A Brief History Of Musical Instruments
Author: Alan Phillips

No one is certain when the first musical instruments were made.
It's possible that they predate language in human cultural
development, but I'll leave that argument to the
anthropologists. What is sure is that there is a deep, ancient
desire within people to express themselves using sound. Our
voices were almost certainly used for more than communication.
Somehow that was not enough. Our ancestors pushed creative sound
further.

The first instruments were probably percussive because they are
the simplest to make. Clapping hands or striking flint on flint,
it's easy to imagine that this would be our earliest attempts to
make our own rhythm, our own pulse, sent out into the world and
echoed back. What likely followed were simple mallets and skins
stretched on bowls. What makes these tools so distinct is that
were not needed for hunting, food preparation or defense; they
had no other purpose than to create a controlled, predictable
sound. With advances in metallurgy, gongs and bells developed.
Our modern drums are a descendant of this type of early
instrument.

Most likely, wind instruments came next. These could have been
created relatively easily with a hollowed out plant stem or
animal horn to create a simple whistle or horn. The initial
benefit was increased amplification. Later, it was discovered
that the resonating chamber of the instrument could be
manipulated to give differences in pitch. Significantly, many of
the wind instruments use breathing to generate and control the
sonic effects, which closely resembles our vocal chords. Further
technical advancements in smelting and metal working gave us
instruments with more sound making precision and exceptional
durability. Modern trumpets and saxophones are closely related
to these early instruments. Xylophones and organs are special
percussive-wind hybrids that gave chording or polyphony in a
single instrument.

Stringed instruments likely came last. Egyptian records
indicate that instruments using vibrating strings existed at the
time of the pharaohs, near the dawn of recorded civilization.
Lyres and harps are early examples and their manufacture and
required a dedicated craftsman for their manufacture. Strings
not only give the instrument a potential for harmony and cording
on one device, but also frees the vocal chords of the performer
for singing in accompaniment. A later development added a
resonating chamber making the instruments potentially louder.
Violins and guitars are modern string instruments. Pianos are a
special hybrid; it has hammers that strike the strings making it
percussive and stringed.

The control and use of electricity took musical instruments to
a completely new level with developments like the microphone and
amplifier. Guitars had pick-ups added, keyboards had wave form
manipulation and the most mind-boggling innovations have come
with computers and digital music. Effects technology that alters
the sound between the instrument and amplifier keep adding rich
tonal qualities that are still being explored. Experiments are
being conducted to create plasma instruments and other advances
could bring instruments that interface directly with our brains.


Like our ancestors, we still use sound to create and the
instruments we use are developed along with our technology. We
keep stretching the possibilities toward the horizon and when we
arrive, I believe we will find more horizon to explore.


About The Author: Alan Phillips is a freelance writer, he
retired from the US Army in 2000 and has spent the last few
years in Computer Technology. He currently resides in Texas, USA
with his wife and owns and operates
http://www.InstrumentJunction.com offering Acoustic Guitars,
Acoustic-Electric Guitars and Amps.