The origin and development of musical instruments

Musical instruments are one of the civilizational assets that humans have possessed as early as primitive times. There have been many legends and myths at home and abroad surrounding the origin of musical instruments since ancient times, and they have long been regarded as the theory of the origin and development of musical instruments. For example, many ancient Chinese books record: "Nuwa makes the flute", "Nuwa makes the sheng", "Fuxi makes the flute", "Fuxi makes the harp", "Fuxi makes the harp", "倕makes the bell", "Ling Lunru" Kunlun Mountain picked bamboos to make flutes," "Yellow Emperor ordered Linglun to cast twelve bells," "Yellow Emperor killed the dragons and used their skins to make drums," etc.

The above are all from 4,000 to 5,000 BC It was not yet or had just entered the Bronze Age, and it was impossible to have products with complicated craftsmanship such as reeds and bells. People at that time may have some concepts about absolute pitch, but they did not know much about musical temperament. Complex melodic instruments like the ones mentioned above could not have appeared that early. Whether those legendary figures are real people is still a question that remains to be explored in history. The instrument in question is real, but it would be impossible for anyone to build such a perfect instrument all at once. Musical instruments have evolved gradually

There is no doubt that China was the first country to possess musical instruments. According to research, China had some earthen drums, chimes, bells, bone whistles, reeds, xuns, etc. in ancient times (before about 21st century BC). There may also be Ling, Guan, Chi and Sheng. By the Xia and Shang Dynasties (from the 21st century BC to the 11th century BC), in addition to the development of previous musical instruments, such as the appearance of chimes and chimes with fixed tones, as well as the harp, yan (big Xiao), sheng, etc., indicating that there were already early shallow musical instruments. High pitch concept. By the Zhou Dynasty, there were nearly 70 recorded musical instruments (with the same name), and the "eight tones" for classifying musical instruments appeared. There were plucked string instruments such as qin and harp.

For example, in foreign countries, such as Greek mythology, There are also many legends about musical instruments. It is said that Mercury, the god of gods, created stringed instruments. He once walked along the Nile River and touched something with his feet, which made a beautiful sound. He picked it up and saw that the sound came from a dry line inside a turtle shell. He was inspired to invent the Lyre. It is also said that the god Pan invented the wind instrument Panpipes after he fell in love with Syrinx, a water goddess, and chased her to a river. She was rescued by the patron saint because she could not be saved. She turned into a reed, and the god Pan cut the reeds and made them into panpipes (called Syrinx in Greek), which he could hold for a long time and play when he was in love.

With the development of human civilization, there are now more and more people The origins of more instruments are clarified. According to the research of European musical instrument scholars, the ancestors of many important musical instruments such as modern violin-like string instruments, harps, and timpani all came from instruments such as Rabab, Lila, and Naqara in Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt.

Myth is the opening chapter of human cultural history. The myths in the world are always beautiful and attractive yet mysterious and difficult to solve. To this day, myths and legends about a certain god or a certain legendary figure creating a certain musical instrument are still circulated among the people in many parts of the world. These beautiful myths and legends have literary value and also contain certain historical materials

In many myths and legends and even some modern music history books and treatises, the origin of musical instruments< /B>It is closely connected with the origin of music, and there are various origin theories. Another saying is that musical instruments originated from human labor and life. Because although musical instruments are musical tools, the two have an inseparable relationship, but musical instruments are different from ideological music, and have a blood relationship with labor or daily life from the beginning

The origin of musical instruments and The history of human beings creating labor tools in the process of evolution is closely related. Tools and musical instruments can be seen as extensions of human organs. Before humans could make tools and differentiate themselves from other animals, they had been picking up natural objects such as tree poles, stones and animal bones to use as tools for a long time. These natural objects may also be used as the most primitive musical instruments to express certain emotions or signals

This inference can be compared with the primitive tribes in some areas. For example, in northern Togo, some people hold a smaller stone in each hand and knock joints on several larger stones; Australian indigenous people sit around on the ground, each holding a section of a tree pole and knocking on the ground to make a sound; residents of Ethiopia and New Guinea often use The two palms beat rhythmically against the hollowed-out ground below; Solomon Islanders often cover a large piece of bark at the entrance of a pit to provide accompaniment for the sound of foot stamping during dance. In the 1970s, a batch of mammoth bones from the Late Paleolithic Age were unearthed in the former Soviet Union. There were traces of knocking and friction on them. Experts identified them as being used as musical instruments by the Cro-Magnon people more than 10,000 years ago.

Humans make tools and Musical instruments started out as simple processing of natural materials. Whistles made from animal femurs in the Stone Age have been found in places such as Northern Europe and Peru; in the 20th century, China unearthed more than a hundred bone whistles from about 7,000 years ago at the Hemudu site in Zhejiang, which were made from poultry limb bones; there are many others Such finds, including horns made of conches, are late Neolithic artifacts. According to research, these primitive wind instruments may have been used to trap birds and animals or send signals. At that time, some musical instruments with more complicated processing of natural materials also appeared. A pottery xun with only one blowing hole was unearthed in Hemudu. Some people speculate that stringed instruments originated from hunting bows; drums originated from animal skins stretched and dried; reed instruments originated from reed pipes with one end flattened.

But these are perishable substances, and their origins cannot be investigated. Only in some areas of the world, similar primitive musical instruments can still be seen today

The origin of musical instruments, which type is earlier and which type is later? There have always been various different views. This is also related to the different musical instrument concepts and historical views mentioned in the previous section. Music scholars often distinguish musical instruments from a purely artistic perspective, and closely link

>the origin of musical instruments with the origin of music. history will not be considered. Modern musical instrument researchers classify all sound-producing instruments as musical instruments for study. Judging from the entire development history of musical instruments, which origin comes first and which comes later is inseparable from the development level of human productivity and intelligence. According to archaeological discoveries, it has been proven so far that percussion instruments that are relatively simple to make and use were first developed; some reeds, conches, animal horns, etc. are used to make air-sounding instruments (commonly known as wind instruments) that are easier to make but more difficult to produce sound. Possibly later; more difficult stringed instruments to make and use would appear later. This is just a general guess. The origin of specific musical instruments is not arranged by category. Melodic instruments such as body-sounding instruments and air-sounding instruments appeared later. This inference is basically consistent with Chinese historical records (see Yang Yinliu's "History of Ancient Chinese Music").

The development of musical instruments is closely related to the development of music art. Subordination, but it is also inseparable from the foundation of productivity development. Before the Bronze Age, it was impossible to have musical instruments such as bronze bells (but there were pottery bells) and bronze horns (but there were animal horns and conch horns); the reason why most orchestral instruments originated in Arabia and Egypt was The formation of modern musical instruments in Europe is inseparable from the rapid development of science and technology promoted by the Renaissance, especially the Industrial Revolution. Many important modern musical instruments were produced during that period. All kinds of electronic musical instruments could only have been born in the 20th century with the rise of electronic technology.

But as a tool of musical art, musical instruments have different characteristics from other items characteristics. That is, the evolution and development of musical instruments cannot go beyond the specific scope of artistic practice, and cannot change with the advancement of science and technology like other products. This does not mean that musical instruments are unchanging, any musical instrument changes and develops, but its evolution is often separated by a relatively long period of stability. This is because it takes a long time to develop and master the playing skills of a certain instrument and to accumulate a wealth of works. It is not uncommon for such techniques, music, and musical instruments, which have been formed in long-term artistic practice and accepted by performers and audiences, to remain basically unchanged for tens, hundreds, or even thousands of years. Often due to inappropriate changes in the size or sound quality of a certain instrument, players who have worked hard for a long time to develop superb skills are at a loss, or they are not accepted by listeners with traditional musical sense.

Of course, musical instruments are constantly evolving and improving. and innovation often provide indispensable material conditions and play a major role in the development of music art. For example, those primitive natural horns that could only produce a few rough and inaccurate notes, were very difficult to play, and could not be modulated, would not be able to be used in various bands unless they were transformed by modern advanced science and technology into various modern horns. of. Because the transformation of musical instruments has this characteristic that is inseparable from the art of music, many major improvements in history are often made by musicians in advance, and most of them are completed by instrument craftsmen who are proficient in playing skills or work closely with musicians. Some are improved or created by musicians themselves.