause the air to pass over a sharp edge; reed
instruments, which use a vibrating reed (this category may be further divided into two
classifications: single-reeded and double-reeded instruments. Examples of the former are
clarinets and saxophones, while the latter includes oboes and bassoons); and lip-vibrated
aerophones such as trumpets, trombones and tubas, for which the lips themselves function as
vibrating reeds.[128]
Sachs later added a fifth category, electrophones, such as theremins, which produce sound by
electronic means.[114] Within each category are many subgroups. The system has been criticised
and revised over the years, but remains widely used by ethnomusicologists and
organologists.[124][129]
Schaeffner
Andre Schaeffner, a curator at the Musée de l'Homme, disagreed with the Hornbostel–Sachs
system and developed his own system in 1932. Schaeffner believed that the pure physics of a
musical instrument, rather than its specific construction or playing method, should always
determine its classification. (Hornbostel–Sachs, for example, divides aerophones on the basis of
sound production, but membranophones on the basis of the shape of the instrument). His system
divided instruments into two categories: instruments with solid, vibrating bodies and instruments
containing vibrating air.[130]
Range
Musical instruments are also often classified by their musical range in comparison with other
instruments in the same family. This exercise is useful when placing instruments in context of an
orchestra or other ensemble.
These terms are named after singing voice classifications:
Soprano instruments: flute, violin, soprano saxophone, trumpet, clarinet, oboe, piccolo,
glockenspiel
Alto instruments: alto saxophone, french horn, alto flute, english horn, alto clarinet, viola, alto
horn, xylophone, vibraphone
Tenor instruments: trombone, tenoroon, tenor saxophone, tenor violin, guitar, tenor drum,
marimba
Baritone instruments: bassoon, baritone saxophone, bass clarinet, cello, baritone horn,
euphonium
Bass instruments: double bass, bass guitar, contrabassoon, bass saxophone, tuba, bass drum
Some instruments fall into more than one category. For example, the cello may be considered
tenor, baritone or bass, depending on how its music fits into the ensemble. The trombone and
French horn may be alto, tenor, baritone, or bass depending on the range it is played in. Many
instruments have their range as part of their name: soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone
horn, alto flute, bass guitar, etc. Additional adjectives describe instruments above the soprano
range or below the bass, for example the sopranino saxophone and contrabass clarinet. When used
in the name of an instrument, these terms are relative, describing the instrument's range in
comparison to other instruments of its family and not in comparison to the human voice range or
instruments of other families. For example, a bass flute's range is from C3 to F ♯ 6, while a bass
clarinet plays about one octave lower.
Construction
The materials used in making musical instruments vary greatly
by culture and application. Many of the materials have special
significance owing to their source or rarity. Some cultures
worked substances from the human body into their
instruments. In ancient Mexico, for example, the material
drums were made from might contain actual human body parts
obtained from sacrificial offerings. In New Guinea, drum
African kalimba made from a food
can
makers would mix human blood into the adhesive used to
attach the membrane.[131] Mulberry trees are held in high
regard in China owing to their mythological significance—
instrument makers would hence use them to make zithers. The Yakuts believe that making drums
from trees struck by lightning gives them a special connection to nature.[132]
Musical instrument construction is a specialized trade that

requires years of training, practice, and sometimes an
apprenticeship. Most makers of musical instruments specialize
in one genre of instruments; for example, a luthier makes only
stringed instruments. Some make only one type of instrument
such as a piano. Whatever the instrument constructed, the
instrument maker must consider materials, construction
technique, and decoration, creating a balanced instrument that
is both functional and aesthetically pleasing.[133] Some builders Two five string Finnish kanteles.
are focused on a more artistic approach and develop Shape of the upper kantele is more
experimental musical instruments, often meant for individual traditional, while the one for kantele
playing styles developed by the builder themself. below is slightly modernised
User interfaces
Regardless of how the sound is produced, many musical
instruments have a keyboard as the user interface. Keyboard
instruments are any instruments that are played with a musical
keyboard, which is a row of small keys that can be pressed.
Every key generates one or more sounds; most keyboard
instruments have extra means (pedals for a piano, stops and a
pedal keyboard for an organ) to manipulate these sounds. They
may produce sound by wind being fanned (organ) or pumped
(accordion),[135][136] vibrating strings either hammered (piano)
The five-manual, 522-stop detached
or plucked (harpsichord),[137][138] by electronic means console at the United States Naval
(synthesizer),[139] or in some other way. Sometimes, Academy Chapel crafted by R. A.
instruments that do not usually have a keyboard, such as the Colby, Inc.[134]
glockenspiel, are fitted with one. [140] Though they have no
moving parts and are struck by mallets held in the player's
hands, they have the same physical arrangement of keys and produce soundwaves in a similar
manner. The theremin, an electrophone, is played without physical contact by the player. The
theremin senses the proximity of the player's hands, which triggers changes in its sound. More
recently, a MIDI controller keyboard used with a digital audio workstation may have a musical
keyboard and a bank of sliders, knobs, and buttons that change many sound parameters of a
synthesizer.
Handedness
Many musical instruments are able to be played with either right of left handedness. However,
some instruments can be made for the less frequent (≈10%) left handedness, such as guitars. Well
known left handed players are Jimi Hendrix, Paul McCartney, and Antony Blinken.
Instrumentalist
A person who plays a musical instrument is known as an instrumentalist or instrumental
musician.[141][142] Many instrumentalists are known for playing specific musical instruments such
as guitarist (guitar), pianist (piano), bassist (bass), and drummer (drum). These different types of
instrumentalists can perform together in a music group.[143] A

person who is able to play a number of instruments is called a
multi-instrumentalist.[144] According to David Baskerville in
the book Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, the
working hours of a full-time instrumentalist may average only
three hours a day, but most musicians spent at least forty hours
a week.[145]
See also
List of musical instruments
Folk instrument
Experimental musical instrument
Recording studio as an instrument
Music instrument technology
Orchestra
Notes
Jimi Hendrix playing a Fender
Stratocaster, 1960s.
1. Montagu 2007, p. 1
2. Rault 2000, p. 9
3. Blades 1992, p. 34
4. Chase & Nowell 1998, p. 549
5. Slovenian Academy of Sciences 1997, pp. 203–205
6. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation 2004
7. Collinson 1975, p. 10
8. Campbell, Greated & Myers 2004, p. 82
9. de Schauensee 2002, pp. 1–16 Paul McCartney using a Höfner
10. Moorey 1977, pp. 24–40 500/1 bass in 2016.
11. "Brookhaven Lab Expert Helps Date Flute Thought to be
Oldest Playable Musical Instrument" (http://www.bnl.gov/bnl
web/pubaf/pr/1999/bnlpr092299.html). Brookhaven
National Laboratory. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/
20210210214041/https://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/pubaf/pr/199
9/bnlpr092299.html) from the original on 10 February 2021.
Retrieved 10 February 2011.
12. "Jiahu (ca. 7000–5700 B.C.)" (http://www.metmuseum.org/t
oah/hd/jiah/hd_jiah.htm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20100809083316/htt
p://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/jiah/hd_jiah.htm) from the Antony Blinken at the September
original on 9 August 2010. Retrieved 10 February 2011. 2023 launch of the Global Music
13. Sachs 1940, p. 60 Diplomacy Initiative, playing a
Stratocaster.
14. Brown 2008
15. Baines 1993, p. 37
16. Sachs 1940, p. 61
17. Sachs 1940, p. 63
18. Sachs 1940, p. 297
19. Blades 1992, p. 36
20. Sachs 1940, p. 26 49. Sachs 1940, p. 151

21. Rault 2000, p. 34 50. Sachs 1940, p. 152
22. Sachs 1940, pp. 34–52 51. Sachs 1940, p. 161
23. Blades 1992, p. 51 52. Sachs 1940, p. 185
24. Sachs 1940, p. 35 53. Sachs 1940, pp. 162–164
25. Sachs 1940, pp. 52–53 54. Campos, Fredeliza Z.; Hull, Jennifer R.;
26. Marcuse 1975, pp. 24–28 Hồng, Vương Thu (2023). "In search of a
musical past: evidence for early
27. Sachs 1940, pp. 53–59
chordophones from Vietnam" (https://www.c
28. Caldwell, Duncan (2013). "A Possible New ambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/i
Class of Prehistoric Musical Instruments n-search-of-a-musical-past-evidence-for-earl
from New England: Portable Cylindrical y-chordophones-from-vietnam/7A195B3ACF
Lithophones" (https://www.cambridge.org/co A44E291A9DF2B8EDFFD03A). Antiquity.
re/journals/american-antiquity/article/abs/po 97 (391): 141–157.
ssible-new-class-of-prehistoric-musical-instr doi:10.15184/aqy.2022.170 (https://doi.org/1
uments-from-new-england-portable-cylindric 0.15184%2Faqy.2022.170). ISSN 0003-
al-lithophones/6A6FBD649CF86DA2AC9DA 598X (https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0003-
2EE51917D99#). American Antiquity. 78 (3): 598X) – via Cambridge Core.
520–535. doi:10.7183/0002-7316.78.3.520
(https://doi.org/10.7183%2F0002-7316.78.3. 55. Sachs 1940, p. 166
520). S2CID 53959315 (https://api.semantic 56. Sachs 1940, p. 178
scholar.org/CorpusID:53959315). 57. Sachs 1940, p. 189
29. "(PDF) Flint Tools as Portable Sound- 58. Sachs 1940, p. 192
Producing Objects in the Upper Palaeolithic 59. Sachs 1940, pp. 196–201
Context: An Experimental Study" (https://ww 60. "Deskford carnyx" (https://www.nms.ac.uk/e
w.researchgate.net/publication/251594803). xplore-our-collections/stories/scottish-history
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20210 -and-archaeology/deskford-carnyx/).
417033519/https://www.researchgate.net/pu Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20210
blication/251594803_Flint_Tools_as_Portabl 119182349/https://www.nms.ac.uk/explore-o
e_Sound-Producing_Objects_in_the_Upper ur-collections/stories/scottish-history-and-ar
_Palaeolithic_Context_An_Experimental_St chaeology/deskford-carnyx/) from the
udy) from the original on 17 April 2021. original on 19 January 2021. Retrieved
Retrieved 28 March 2021. 23 January 2021.
30. Sachs 1940, p. 67 61. "Carnyx - Caledonians, Picts and Romans -
31. Sachs 1940, pp. 68–69 Scotland's History" (http://www.sath.org.uk/e
32. Sachs 1940, p. 69 dscot/www.educationscotland.gov.uk/scotlan
33. Remnant 1989, p. 168 dshistory/caledonianspictsromans/carnyx/in
dex.html). Archived (https://web.archive.org/
34. Sachs 1940, p. 70
web/20201130084604/http://www.sath.org.u
35. Sachs 1940, p. 82 k/edscot/www.educationscotland.gov.uk/scot
36. Sachs 1940, p. 86 landshistory/caledonianspictsromans/carny
37. Rault 2000, p. 71 x/index.html) from the original on 30
38. Sachs 1940, pp. 98–104 November 2020. Retrieved 23 January
2021.
39. Sachs 1940, p. 105
62. Sachs 1940, p. 207
40. Sachs 1940, p. 106
63. Sachs 1940, p. 218
41. Sachs 1940, pp. 108–113
64. Sachs 1940, p. 216
42. Sachs 1940, p. 114
65. Sachs 1940, p. 221
43. Sachs 1940, p. 116
66. Sachs 1940, p. 222
44. Marcuse 1975, p. 385
67. Sachs 1940, pp. 222–228
45. Sachs 1940, p. 128
68. Sachs 1940, p. 229
46. Sachs 1940, p. 129
69. Sachs 1940, p. 231
70. Sachs 1940, p. 236
48. Sachs 1940, p. 149
71. Sachs 1940, pp. 238–239
72. Sachs 1940, p. 240 117. "The 14 most important synths in electronic
73. Sachs 1940, p. 246 music history – and the musicians who use
74. Sachs 1940, p. 249 them" (http://www.factmag.com/2016/09/15/
14-most-important-synths/). FACT
75. Sachs 1940, p. 250 Magazine: Music News, New Music. 15
76. Sachs 1940, pp. 251–254 September 2016. Archived (https://web.archi
77. Sachs 1940, p. 260 ve.org/web/20191102120103/https://www.fa
78. Sachs 1940, p. 263 ctmag.com/2016/09/15/14-most-important-s
ynths/) from the original on 2 November
79. Sachs 1940, p. 265 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
80. Kartomi 1990, p. 124 118. McNamee, David (28 September 2009).
81. Grillet 1901, p. 29 "Hey, what's that sound: Sampler" (https://w
82. Sachs 1940, p. 269 ww.theguardian.com/music/2009/sep/28/wh
83. Sachs 1940, p. 271 ats-that-sound-sampler). The Guardian.
84. Sachs 1940, p. 274 ISSN 0261-3077 (https://search.worldcat.or
g/issn/0261-3077). Archived (https://web.arc
85. Sachs 1940, p. 273 hive.org/web/20140304190836/http://www.th
86. Sachs 1940, p. 278 eguardian.com/music/2009/sep/28/whats-th
87. Sachs 1940, p. 281 at-sound-sampler) from the original on 4
88. Sachs 1940, p. 284 March 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
89. Sachs 1940, p. 286 119. Bateman, Tom (28 November 2012). "How
MIDI changed the world of music" (https://w
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95. Sachs 1940, p. 301
120. Manning 2004, pp. 268–270
96. Sachs 1940, p. 302
121. Montagu 2007, p. 210
97. Sachs 1940, p. 303
122. Montagu 2007, p. 211
98. Sachs 1940, p. 307
123. Kartomi 1990, p. 176
99. Sachs 1940, p. 328
124. Rault 2000, p. 190
100. Sachs 1940, p. 352
125. Marcuse 1975, p. 3
101. Sachs 1940, pp. 353–357
126. Marcuse 1975, p. 117
102. Sachs 1940, p. 374
127. Marcuse 1975, p. 177
103. Sachs 1940, p. 380
128. Marcuse 1975, p. 549
104. Sachs 1940, p. 384
105. Sachs 1940, p. 385
130. Kartomi 1990, pp. 174–175
106. Sachs 1940, p. 386
131. Rault 2000, p. 184
107. Sachs 1940, p. 388
132. Rault 2000, p. 185
108. Sachs 1940, p. 389
133. Rault 2000, p. 195
109. Sachs 1940, p. 390
134. Organ built by M. P. Moller, 1940. USNA
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116. Pinch & Trocco 2004, p. 7
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(https://archive.org/details/musicalinstrumen0000remn_h0w6), Batsford, ISBN 978-0-7134-
5169-6
Sachs, Curt (1940), The History of Musical Instruments, Dover Publications, ISBN 978-0-486-
45265-4
Slovenian Academy of Sciences (11 April 1997), "Early Music", Science, 276 (5310): 203–205,
doi:10.1126/science.276.5310.203g (https://doi.org/10.1126%2Fscience.276.5310.203g),
S2CID 220083771 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:220083771)
Further reading
Wade-Matthews, Max (2003). Musical Instruments: Illustrated Encyclopedia (https://archive.or
g/details/musicillustrated00wade). Lorenz. ISBN 978-0-7548-1182-4.
Music Library Association (1974). Committee on Musical Instrument Collections. A Survey of
Musical Instrument Collections in the United States and Canada, conducted by a committee of
the Music Library Association, William Lichtenwanger, chairman & compiler, ed. and produced
by James W. Pruitt. Ann Arbor, Mich.: Music Library Association. xi, p. 137, ISBN 0-914954-00-
8
West, M.L. (May 1994). "The Babylonian Musical Notation and the Hurrian Melodic Texts".
Music & Letters. 75 (2): 161–179. doi:10.1093/ml/75.2.161 (https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fml%2F7
5.2.161).
Young, Phillip T. (1980). The Look of Music: Rare Musical Instruments, 1500–1900. Seattle:
University of Washington Press. ISBN 9780919253001.
External links
"Musical Instruments" (http://www.vam.ac.uk/page/m/musical-instruments). Furniture. Victoria
and Albert Museum. Retrieved 1 July 2008.
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1/10/25, 9:58 PM Musical instrument - Wikipedia

The history of musical instruments dates to the

The exact date and specific origin of the first device

Definition and basic operation

Primitive instruments were probably designed to emulate natural

The concept of melody and the artistic pursuit of musical composition

These instruments, one of the first ensembles of instruments yet

Musical instruments used by the Egyptian culture before 2700

Musical instruments such as zithers appeared in Chinese

Although civilizations in Central America attained a relatively

Post-classical era/Middle Ages

this period to those regions and countries.[62]

In pre-Islamic times, idiophones such as handbells, cymbals,

Southeast Asian musical innovations include those during a

as hunters' horns and cow bells, though Virdung is critical of

Classical and Romantic

Accompanying the changes to timbre and volume was a shift in the

Despite this trend in traditional instruments, the development of

The proliferation of electricity in the 20th century led to a new

The latter half of the 20th century saw the evolution of

These terms are named after singing voice classifications:

Musical instrument construction is a specialized trade that

instrumentalists can perform together in a music group.[143] A

20. Sachs 1940, p. 26 49. Sachs 1940, p. 151

calinstrumen00dona), Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-816504-0

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Musical_instrument&oldid=1267252480"

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