=Classification of Instruments=.—The means for the production of
musical sound are few in number, and of such universality and antiquity
that we cannot say when, how, or by whom they were invented. Modern
skill has not added one new means, but has simply improved the
contrivances by which musical sound is produced. We can, however, trace
the evolution and growth of the various instruments with considerable
accuracy, and to this end it is of the utmost importance to have a
clear understanding of the principles upon which musical instruments
are constructed, in order to avoid bewilderment among the endless
variety that have been and are yet made. All instruments may be divided
into three general classes: Percussion Instruments, Wind Instruments,
Stringed Instruments.
=The Percussion Instruments= are the instruments of rhythm. In this
class are included all instruments used for this purpose. It is
universally admitted that rhythm is the very basis of music, without
which it is vague and meaningless. Possibly the physical fact that lies
behind rhythm is the tendency of all repeated muscular action to become
regular; witness the blows of the hammer on the anvil, or the carpenter
driving in a nail. The psychologic reason is that when the will has set
a certain muscular action in motion, it leaves the carrying out of the
command to some subordinate function, so _long as it is continuous_;
but if the continuity is to be interrupted, the will must again exert
itself; hence, drumbeating and rattle shaking must of necessity be
rhythmic. Nearly all savages have dances of various kinds. Varieties
of drum rhythms arise from the almost universal custom of accompanying
dances with drums and rattles.
=Varieties of Percussion Instruments=.—Percussion instruments are
almost endless in variety. The most primitive example is that of a
hollow log beaten with a war-club by some prehistoric savage. The next
step leads to the hollow gourd or other hollow body, across the open
end of which is stretched the dried membrane of some wild animal.
From these descend all the long line of drums of all sorts, ending
with the modern orchestral kettle-drums (tympani) which, by means
of a mechanism for changing the tension of their parchment heads,
may be tuned in various keys. Percussion instruments of metal are of
very ancient origin. In this category are included cymbals of various
sizes and shapes, gongs of all sorts, and later, bells and triangles.
Comparatively few of the percussion instruments emit sounds of any
definite pitch. They were and are to a great extent noise-producing,
used for the purpose of marking rhythms.
=Wind Instruments: Vibrating Column of Air in a Tube=.—The next step
in advance of noise-producing instruments is the discovery of means
for the production of musical sound, which differs from noise in the
possession of _definite pitch_. This leads to a consideration of the
wind instruments that produce sound by means of a vibrating column of
air enclosed in a tube. This is an important class and has several
subdivisions, as will be seen. The simplest form of the wind instrument
is the plain tube, producing a single sound when blown across the top.
A series of such tubes fastened together side by side constitutes the
_Syrinx_ or Pan’s pipe, an instrument known over all the world from
the remotest ages. This is thought to be the instrument mentioned in
Genesis with the Hebrew name _Ugab_—translated _organ_, in the verse:
“Jubal was the father of all such as handle the harp or the organ.” It
is generally believed by scholars that the =Pandean Pipe= or =Syrinx=
is the oldest of musical instruments; but long before a sufficient
advance had been made to bind together several reeds giving different
sounds, the discovery was made that sound might be produced in this
way. Some prehistoric man found it out, perhaps by blowing across the
top of a hollow bone. A whistle of this kind, of prehistoric make,
bored from one of the bones of a reindeer’s foot, was found in a bone
cave in France. It may have been used as a signal, and we may imagine
that it may have guided a troop of palæolithic hunters in the chase of
the mammoth or rhinoceros, when these animals still roamed over the
plains of Europe.
=A Tube Pierced with Holes=.—The next advance was the discovery that
one tube could be made to give several sounds by piercing holes in
it. The effect of piercing is equivalent to shortening the tube; thus
the =Flute= came into existence. There are three forms of the flute;
the simplest is the old Japanese flute, blown at the end and pierced
with a few holes. Next, the endless variety of flutes blown at a hole
in the side, hence called the cross flute, or _Flauto Traverso_, in
German, _Querflöte_. A perfect series of these flutes may be made.
From the piece of bamboo with three or four holes, up to the exquisite
workmanship and musical possibilities of the orchestral Boehm flute,
all these flutes are identical in principle. The third kind of flute
is blown at the end and is furnished with a diaphragm, which directs
the air in a thin stream against the edge of the opening. Flutes of
this kind were once used under the names of =flageolet= and =recorder=.
Their chief interest lies in the fact that they have served as the
model for the flue pipes of the organ, from the ponderous thirty-two
foot Diapason to the half-inch extreme of the Mixture.
=The Tube with a Reed=.—The next subdivision is: The tube in
conjunction with a tongue or slip of cane, called a reed. Reed
instruments are further divided into _single_ and _double reed_
instruments. The double reed instrument is of great antiquity and
widely known. This is the instrument generally meant by the term
“flute” in the ancient Greek authors. It is known in China and
Thibet, and in its modern form as =Hautboy= (oboe), =English Horn=
or =Bassoon=, is an important member of the modern orchestra. The
beating or single reed is so-called because it is made a little
larger than the orifice over which it is fixed, and therefore beats
against this orifice at every vibration, closing it and causing the
air to be emitted in puffs. This form of reed instrument is also
widely distributed. By the Greeks it was called the Berecynthian
pipe; in modern Egypt _Arghool_, in early England the Shawm, which
is a corruption of an older French name—_Chalumeau_. Under the name
=Clarinet= it is another important member of the orchestra. The beating
reed also furnishes the model after which the reed stops of the organ
are constructed.
=The Tube with the Lips of the Player=.—The last subdivision is the
tube in conjunction with the lip of the performer, the lips assuming
the rôle of the reed. Countless varieties of =trumpets= have been
used from time immemorial, made at first from that natural tube that
has given them their generic name, the “horn” of the ox or goat or
antelope. The forms of the horn are endless, but from the conch shell
of the Japanese or the ram’s horn _Shofar_ of the Hebrews to the
perfectly tuned and mechanically perfect instruments of our bands and
orchestras the series is complete, and the acoustic principle in all
respects identical.
=Stringed Instruments Played by Plucking=.—The stringed instruments
are those which depend for their sound upon the vibration of stretched
strings. This class of instruments is of very ancient origin. As in
the case of the wind instruments, the discovery of the principle of
the vibration of a stretched string was probably accidental. The
twanging of a bow-string suggests a possible clue, or the membranes of
animals used for any purpose in which tension is required. Earliest
among stringed instruments are the various forms of =Harp= or =Lyre=,
in which each string gives a single sound, and is put in motion by
being _plucked_ by the finger or _struck_ by a rod or flat strip of
wood, ivory, etc., called a _plectrum_. In the next class are included
those instruments that are furnished with a neck or fingerboard,
with or without frets. In this class the strings are comparatively
few in number, as many sounds may be obtained from each string by
altering its length by the pressure of the fingers on the neck. These
instruments are also played either with the fingers or the plectrum; to
this class belong the =Guitar=, =Lute=, =Mandolin=, etc.
=The Lute Family=.—For many years, until displaced by instruments of
the violin family, the =Lute= occupied the foremost position among
instruments. It was a favorite instrument in the East, whence it
reached Spain and lower Italy. During the 14th century, it spread
over all Europe, retaining its popularity from the 15th to the 17th
centuries. In shape it was similar to the mandolin of the present
day. It had, however, a far greater number of strings. Five pairs of
these and a single melody string lay over the keyboard, while the bass
strings (finally five in number and used only as open strings) lay
at the side. More elaborate forms of the lute, owing to improvements
in the arrangement of the bass strings, were the =Theorbo= and the
=Archilute=. For the various forms of the lute the ordinary measured
notation was not used, but _special letters_ or figures were given to
indicate, not the pitch of the sound, but the _proper fret_ on the
fingerboard of the instrument to be used by the player. This method of
notation was called =Tablature=; it differed somewhat in the various
countries. Until displaced by the violin, the lute was in use as an
orchestral instrument. In addition, transcriptions of all sorts of
vocal and instrumental pieces were made for the lute, for home use,
much in the same manner as they are at the present day made for the
pianoforte.
=Stringed Instruments Played with a Bow=.—The next and most important
class resembles the last in being furnished with a neck or fingerboard,
but with strings put in vibration by a bow, the familiar Violin family.
A German writer on the stringed instruments played with a bow gives
the following as the successive steps in the evolution of the violin:
Rebec, Tromba Marina, Hurdy Gurdy, Fidel (Fidula), Chrotta, Viole, and
Violin. The early history of instruments is shrouded in darkness, which
existed up to the 16th century. Before that time, although writers on
music made reference to the instruments in use, they did not give
detailed descriptions. Virdung, who published a work in 1511; Agricola,
in 1528; and Gerle, in 1546, were among the first writers. Yet much
confusion has arisen from the fact that these writers used different
terms for the same instruments, a difficulty that confronts the student
of musical history who consults German, French, or Italian works.
1. The Rebec was of Oriental origin and consisted of a wooden frame,
which formed the side walls, the top and the bottom being spanned with
skin, like a drum. The instrument had only two strings, and was used
in accompanying singing. Later the number of strings was increased to
three. In the 8th or 9th century an instrument called the _Lyra_ (Lyre)
was in use. Its shape shows a change toward the pear-shaped body and
narrow neck of the lute.
[Illustration: REBEC. LYRE (ACCORDING TO GERBERT). BASS VIOL.]
2. The Tromba Marina (Eng., literally, “Marine Trumpet”), which the
Germans call _Trumscheit_, had a long, sonorous body, over which a
strong string, like that of the ’cello D, was stretched. This string,
when sounded with the bow, gave forth a harsh, somewhat nasal tone,
similar to that of the 8-foot wooden organ reed-pipe. But the proper
way to play it was by lightly touching the string with the finger,
as in making harmonics on the violin. This gave a series of tones,
according to the pitch of the open string, the same as the so-called
overtones. If the string were tuned to low C, the sounds were middle C,
then in succession E, G, C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C. This instrument was a
favorite with choirs of nuns to accompany their singing. Another name
given to this instrument from its single string is Monochord.
3. The Hurdy Gurdy, also called Vielle, Radleier (“wheel lyre”),
Bettlerleier (“mendicants’ lyre”), Organistrum and Chiffonie, was
a great favorite in the period from the 10th to the 12th century.
This peculiar instrument consisted of a resonant body, over which
four strings were stretched. It has analogies to bowed and keyed
instruments. Its shape was somewhat like that of the lute or the viola
d’amore or guitar. Two of the strings were tuned in unison, were
stopped by an arrangement of keys, directed by the player’s left hand
shortening the string, thus making it possible to play melodies of a
limited compass. The other two strings were usually tuned as Tonic and
Dominant, thus giving a drone like the bagpipe. The strings are set
in vibration by a wooden wheel, which, being well rosined, has the
function of a violin bow; this wheel is turned by a handle at the tail
end of the instrument, the player using his right hand for the purpose.
4. The Chrotta (Welsh Crwth—“crooth”) is one of the oldest of string
instruments played with a bow. The original home was possibly India,
but in its European use it was limited to England, and especially to
Wales. It was a favorite instrument of the Welsh bards. The oldest form
had three strings. In its later form it was mounted with six strings,
four stretched over the fingerboard and played with the bow, and two
lying at the side of the fingerboard, and pinched with the thumb of the
left hand.
5. Fidula (Fidel, Fiddle), equivalent to “viol,” is the comprehensive
term for the string instruments of the 8th to the 14th century. Its
resonant body was arched and pear-shaped. The French flattened it more
and called it Gigue, the Italians Giga, the Germans Geige, the latter
term still being used. Two varieties were in use—the small and the
large. The former had three strings tuned in fifths, the latter four to
six, usually tuned in fourths and one third. The “large” species was
made in four sizes for Discant (soprano), Alto, Tenor, and Bass. The
“large” instrument had no bridge such as the violin of today has, and
in its rounded form was difficult to play. Later it was cut out at the
sides, thus approaching the shape of our violin.
6. The Viol, which first appears in the 15th century, had a resonant
body which came almost to a point back of the neck, and the upper
part of the body of the instrument was smaller than the lower; the
fingerboard had frets like our guitar; the edges were higher, the _f_
holes were sickle-shaped, the top was flat, and the number of strings
was six. Viols were divided into two groups—those held with the arm
(like our violin), those played between the knees (like our ’cello).
They were named the soprano or discant viol (violetta), the alto and
tenor viols, and the bass viol (gamba). The contra-bass or double bass
has the viol form in certain respects.
From the viol family comes our violin through a diminution and
beautifying of the form, through lessening the number of strings and
doing away with the frets.