Prehistoric music. History of musical instruments What is the first prehistoric musical instrument created

The first convincing evidence of musical experiments dates back to the Paleolithic era, when man learned to make instruments from stone, bone and wood in order to produce various sounds. Later, sounds were extracted using a faceted rib from bone, and the sound produced resembled the gnashing of teeth. Rattles were also made from skulls, which were filled with seeds or dried berries. This sound often accompanied the funeral procession.

The most ancient musical instruments were drums. The idnophone, an ancient percussion instrument, arose during the period of speech formation in ancient man. The duration of the sound and its repeated repetition were associated with the rhythm of the heartbeat. In general, for ancient people, music was primarily rhythm.

Following the drums, wind instruments were invented. The ancient prototype of the flute discovered in Asturis (20,000 BC) is striking in its perfection. The side holes were knocked out in it, and the principle of sound production was the same as that of modern flutes.

Stringed instruments were also invented in ancient times. Images of ancient strings are preserved in numerous rock paintings, most of which are located in the Pyrenees. Thus, in the Cogul cave nearby there are “dancing” figures “carrying bows.” The “lyre player” struck the strings with the edge of bone or wood, producing sound. It is curious that in the chronology of development the invention of string instruments and dance occupy the same time space.
At this time, an aerophone appears - an instrument made of bone or stone, the appearance of which resembles a diamond or the tip of a spear.

Threads were threaded and secured through holes in the wood, after which the musician ran his hand along these threads, twisting them. The result was a sound resembling a hum. Most often they played the aerophone in the evenings. The sound emanating from this instrument was reminiscent of the voice of spirits. This instrument was improved during the Mesolithic era (3000 BC). It became possible to play two or three sounds simultaneously. This was achieved by cutting vertical holes. Despite the primitiveness of the method of making such instruments, this technique was preserved for a long time in some parts of Oceania, Africa and Europe.

Among the musical instruments used by ancient civilizations we find wind instruments: flutes (tigtigi) and oboe (abub). We know that the Mesopotamian population, like the Egyptians, had a high technique for making wind instruments from reeds. They modified tools throughout the existence of their civilization. Soon, along with the flute, the pishik was invented, which contributed to the appearance of the oboe. In this instrument, sound was produced by rapid vibration of air in the pike, and not by blowing air streams on the mouthpiece, as happens in flutes. Of the strings, lyres (algar) and harps (zagsal), which were still very small in size, were widely used

Often the body of a musical instrument was painted. We see confirmation of this in exhibits found in the tombs of the state of Ur (2500 BC). One of them is in the British Museum. A variety of percussion instruments are also striking. This is often evidenced by iconography, bas-reliefs, dishes, vases, and steles. As a rule, the painting on them indicates the use of large drums and small timpani, as well as castanets and sistrums. Later exhibits also feature cymbals and bells.

The instruments and repertoire were handed down to subsequent generations living in Mesopotamia. By 2000 B.C. The Assyrians improved the harp and created the prototype of the first lute (pantur).

There is a legend about this, but it is nothing more than a fantasy. According to Greek mythology, the first musical instrument, the shepherd's pipe, was made by the god Pan. One day on the shore, he exhaled through the reeds and heard his breath, passing along the trunk, produce a sad lamentation. He cut the trunk into unequal parts, tied them together, and now he had his first musical instrument!

The truth is that we cannot name the first musical instrument, since all primitive people throughout the world seem to have created some kind of music. It was usually music with some kind of religious meaning, and the audience became part of it. They danced, drummed, clapped and sang along with her. This wasn't just done for fun. This primitive music was a significant part of people's lives.

The legend of Pan and the reed suggests how man came up with the idea of ​​​​making so many different musical instruments. He may have imitated the sounds of nature or used the objects around him to create his music.

The first musical instruments were percussion instruments (like a drum). Later, man invented wind instruments made from animal horns. From these primitive wind instruments, modern brass instruments developed. As man developed his musical sense, he began to use reeds and thus produced more natural and gentle sounds.

Finally, man invented the simple lyre and harp, from which bowed instruments evolved.

In the Middle Ages, the crusaders brought many amazing oriental musical instruments from their campaigns. Combined with folk instruments that already existed in Europe at that time, they developed into many instruments that are now used to play music.

What was the first musical instrument?

There is a legend about this, but it is nothing more than a fantasy. According to Greek mythology, the first musical instrument, the shepherd's pipe, was made by the god Pan. One day on the shore, he exhaled through the reeds and heard his breath, passing along the trunk, produce a sad lamentation. He cut the trunk into unequal parts, tied them together, and now he had his first musical instrument!

The truth is that we cannot name the first musical instrument, since all primitive people throughout the world seem to have created some kind of music. It was usually music with some kind of religious meaning, and the audience became part of it. They danced, drummed, clapped and sang along with her. This wasn't just done for fun. This primitive music was a significant part of people's lives.

The legend of Pan and the reed suggests how man came up with the idea of ​​​​making so many different musical instruments. He may have imitated the sounds of nature or used the objects around him to create his music.

The first musical instruments were percussion instruments (like a drum). Later, man invented wind instruments made from animal horns. From these primitive wind instruments, modern brass instruments developed. As man developed his musical sense, he began to use reeds and thus produced more natural and gentle sounds.

Finally, man invented the simple lyre and harp, from which bowed instruments evolved.

In the Middle Ages, the crusaders brought many amazing oriental musical instruments from their campaigns. Combined with folk instruments that already existed in Europe at that time, they developed into many instruments that are now used to play music.

Musical instruments Introducing children to the history of musical instruments.

Already in ancient times, people loved to delight their ears with musical sounds. The enchanting sounds of the golden cithara announced the appearance of the golden-haired Apollo. No one could compare with him in playing this marvelous musical instrument, and when the Phrygian satyr Mars dared to compete with him in music and came to this competition with his musical instrument - a reed flute in his hands, he paid severely for his insolence.

The oldest musical instruments, pipes and tweeters, which date back to the Upper Paleolithic era (which is 2522 thousand years BC!) were found in Hungary and Moldova.

In ancient times, people not only knew how to make musical instruments and compose music, but even wrote it down with musical notations on clay tablets. The oldest musical notation that has survived to this day belongs to XVIII century BC. Clay tablet with music sheet
record was found during excavations of the Sumerian city of Nippur (in the territory of modern Iraq).

Stone Age people made their musical instruments from a variety of things. One of the oldest "musical instruments" is the human body itself. The first sounds arose from knocking or hitting various parts of the body (for example, the chest or thigh). Gradually, more and more tools appeared that were used by Stone Age people. They used them, for example, for hunting, to protect themselves from danger. These instruments were also used as objects for mutual communication.

Where did musical instruments begin? Strings - from a hunting bow, winds - from a shell, horn, reed. But the most venerable age belongs, of course, to percussion instruments: they arose among primitive people, who began to accompany their dances with the rhythmic striking of one stone against another.

This is interesting
During excavations at the site of primitive hunters in Ukraine, interesting discoveries were made. At the site of the plague they found a whole “orchestra”; there were so many ancient musical instruments there. Pipes and whistles were made from bone tubes. Rattles and rattles were carved from mammoth bones. Dry leather covered the tambourines, which hummed when struck by a mallet. This is exactly what primitive musical instruments were like.

Obviously, the melodies performed on such musical instruments were very simple, rhythmic and loud. In one of the caves in Italy, scientists found footprints on fossilized clay. The tracks were strange: people either walked on their heels or jumped on tiptoes on both legs at once. This is easy to explain: a hunting dance was performed there. The hunters danced to menacing and exciting music, imitating the movements of powerful, dexterous and cunning animals. They chose words to the music and in songs they talked about themselves, about their ancestors, about what they saw around them.

Gradually more advanced musical instruments appeared. It turned out that if you stretch the skin over a hollow wooden or clay object, the sound will become louder and stronger. This is how the ancestors of drums and timpani were born.

God Pan created the shepherd's pipe, Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, invented the flute, and the Indian God Narada invented and gave man a harp-shaped musical instrument - the veena. But these are just myths, because we all understand that musical instruments were invented by man himself. And there is nothing surprising here, because it is the first musical instrument. And the sound that comes from him is his voice.

Primitive man transmitted information with his voice and informed his fellow tribesmen about his emotions: joy, fear and love. To make the “song” sound much more interesting, he clapped his hands and stomped his feet, knocked stone against stone and hit the stretched mammoth skin. Just like that, the objects that surrounded a person slowly began to transform into musical instruments.

Musical instruments are divided into three groups, that is, according to the method of extracting sound from them: wind, percussion and strings. So let's now figure out why primitive man pulled, why did he knock, and what did he hit? We do not know for sure what kind of musical instruments there were at that time, but we can guess.

The first group is wind instruments. We don’t know why the ancient man blew into a reed reed, a piece of bamboo or a horn, but we know for sure that it became an instrument when the holes appeared.

The second group is percussion instruments, which were made from all sorts of objects, namely from the shells of large fruits, wooden blocks, and from dried skins. They were beaten with a stick, fingers or palms, and were used for ritual ceremonies and military operations.

And the last, third group is stringed musical instruments. It is generally accepted that the first stringed musical instrument was a hunting bow. An ancient hunter, pulling his bowstring, noticed that the string was “singing” from the splinter. But the stretched vein of the animal “sings” even better. And it “sings” even better when you rub an animal’s hair against it. This is exactly how the bow was born, that is, at that time, it was a stick with a tuft of horsehair stretched over it, which was moved along a string made from twisted animal sinews. After some time, the bow began to be made from silk threads. This divided stringed musical instruments into bowed and twisted.

The most ancient musical string instruments are the harp and the lyre. All ancient peoples have similar instruments. Ur harps are the oldest stringed instruments that have been found by archaeologists. They are approximately four and a half thousand years old.

The truth is that it is impossible to say exactly what the first musical instrument looked like, but we can say with complete confidence that music, at least in a primitive form, was part of the life of primitive man.