Wheel lira, harp, kahon and musical saw are instruments that did not become mainstream
Most recently, we recalled relatively modern musical instruments that did not become mainstream. This happens for various reasons - because of the strange construction, unusual sound, or style of play.
Theremin, omnicord and hang are very different inventions, which took about one narrow niche in music - interesting but few common instruments.
Today we turn to the “classics” - let us recall the instruments that appeared hundreds of years ago, but remained niche or became such over time.
Photo by Ian Sane CC BY
String instrument, which is called differently by different nations. It belongs to the group of friction - that is, the sound is produced by friction.
Lyra lies on the musician's lap - in some medieval versions of the performance he was supposed to have an assistant who turned the wheel. Most of the strings sound simultaneously as a result of friction on the wheel itself. With the help of several separate strings, a musician can extract and change a melody against the background of the monotonous sound of the other strings.
There are also many national variations of the instrument, which differ: the design and size of the wheel, the presence or absence of a keyboard, the number of strings, and so on. Video with an example of playing this tool.
The wheel lira appeared hundreds of years ago - for example, the description of the “organist” (the ancient name of the lyre) was found in the works of a cleric who died in 942, and the first image dates back to the 12th century.
The wheel lira was quite popular in the Middle Ages - it was used by minstrels and vagrant musicians who used it to play a simple musical background for their stories. In the 17th century, on the wave of fascination with pastoral music and bucolic culture, the wheel lira temporarily attracted French aristocrats.
Now on the wheel lira playing ethnic music groups. The instrument is also sometimes used by some musicians or soundtrack composers. For example, in the soundtrack of the series "Black Sails" sounds wheel lira .
One of the ancient reed musical instruments, for which virtually every language has its own separate name. For example, in English it is called “jew's harp” (although it has little in common with the Jews or the harp). The name probably appeared in consonance with the other, "jaw harp", that is, "jaw harp" (one of the vargan varieties is shaped like a harp).
A vargan may look different - most often it is either a plate made of wood, metal or bone with a tongue in the middle (lamellar vargan), or a curved metal arc with a thin tongue with a hook in the center (arc vargan). In addition to the main species, there are many national vargan variants.
The musician presses the harp to his teeth or lips, and his mouth cavity serves as a resonator - the sound changes depending on the pace and power of breathing, the shape of the mouth, and so on. There are a lot of ways to extract different sounds from a vargan.
Archaeological excavations have shown that the vargans were used as far back as Veliky Novgorod in the area of the 13th century. Vargan is considered one of the most ancient musical instruments known to mankind. At one time composers became interested in him - for example, Beethoven's teacher wrote seven concerts for the vargan, mandors and strings.
For many Asian peoples, the harp is an integral part of culture and national music. Interestingly, in Soviet times, he was considered one of the remnants of the past, the subject of a "cult" in shamanism.
The vargan was more of an ethnic instrument, but in recent years it has begun to interest the public, perhaps due to the simplicity of the game or an unusual sound that resembles techno .
Percussion instrument in our selection. It looks like a wooden box that can be easily confused, for example, with an old school column.
In fact, this is an interesting musical instrument from Peru, and it is quite simple to play on it - the musician sits on top and plays with his hands or special drum brushes.
Depending on the position of the hands of the player, the intensity and type of impact, the sound changes from high to bass. Inside the modern kahon there are strings stretched (or a brassiere) that lightly touch the wall of the box that the musician beats (tapas).
On the back, front or side wall of the kahon there is a sound hole (phase inverter), which, depending on the model of the instrument, can be of different size and shape .
In the XIX century, kahon became popular in Peru - according to one of the versions, fruit boxes on which slaves played became the ancestor of kahon, since playing the drums by the authorities was prohibited. The sound of kahon can be heard in flamenco or jazz compositions, as well as in the national Peruvian music.
Another tool that emerged from improvised means in the XIX century in Appalachia. At the beginning of the 20th century, major producers of musical instruments began to produce musical saws; street musicians, circus performers, variety shows and vaudevilles, musicians and actors used them - for example, Marlene Dietrich played saws. One of the most famous uses of saw in music was the soundtrack to the film “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” by Jack Nietzsche.
The sound of the saw resembles the sounds of theremin. The sound can change depending on a bend of a saw. One end of the saw (with the handle) is held by the knees, and the other end (sometimes a special “holder” is also attached to it) - with a bend that changes hands.
The other hand with a violin bow extracts the sound. The musical saw is a demanding instrument: the wrong bend or position of the bow will instantly distort the sound, so the player must be extremely accurate and have an excellent ear for music.
Interesting sound - other materials that we have prepared for you:
Theremin, omnicord and hang are very different inventions, which took about one narrow niche in music - interesting but few common instruments.
Today we turn to the “classics” - let us recall the instruments that appeared hundreds of years ago, but remained niche or became such over time.
Photo by Ian Sane CC BYWheel lyre
String instrument, which is called differently by different nations. It belongs to the group of friction - that is, the sound is produced by friction.
Lyra lies on the musician's lap - in some medieval versions of the performance he was supposed to have an assistant who turned the wheel. Most of the strings sound simultaneously as a result of friction on the wheel itself. With the help of several separate strings, a musician can extract and change a melody against the background of the monotonous sound of the other strings.
There are also many national variations of the instrument, which differ: the design and size of the wheel, the presence or absence of a keyboard, the number of strings, and so on. Video with an example of playing this tool.
The wheel lira appeared hundreds of years ago - for example, the description of the “organist” (the ancient name of the lyre) was found in the works of a cleric who died in 942, and the first image dates back to the 12th century.
The wheel lira was quite popular in the Middle Ages - it was used by minstrels and vagrant musicians who used it to play a simple musical background for their stories. In the 17th century, on the wave of fascination with pastoral music and bucolic culture, the wheel lira temporarily attracted French aristocrats.
Now on the wheel lira playing ethnic music groups. The instrument is also sometimes used by some musicians or soundtrack composers. For example, in the soundtrack of the series "Black Sails" sounds wheel lira .
Vargan
One of the ancient reed musical instruments, for which virtually every language has its own separate name. For example, in English it is called “jew's harp” (although it has little in common with the Jews or the harp). The name probably appeared in consonance with the other, "jaw harp", that is, "jaw harp" (one of the vargan varieties is shaped like a harp).
A vargan may look different - most often it is either a plate made of wood, metal or bone with a tongue in the middle (lamellar vargan), or a curved metal arc with a thin tongue with a hook in the center (arc vargan). In addition to the main species, there are many national vargan variants.
The musician presses the harp to his teeth or lips, and his mouth cavity serves as a resonator - the sound changes depending on the pace and power of breathing, the shape of the mouth, and so on. There are a lot of ways to extract different sounds from a vargan.
Archaeological excavations have shown that the vargans were used as far back as Veliky Novgorod in the area of the 13th century. Vargan is considered one of the most ancient musical instruments known to mankind. At one time composers became interested in him - for example, Beethoven's teacher wrote seven concerts for the vargan, mandors and strings.
For many Asian peoples, the harp is an integral part of culture and national music. Interestingly, in Soviet times, he was considered one of the remnants of the past, the subject of a "cult" in shamanism.
The vargan was more of an ethnic instrument, but in recent years it has begun to interest the public, perhaps due to the simplicity of the game or an unusual sound that resembles techno .
Cajon
Percussion instrument in our selection. It looks like a wooden box that can be easily confused, for example, with an old school column.
In fact, this is an interesting musical instrument from Peru, and it is quite simple to play on it - the musician sits on top and plays with his hands or special drum brushes.
Depending on the position of the hands of the player, the intensity and type of impact, the sound changes from high to bass. Inside the modern kahon there are strings stretched (or a brassiere) that lightly touch the wall of the box that the musician beats (tapas).
On the back, front or side wall of the kahon there is a sound hole (phase inverter), which, depending on the model of the instrument, can be of different size and shape .
In the XIX century, kahon became popular in Peru - according to one of the versions, fruit boxes on which slaves played became the ancestor of kahon, since playing the drums by the authorities was prohibited. The sound of kahon can be heard in flamenco or jazz compositions, as well as in the national Peruvian music.
Musical saw
Another tool that emerged from improvised means in the XIX century in Appalachia. At the beginning of the 20th century, major producers of musical instruments began to produce musical saws; street musicians, circus performers, variety shows and vaudevilles, musicians and actors used them - for example, Marlene Dietrich played saws. One of the most famous uses of saw in music was the soundtrack to the film “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” by Jack Nietzsche.
The sound of the saw resembles the sounds of theremin. The sound can change depending on a bend of a saw. One end of the saw (with the handle) is held by the knees, and the other end (sometimes a special “holder” is also attached to it) - with a bend that changes hands.
The other hand with a violin bow extracts the sound. The musical saw is a demanding instrument: the wrong bend or position of the bow will instantly distort the sound, so the player must be extremely accurate and have an excellent ear for music.
Interesting sound - other materials that we have prepared for you:
- Theremin, omnicord, hang - what other tools did not become mainstream
- "Go to the sound": about games that you want to play just for the sake of audio
- Rain, clank armor and liquid metal: how sound is created for the movie
- Radio plays: very well forgotten old
- Sounds that annoy us: why it happens
- "They just hear us": how animals perceive sound
- Put on headphones and become more efficient: how music affects productivity
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/409927/