Sunday, March 2, 2014

Discovering The History Of Musical Instruments Aurora Ontario

By Leticia Jensen


Instruments are devices created for the purpose of producing musical sounds. Almost anything can be used to make music. These devices have existed throughout human history. If you enjoy music, you might be interested in the history of musical instruments aurora ontario.

The question of the origin of the first musical device is often disputed by historians. Many scholars believe that the oldest object was a flute, dating back nearly seventy thousand years ago. However, many believe that trying to determine an exact time of when it was invented is impossible, since the materials used to make the devices were relatively unstable. Some early music devices were made out of animal skin, bones and wood.

Eventually, human developed the idea of using these devices in order to produce melodies. Until this point, melodies were only common in singing. The earliest form of a melody was created by pounding two different sized tubes together, with one tube creating a clear sound and the other creating a darker sound. Cultures that used these devices often referred to them as father and mother instruments, because one was larger and the other was smaller.

These devices existed in this manner for thousands of years until more elaborate patterns that allowed more tones evolved. This came in the form of the xylophone. Xylophones first originated in Southeast Asia and then spread to Africa, Europe and the Americas. In addition to the xylophones, different cultures created devices like the harp, the zither, and the musical bow.

Beginning around the year 1400, these devices began to be developed at an increased rate, as compositions of the day demanded more vibrant sounds. This is also the time when books about creating and playing music devices began to be written. The first book about cataloging music devices was written by Sebastian Virdung in 1511, entitled Music Germanized and Abstracted. This was followed by other instructional books in the Renaissance Era.

Researchers have concluded that that there is no absolutely reliable method of calculating the precise chronology of these devices in different cultures. One cannot simply compare the devices based on their complexity, since the more advancements that have been made, the more their complexity is reduced. One cannot also rely on workmanship alone, since different cultures have advanced at different rates and some had better access to raw materials. Marking the order of these devices is a science based on archaeological artifacts, depictions in art and literary references.

The materials used to create them have varied greatly from one culture to another. Some materials have a special significance, especially if they are rare. Some cultures even take substances from the human body to incorporate them into these devices. For example, in Mexico, drums were made from human body parts taken during ritual sacrifices. In New Guinea, the membrane of drums often contained human blood.

These cultures eventually developed complex percussion devices such as ribbon reeds, trumpets and flutes. However, some of these are far different from those familiar ones used in the modern day.




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